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DAVID LAMOTHE
Culture Camp
Program Director
DAWN SAMUELSON
Traditional Knowledge
Program Assistant
MOSES WHITE SR.
DENISE BROWN-CHYTHLOOK
Executive Director
LAURIE EVANS-DINNEEN Development Director
FRANCIS THOMPSON
OUR ELDERS COMMITTEE
ANNIE CLEVELAND
JENINE HEAKIN
Culture Camp
Yuuyaraq Instructor
LENORE FOX
Burial Assistance &
Board Support
JOHN LAMONT
Culture Camp
Manager
MONICA PRINCE
Culture Camp
Teacher Mentorship Manager
ELIZABETH MARTZ
Scholarship Program Manager
GEORGE MORGAN
ANNIE PAVILLA
Culture Camp
Compliance Manager
ROBYN KUGTSUN
Admin Analyst
RUTH JIMMIE
The Calista Corporation is the second largest Alaska Native Regional Corporation and our most generous donor, providing significant financial and in-kind support to make our work possible. Federal grant funding is an important part of our funding model, with grants from the Department of Education and the National Science Foundation. Calista Education and Culture also receives generous support from a wide variety of foundation funders, corporate supporters, and individual donors.
WHO SUPPORTS US
Calista Education and Culture is a public charity that primarily serves the people of Alaska’s Calista region. While several of our programs are open to the public, our scholarship and burial assistance programs are open only to Shareholders of the Calista Corporation. Spanning the globe, Calista’s more than 38,000 Shareholders can trace their heritage to 56 villages in Southwest Alaska’s Yukon Kuskokwim region and are of Cup’ik, Yup’ik and Athabascan descent.
Language, a vital part of culture, is critical to keeping our communities healthy and vibrant. The Yugtun language is spoken by about 17,000 people and is the primary language of many we serve. Preserving language, along with cultural traditions, supports a vibrant and sustainable future for Our People.
Our People of the Calista region of Alaska will live and share our Yuuyaraq traditional way of being, value education, provide for our families, contribute to the well-being of our communities and set a good example for future generations.
OUR VISION
WHO WE SERVE
Calista Education and Culture (CEC) is a nonprofit 501c3 organization, governed by a Board of Directors and providing cultural preservation, educational empowerment, and Yuuyaraq guidance. Through these strategic priorities, our programs include cultural immersion camps, documenting and sharing traditional and historic knowledge, scholarships for higher education and vocational education, and burial assistance for Shareholders of the Calista Corporation.
WHO WE ARE
1. Preserving Culture
Definition: Documenting and sharing our Way of Being.
Goal: Document and archive cultural practices, knowledge, and assets.
2. Educational Empowerment
Definition: Empowering our People through education and promoting self-determination.
Goal: Increase scholarship funding while supporting education and employment.
3. Yuuyaraq Guidance
Definition: Teaching our People the Way of Being.
Goal: Instill foundations of cultural identity.
OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES
OUR CORE VALUES
Respect Share Teach and Study Awareness Family/Community Being Helpful and Supportive
Qigcikiyaraq Tuvqakiyaraq Elitnauryaraq Ellangqerrluni Yuuyaraq Ilakuyucarak Ikayurtaryaraq
ANN FIENUP-RIORDAN, Ph.D.
Anthropologist
MARK JOHN
Cultural Advisor
EARL SAMUELSON, SR.
Vice Chair
FRANCIS THOMPSON
NICK ANDREW, SR.
ANDREW GUY
TISHA KUHNS
Secretary
MOSES WHITE, SR.
Treasurer
JOHNNIE EVAN
Chairman
OUR BOARD