JUNEAU, AK (April 9, 2024) – The Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska’s (Tlingit & Haida) Cultural Ambassadors officially began their season today, welcoming visitors to Áak’w T’áak Sít’ / Sít’ Aant’aakú alongside United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service Park Rangers.
The Cultural Ambassadors will share Lingít history, values and language with tourists at Áakʼw Tʼáak Sítʼ through the summer tourist season, upholding our values of pride in tradition and stewardship. The Cultural Ambassador program is housed under the Tribe’s Native Lands & Resources Division and led by tribal citizen Aankadax̱tseen Jeremy Timothy (Lukaax̱.ádi, Lḵoot Ḵwáan), the Cultural Ambassador Supervisor. Five Cultural Ambassadors have been hired and recruiting is ongoing for up to ten additional Ambassadors, including Elder Ambassadors.
The Cultural Ambassadors are just one of many forthcoming programs and projects resulting from the MGRA co-stewardship agreements between the USDA and Tlingit & Haida. A Supplemental Project Agreement for Cultural Ambassadors was signed on Friday, April 5, 2024, by Tlingit & Haida President Chalyee Éesh Richard Peterson and USDA Tongass National Forest Supervisor Frank Sherman, authorizing $400,000 to fund cultural interpretative guides at Áak’w T’áak Sít’ / Sít’ Aant’aakú.
The co-stewardship agreements, signed on September 29, 2023, by Tlingit & Haida and the USDA Forest Service, formalized a mutual commitment to the co-stewardship of the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area. Outlined within the agreements are plans to improve cultural education and interpretation at Áak’w T’áak Sít’ / Sít’ Aant’aakú, beginning today with our Cultural Ambassadors.
Áak’w T’áak Sít’ and Sít’ Aant’aakú are the original place names for what the federal government refers to as the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area (MGRA) on Lingít Aaní. The name Áak’w T’áak Sít’ translates to the glacier upland from Áakʼw (Little Lake). The name came from the work of Ḵaayistaan Marie Olsen (Wooshkeetaan, Áakʼw Ḵwáan) on Lingít placenames, Ḵaaysitaan interviewed Kintoow Celia Kunz, who shared the name of Áakʼw Táak Sítʼ. The name Sít’ Aant’aakú translates to the glacier behind the village, shared by Keiḵóokʼw George Jim (Wooshkeetaan, Áakʼw Ḵwáan).