March 22, 2024

The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consorttia has relased a funding resource document for contaminated sites.

Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS), NALEMP, Brownfields, ANCSA Lands and EPA Enviromental Justice Change grants including eligibliity criteria are provided to help support the remediation process. 

Thank you ANTHC.!

January 30, 2024

The deadline to apply for the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program Round 2 has been extended. 

Applications must be submitted by March 22, 2024. The extension is intended to provide applicants with additional time to develop competitive project proposals. Eligible entities that previously submitted applications may submit revised applications. Note: entire application must be resubmitted on or before the new submission deadline. 

The program invites project proposals that address the digital divide, including broadband and digital inclusion efforts, training staff and tribal community members, and providing technical support and capacity building for tribal institutions.

In the fiscal year 2023 omnibus bill, Congress appropriated $20 million for EPA to establish and implement a grant program to assist tribal entities in Alaska with addressing contamination on ANCSA lands that were contaminated prior to the time of conveyance.  Grants may be used for site assessment and remediation, as well as related community outreach and involvement.

• Non-competitive funding for Cooperative Agreements.
• Funding requests accepted on a rolling basis, as funds remain available. 
• Up to $3M per project for 5-year project period.
• No matching funds required.
• Multiple projects may be requested per applicant.

Details on eligibility and how to apply are provided in the Contaminated ANCSA Lands Assistance Program Guidance and on grants.gov.

Please contact EPA Project Managers prior to submitting funding requests.  Returning or current cooperative agreement recipients contact Jeff Estes.  New applicants contact Mahri Lowinger.

Applications are ready to be accepted on a rolling basis!

December 1, 2023

UAA College of Business and Public Policy and UAA College of Arts and Sciences is hosting a two-day gathering for an innovative approach to Board and Tribal trainings January 11 & 12, 2024 at UAA.

The two-day event will focus on trainings pertinent to Alaska Native Tribes, Corporations and non-profits.

Trainings and topics specific to Alaska Native Corporations include:

Hiring our People

Fiduciary Duty to the Generations Yet to Come

Reading Financial Statements 101

The Chairs Role for the Corporation

Options to Consider when Setting Open Enrollment Policy

Roberts Rules of Order - A Refresher

The Other Perspective: Improving Communication and Engagement with Staff

ANCSA Land, an overview and update from BLM

Storytelling for Community Success

Navigating Indian Country and Tribal Jurisdiction in Alaska

Putting Cultural Awareness and Indigenous Values in the Workplace

Oopsism: Communicating Effectively Across Cultures in the 21st Century

Working Together for Housing in our Homelands

November 21, 2023

EPA’s new Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants program (Community Change Grants) has announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity for approximately $2 billion dollars in Inflation Reduction Act funds in environmental and climate justice activities to benefit disadvantaged communities through projects that reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience, and build community capacity to address environmental and climate justice challenges. These place-based investments will be focused on community-driven initiatives to be responsive to community and stakeholder input. They are designed to deliver on the transformative potential of the IRA for communities most adversely and disproportionately impacted by climate change, legacy pollution, and historical disinvestments.

Alaska Native Villages have dedicated funds of at least $150 million to address contaminated lands, pollution reduction, and climate adaptation in Alaska.

November 20, 2023

The State of Alaska, Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development (DCCED), Alaska Broadband Office (ABO), is seeking public comment on the State of Alaska’s Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) “Initial Proposal, Volume 2” which provides the details on the State of Alaska Grant Program along with the other requirements of the BEAD Program.

The State of Alaska’s “Initial Proposal Volume 2” documentation is linked below for public review and comment. All interested parties are invited to submit comments on the “Initial Proposal Volume 2” using the ABO email address of ced.abo.general@alaska.gov by on December 20, 2023.

November 10, 2023

Too many communities in Alaska lack access to high-speed internet. Many more face affordability barriers. There is a stark divide between those who have internet access and those who don't. Digital equity means all have access to reliable and affordable high-speed internet to access education, healthcare, employment, and participate in today’s economy.  Starting November 9, 2023, and running through December 9, 2023, the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development (DCCED), Alaska Broadband Office (ABO), is seeking public comment on the State of Alaska’s Digital Equity Plan.

The Digital Equity Act provides $2.75 billion nationwide to establish grant programs that promote digital equity and inclusion.  In advance of “Capacity Grant Awards” (managed by the State of Alaska ABO) the Rasmuson Foundation and their partners over the last year have collected and compiled data and drafted the initial State of Alaska Digital Equity Plan. 

The document outlines the inequities that exist in the state and develops Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that are focused on reducing or eliminating digital inequity for eight covered populations identified in the Digital Equity Act.

Those populations are:

1. Individuals with Disabilities
2. Individuals with a Language Barrier
3. Individuals who are Members of a Racial or Ethnic Minority
4. Individuals who Reside in Rural Areas
5. Aging Individuals
6. Veterans
7. Households at/or below 150% of the Poverty Level
8. Incarcerated Individuals

The State of Alaska’s Digital Equity plan and comment form are linked below for public review and comment. All interested parties are invited to submit comments on the Plan using the linked comment form by December 9, 2023.

September 1, 2023

The Alaska Native Village Corporation Association (ANVCA) Board of Directors is pleased to announce the hiring of Curtis J. McQueen as ANVCA Executive Director beginning September 15, 2023.

Curtis J. McQueen has a solid history of serving as an Alaska Native corportion CEO and serving on several for-profit and non-profit Boards throughout the State of Alaska.

“We are thrilled to have Curtis McQueen joining ANVCA. His experience, knowledge, and relationships of Alaska Native Corporations, village dynamics, and the public policy process are deep and profound, and we are confident that he will make a tremendous difference to the best interests of our members.” Nathan McCowan, ANVCA Chair of the Board.

From 2005 through August 2019, Curtis held the position of Chief Executive Officer of Eklutna, Incorporated, the village corporation for Eklutna and the largest private land owner in the Municipality of Anchorage and the Matanuska Susitna Borough. During his term, Curtis built multiple successful subsidiaries and grew the parent corporation to be a respected business organization throughout the State of Alaska. Curtis has worked extensively in the Native community, and with Fortune 100 and 400 National and International corporations, including many of Alaska’s corporate, local, State, and Federal leadership.

Curtis is a current Board Member of the Rasmuson Foundation, Alaska’s largest philanthropic foundation. Additionally, he serves as the Chairman of the advisory board overseeing the University of Alaska Anchorage Distinguished Rasmuson Chair of Economics. From 2013-2019 Curtis served as an Honorary Commander for Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson, the forward command for the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Army located in Anchorage Alaska.

“As a former CEO, a longtime supporter, and a former board member of ANVCA, I’m honored to join this incredible organization and support its mission to promote the success of our village corporations and the protection of our Native lands.”

Curtis is well known and respected for nurturing key relationships and has a proven track record of successful work with local, Federal and State governments, Tribes, and other businesses. Curtis is Tlingit from Southeast Alaska from the Eagle-Killer Whale Clan, is a Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska Tribal Citizen, a Sealaska Corporation shareholder and is an adopted member of the Native Village of Eklutna.