Chante, whose Yup’ik names are Naucetaaq and Migtuli, was born and raised on Dgheyay Kaq’ (Anchorage, Alaska) on the homelands of the Dena’ina, where she currently resides and is a Tribal member of the Aniak Traditional Council. Her maternal side of the family is from Aniak, a community along the Kuskokwim River in Southwestern Alaska.
As the manager for our Alaska Native Program, Chante fosters collaboration between our team and Alaska Native communities as well as non-profit organizations serving Alaska Natives. Chante’s job? She conducts community engagement, delivers technical assistance, completes grant writing, advises staff, and provides an internal Indigenous perspective for projects which involve or impact Alaska Native people.
Recently, Chante coordinated with our Anchorage office staff to provide beverages and volunteers to cook traditional foods for hundreds of attendees at the Native Village of Elkutna’s Biennial Powwow. This helped demonstrate our commitment to supporting and valuing the communities we work with.
When she isn’t managing programs or supporting skills-based volunteering in the community, Chante practices cultural activities. Foraging, fishing, berry picking, learning yuraq (Yup’ik dances), and generally just spending time on the land is extremely important for maintaining her family’s health and wellbeing.