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UA Participates in 2023 AFN Convention

The 2023 Alaska Federation of Natives Convention is underway in Anchorage this weekend, and UA students, staff, and faculty from around the state have been in attendance and participating. President Pitney participated in a panel discussion on Transforming Education on Thursday, and UA also provided attendees with the second Annual Report on the Alaska Native Success Initiative.

Read the full report: “Celebrating Indigenous Knowledge & Ways of Life”

AFN Denali Award Recognizes UAF’s Dr. Courtney Carothers

Also on Thursday, UAF College of Fisheries and Ocean Science (CFOS) faculty member Dr. Courtney Carothers received AFN’s 2023 Denali Award. The Denali Award recognizes the contributions of a non-Native person who has demonstrated strong commitment, dedication, and service to the Alaska Native community and to rural Alaska. 

Dr. Carothers has dedicated her career to collaborating with fishing communities across Alaska, aiming to gain deeper insights into the social and cultural aspects of fishery systems. Her focus is on enhancing education, research, and policy-making processes to ensure Indigenous perspectives are more inclusively considered. She actively partners with Indigenous communities to champion goals of social and environmental justice. 

Her contributions have significantly advanced various fields related to the study of human-environment relationships, cultural values, fairness, and overall well-being. She also helped develop the program supporting a first of several cohorts of Indigenous and allied students to pursue their graduate degrees in fisheries and marine sciences. She is also contributing to deep relational work to advance dialogues on racial equity and transform fisheries education in Alaska. 

Dr. Carothers continues her research into the social and cultural dimensions of fishery systems, including a significant long-term ethnographic study on the societal and community impacts of fisheries privatization. She has also been instrumental in serving on various international, national, and state boards and working groups. Her outstanding contributions have earned her numerous honors and awards, and her research projects have been widely published.

Congratulations, Dr. Carothers, and thank you for your dedicated work with Alaska’s Indigenous Peoples!