The Drumbeats Alaska Consortium was developed with support from the USDA, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Alaska Native-Serving and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions Education Competitive Grants Program (ANNH) to  implement the ANS project.  The goal of ANS is to advance place-based Alaska Native food and energy sovereignty (FES) through equitable education, with the following objectives:

1)  Advance Alaska Native representation and leadership in regional food and energy systems through culturally-appropriate, place-based education. 

2) Provide Alaska Native educational opportunities for youth to engage in leadership roles in food and energy sovereignty through academic and community-based partnerships; and

3) Further Alaska Native leadership in decision making and communication in FES through the development of an Indigenous Food and Energy Scholars Program. 

Drumbeats Alaska Consortium is comprised of academic and community outreach programs from five Alaska Native-Serving Institution  campuses within UAF College of Indigenous Studies:

• Sustainable Energy (SE) | Bristol Bay Campus - Dillingham
• Ethnobotany (EBOT) | Kuskokwim Campus - Bethel
• High Latitude Range Management (HLRM) | Northwest Campus - Nome
• Tribal Governance & Stewardship (TGS) | College of Indigenous Studies - Fairbanks
• Traditional Crafts and Native Language (TCNL) | Interior Alaska Campus - Fairbanks 
• Food Security & Sovereignty (FSS) | Chukchi Campus - Kotzebue

                                     

Left Photo: Bristol Bay Campus - Culture Camp teaching subsistence practices in Dillingham, AK.

Right Photo:  A Northwest Campus HLRM student studies the chemistry of tanning while examining salmon leather cured using the tannic acids extracted from willow and alder bark. The skills are applied to tanning reindeer hides.  

ANS strengthens educational capacity by supporting faculty to provide food, agricultural and natural resource systems and science curriculum. Faculty employ place-based Indigenous and Western knowledge to design and deliver curricula that increases relevance, while improving student recruitment and retention.

This multifaceted project provides education through distance delivery instruction, experiential learning and place-based instruction. ANS enhances student decision-making, communication and leadership skills to improve quality of life in their communities.  

                                               

Photo:  Alaska Native student (far right) building leadership skills testifying to the Alaska Board of Game for the protection of traditional moose hunting practices during Tribal Stewardship course.

^{This work is supported by the Alaska Native-Serving and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions Education Competitive Grants Program, [project award no. 2024-38470-43416], from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.}