Anchorage Assembly recognizes four Eklutna youth interns for Elders meal program

Four interns in the Native Village of Eklutna's Rural Youth Services program spent the summer fishing for salmon and preparing moose and porcupine for an Elders Freezer Meal program, then delivered the meals to Elders' homes. The Anchorage Assembly recognized that work Tuesday in sponsored by Assembly members Park and Silvers.

The interns also made improvements to the Eklutna clinic and food bank, the Russian Orthodox graveyard and the Eklutna playground, according to the resolution. They researched the history of Eklutna and the boarding school once in operation on site. They prepared cultural tourism speeches for visitors to the village.

The resolution states the interns are preparing for leadership on a planned Eklutna Youth Council that will relay youth concerns to the Eklutna Tribal Council.

Rural Youth Services is run with the Cook Inlet Tribal Council and serves seven Cook Inlet villages, including Eklutna. The resolution states the Native Village of Eklutna, working with the Cook Inlet Tribal Council, has pioneered and maintained four yearly youth programs for Alaska Native and Native American youth, providing life-skills and leadership training.

Anchorage and the tribe have held a formal government-to-government relationship since the Assembly approved AO 2020-137(S) on Jan. 14, 2021. The two bodies meet twice a year.