Sun'aq Tribe of Kodiak

Sun'aq Tribe of Kodiak

 312 W Marine Way , Kodiak, AK
(907) 486-4449
blschwantes@sunaq.org
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The Sun’aq Tribe of Kodiak (STK) is a federally-recognized Alaska Native Tribe located within the City of Kodiak on Kodiak Island in the north-western edge of the Gulf of Alaska. Archaeological evidence shows an Alutiiq presence on the island for over 8000 years and confirms the sophistication of the Alutiiq culture and subsistence activities. The STK’s traditional homelands, as identified in Tribal Resolution No. 2010-35, encompasses an area of nearly 75,000 square miles of land and sea.

Sunaq-Dancer-12-2015The Sun’aq Tribe of Kodiak’s mission and member services seek to address current Tribal issues while creating wholesome opportunities for Tribal health and growth. The STK takes pride in assisting Tribal members in achieving their personal and professional goals. The programs offered by the Tribe are multi-faceted, and aimed at serving the community and circumventing, mitigating, and forwarding solutions to issues surrounding Tribal justice, community safety, juvenile delinquency, and victimization issues. The STK programs and services are primarily supported through Federal 477 contracts and grants. The Tribe currently employs 17 people in the following departments: Social Services, Natural Resources, Program Services, Transportation, and Administration.

Over two-thirds of the Alaska Native population living in the Kodiak archipelago are members of the Sun’aq Tribe of Kodiak, which is the largest of the 10 federally-recognized Tribes in the area and the largest Alaska Native community in the Gulf of Alaska. The Tribe serves 1,738 Tribal members who live on the Island’s road system.

We are dedicated to rebuilding our traditional political and cultural institutions and practices. Our tribe strives to build and support Sun’aq Tribal unity, cultural identity, and life ways.

We are one of 10 Alutiiq tribes that lived in large coastal villages along the shores of the Alaska Peninsula, the Kenai Peninsula, and the Kodiak Archipelago 7,500 to 8,000 years ago. Our people settled permanently where the city of Kodiak is now located about 2,500 years ago and interacted regularly with other tribes throughout the archipelago.

Our ancestors followed an elaborate maritime subsistence lifestyle of hunting, fishing, and gathering throughout the year. Subsistence has special meaning for Alaska Natives and refers to a way of living that emphasizes the importance of respecting the land and its resources, as well as acknowledging a connection to the natural world.