Following the lead of our people than two decades ago, as the Alaska Native Sobriety Movement at the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention, more Alaskans are celebrating sober living and trying to break down stigmas that might surround sobriety – both for those who are in addiction recovery and those who don’t choose to use drugs or alcohol at all. In Alaska, March has been designated as Sobriety Awareness Month, an opportunity to celebrate living sober, healthy lifestyles and encourage ...

When the call for nominations came out for IHS Technician of the Year, a large number of employees at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC), thought of the same person at the same time: Jolene “JoJo” Chikigak. Chikigak is a certified pharmacy technician and currently serves as the Pharmacy Compliance Technician for Alaska Native Medical Center (ANMC), the largest IHS hospital in the nation. She is the first technician to fulfill this new role for the organization, and she ...

This story appeared in the April – June 2019 edition of the Mukluk Telegraph. Read more stories from the latest issue here. This May, the 12th annual Youth Environmental Summit (YES) will convene in Kluti-Kaah, Alaska. YES is a day camp held in the Copper River region for youth in kindergarten to eighth grade, where participants learn about climate change, the environmental history of the area, and the importance of environmental stewardship. Gakona Village Council started the Summit in 2008 ...

September is recognized as Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. This year, ANTHC is participating in a number of awareness events throughout the month to help start conversations about suicide and raise awareness. We can all prevent suicide and help save a life. If you need immediate help or someone you know is in crisis or having thoughts of suicide, please talk to someone you trust, call 911 or call the Alaska Careline at 1-877-266-4357. The Alaska Careline Crisis line is here ...

September is National Recovery Month. Observing Recovery Month helps to increase awareness and understanding of substance use disorders, increase knowledge of recovery resources, and provide support by sharing personal stories of addiction and recovery. The theme for Recovery Month 2019 is Join the Voices for Recovery: Together We Are Stronger. Recovery is a lifelong process of improving health and well-being while living independently. Many people suffering from addiction achieve sobriety, but recovery can be more difficult. Recovery involves changing your outlook ...

Community. Culture. Connections. In Kwethluk, Alaska, a larger-than-life painting celebrates all this and more. The colorful mural is the result of a nationwide project called Water is Life and is one of many pieces of art that have sprung up in Tribal community centers and on water storage tanks in communities in Alaska and Montana. The murals are a celebration of the importance of water in Alaska Native and American Indian traditions and history. But it is not the only ...