CARES Act funds new virtual training programs for Southeast Alaska Tribal citizens

The Andrew Hope building houses offices for the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska in Juneau.

The Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska received a $150,000 investment from the federal government this week. The money comes from the U.S. Department of Commerce as part of its CARES Act Recovery assistance program. It’s intended to directly assist Tribal citizens.

The council plans to purchase equipment to provide virtual training classes for citizens.

“We recognize, you know, the economic injury people are experiencing during COVID and we want to ramp up and be a resource to our Tribal citizens and to the community at large,” said Sarah Dybdahl who works with the Tribe’s vocational training program.

Dybdahl says the council also plans to create a lending library for the equipment and resources people will need to participate.

“Not all of our Tribal citizens will have the equipment, you know, on hand to participate,” she said. “And one of the things that we are working to do is to have a lending library. So if they need a laptop, we can loan a laptop.”

The council is also currently looking into getting citizen feedback on what educational opportunities are relevant to them. That may include language and arts training classes.

Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said in a statement that the funds are intended to help Tlingit and Haida “make a swift and lasting economic comeback.”

The grant funds are part of a national funding effort by the Department of Commerce to assist Native organizations responding to the pandemic.

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