Ts’idahwdez’aan
Straighten things out by talking
In response to the environmental and social injustice suffered by Nay’dini’aa Na’ Kayax (Chickaloon Native Village) Tribal citizens, coupled with the passing of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) of 1971, Nay’dini’aa Na’ Kayax elders officially re-established and restructured according to United States federal guidelines the Chickaloon Village Traditional Council (CVTC) in 1973.
CVTC is part of the Ahtna Dene (Athabascan) Nation, and is a distinct, independent political community. As such, CVTC is qualified, and exercises powers of self-governance, by reason of original Tribal sovereignty as passed down from their Dene ancestors since time immemorial. CVTC has not ceded, terminated, extinguished, or relinquished their original, possessory, and indigenous rights or jurisdictional territory. CVTC has the power and authority to act on behalf of Nay’ dini’aa Na’ Kayax. CVTC is a federally recognized Tribal Government in Alaska (Federal Register, Volume 47, Number 227, November 24, 1982 and reaffirmed in Federal Register, Volume 58, Number 202, October 21, 1993), with the full power and authority to negotiate with the United States government on a nation-to-nation basis.
CVTC’s mission is to perpetuate its ancestors’ beliefs, customs, traditions, and values and steward the environment to help its citizens to thrive.
In recent years, the Tribal citizens of Nay’dini’aa Na’ Kayax have begun having conversations about their complicated history because of colonization, and political and social influences. These external influences had negative effects on many Tribal citizens resulting in historic and intergenerational complex traumas, including the breakdown of family systems, and loss of Ahtna language and cultural lifeways. These are difficult and painful conversations, however, for many Tribal citizens, acknowledgment and freedom from these past traumas has led to an awakening of spirit and revitalization of the Ahtna language and culture.
CVTC and its Tribal citizens strive to live by the core values of showing gha t’ine’esen (care and love) for each other, and honoring łudołniił (self-sufficiency), ugheli ilaen (honesty), dlo’ dadedlii (humor) and udiia łudakudo’ohnii (respect). With these key values in mind, the CVTC government asserts the Tribe’s right to self-determination by operating a variety of programs and services for the benefit of Tribal citizens and the surrounding community including: health and social services, elder advocacy and healthy foods, affordable housing, Ahtna language and cultural education, scholarships, rural youth services employment and training, cultural resources and tourism, land stewardship and restoration, Tribal historic preservation and archeology, a Tribal community police force and traditional Tribal court, and transportation and transit.
