An inter-tribal fish and wildlife commission whose members include the Native Village of Eyak has received a $20,000 grant to help fund a traditional foods assessment, as part of an overall community planning effort.
The grant to the Chugach Regional Resources Commission from First Nations Development Institute, in Longmont, Colo., came under the Native Agriculture and Food Systems Initiative, with support from the NoVo Foundation, in New York.
Each of the seven tribal members of the commission has been developing community plans, which include sections on food security, a first step in helping the tribes understand traditional food use, food consumption and purchasing habits of households within the region.
The traditional foods assessment will supplement the community plans to aid in responding to changing diets and disappearing traditional foods.
CRRC, established in 1984, is certified by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501
( c)(3) non-profit organization. The commission addresses environmental and natural resources issues of concern to its members, including heightened concern about contaminants in subsistence foods currently eaten by tribal members.
CRRC members also include the Tatitlek Village IRA Council, Port Graham Village Council, Nanwalek IRA Council, Chenega Bay IRA Council, Qutekcak Native Tribe, in Seward and the Valdez Native Tribe
