Indigenous Health Equity and Economic Well Being: A Case Study of Alaska Native Resilience Circles

 
 
 

Our team of Indigenous innovators presented a deep dive into the Resilience Circles project unfolding in Southeast Alaska.

They shared how we are building on 10 years of Alaska Native leadership and regional impact by Spruce Root, Southeast Sustainable Partnership, and SeaCoast Trust. Looking toward the future, Resilience Circles are now a central project of our regional Indigenous-led movement for healing and regenerative economies designed to integrate health equity and economic well-being approaches. Our approach is fundamentally centered on regenerative economics, Indigenous cultural values, and healing collective trauma in service to building healthy, scalable Indigenous-led enterprises. If you want to go deeper into Catalyzing Healing in South Alaska, this recent article is a great place to start.  

Resilience Circles was launched with major initial investments from the Well Being Trust Foundation, One Small Planet Foundation, and JumpScale. In 2024, we are mobilizing a new group of strategic partners, research partners, and resource partners to ensure the growth and sustainability of the Resilience Circles program. 

Event highlights: 

  • A welcome to Indigenous Southeast Alaska Innovation with Alana Peterson (Tlingit) of Spruce Root

  • 2023 Impacts and Beyond with Alexis Bunten (Unangan/Yup’ik) and Lisa Nelson (Tlingit/Eyak) 

  • Testimonial from an Alaska Native business owner participating in the Resilience Circles program

  • Measurement Tools for Indigenous Economic Well Being. Application of the Intergenerational & Reciprocal Resilience Framework™ with Sharnel Vale-Jones Yaagál (Tlingit).

Lisa Nelson, Resilience Circles Director

Lisa Nelson (Tlingit/Eyak) graduated from Evergreen State University with a degree in psychology. Driven by her passion for creating positive change within communities, Lisa continues to hone her expertise in addressing trauma, particularly in Native communities, where she strives to promote healing and growth. With her work, she empowers individuals to overcome adversity and build resilience. Lisa finds immense joy in her role as a mother to two beautiful daughters and currently calls picturesque Juneau home. She loves the outdoors, and being on the water brings her tranquility.

Sharnel Vale-Jones, Ph.D., Research Consultant

Sharnel Vale-Jones, Ph.D. (Yaagál) is Lingít, Kwaashk’IKwáan (Raven, Humpy Salmon), Dis hítdaxáyáxat (Moon house) from Yakutat. She holds a B.A. in Counseling Psychology and is currently in the third year of her Clinical-Community Psychology Ph.D. program. She spent 9 years with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium serving Alaska Native people through various roles ranging from networking to rural energy efficiency to tobacco prevention counseling. She also has provided community mental health services to adults, children, and families since Fall 2020.

Alana Peterson, MBA, Spruce Root Executive Director

Gah Kith Tin Alana Peterson is Tlingit from Diginaa Hit, Luknhadi, and grew up and lives in Sitka, Alaska. Alana has more than ten years of experience in education and training business development. She served as a program director at Haa Aani LLC, a Sealaska Corporation subsidiary, which would spin off into its own 501(c)3 as Spruce Root Inc. In 2021, Spruce Root was recognized and received a Native CDFI Seed Capital Award for delivering one-on-one technical assistance to startups and entrepreneurs and helping support them in applying for Spruce Root’s micro-loan program.

Alexis Bunten, Ph.D., JumpScale General Partner

Alexis Bunten (Unangan/Yup’ik) has served as a program director, media-maker, consultant, and applied researcher for over 20 years. Her expertise includes Indigenous-led economic development, organizational decolonization, and cross-cultural communications. Alexis has received recognition and awards from the US National Science Foundation, the Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Bristol Bay Native Corporation, and the Native American Film and Television Awards, among many others. Her first children’s book, “Keepunumuk, Weachumun’s Thanksgiving Story,” published by Charlesbridge Press, was released in August 2022, and has been awarded the New England Book Award.

Daniel Roth, JumpScale General Partner & Co-Founder

Daniel Roth is an experienced social entrepreneur, movement strategist, and integrative healthcare professional focused on sustainable development, indigenous cultural revitalization, and healing arts. Over the last two decades, he has launched over a dozen non-profit organizations, campaigns, and coalitions. Prior, he served as Director of the Cornell Campus Sustainability Office, started New York's first car-share business, and served as a Board Member of the U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development.

 
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