CIRI NON-PROFIT NEWS:
HEALTH, CULTURE, EDUCATION, SOCIAL PROGRAMS

Cook Inlet Tribal Council's Ninilchik Youth Reforestation Camp has completed another successful summer of spruce tree seedling planting. This is the second year of operation for what has become an innovative summer camp for Alaska Native youth ages 14 to 18.Camp activities engage youth in work ethic classes, life skills building, and a cultural exchange program. To date, more than 80,000 seedlings have been planted by some 83 camp participants. From June 11 through Aug. 15, 2001, five 10-day camp sessions were held with approximately 17 youth participating in each session. CIRI and the Kenai Peninsula Borough provide funding for the project while Cook Inlet Tribal Council's education department administers the program.

Camp participants work on a fish processing project.

Leroy Williams, project coordinator, is extremely proud of the students' overall performance and can easily recount some of the transformations witnessed at the end of the sessions and how much each student has grown.

Camp participants smoked salmon this summer.

A new addition to the camp this year was smoked fish processing training. The youth learned how to process and smoke red salmon donated by the Kenai Processing Plant. Smoked fish preparation included the process of cutting the fish into strips, hanging them in a smoker, smoking, jarring and then placing the jars in a pressure cooker for preserving. Participants also enjoyed presentations by local artists, Cook Inlet Tribal Council staff and other speakers brought in specifically for their knowledge, expertise and work with youth.

Last year's participants won the region's EPA Presidential Award. This year a group of three youth took on a special project involving the planting of trees on federal land leased by Marathon Oil near the Sterling area. This is an example of innovative plans by Cook Inlet Tribal Council for expanding the role of the camp and its participants.

The CIRI Foundation and Cook Inlet Tribal Council Collaborate on Higher Education

Cook Inlet Tribal Council's Tribal Higher Education Scholarship, Tribal Training Grant and Alyeska Match Scholarship programs have moved to The CIRI Foundation's offices at 2600 Cordova Street, Suite 206, in Anchorage. Although Cook Inlet Tribal Council's higher education programs and The CIRI Foundation will be located in the same office, the programs will remain independent of each other. The relocation improves the continuum of services for clients, many of whom are served by both The CIRI Foundation and Cook Inlet Tribal Council.

Ginger Hall

  Ginger Hall, Cook Inlet Tribal Council's financial aid counselor, is a CIRI descendant of Aleut heritage. She worked in various departments within Cook Inlet Tribal Council before moving to the education department to administer scholarship programs. Hall is excited about collaborating with The CIRI Foundation to improve the services provided to students. "My new location will provide more of a Œone-stop shop' model of services to our students," said Hall.

Ginger Hall may be reached at (907) 265-5904, toll free at 1(877) 985-5900, fax at (907) 561-3755, or by email at ghall@citci.com.

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