Congratulations to CIRI Shareholder Tayler Higgins and CIRI Descendant Melissa Shaginoff! In October, both women received awards recognizing their positive contributions to our state and communities.
MELISSA SHAGINOFF
Governor’s Arts and Humanities Awards: Humanities Rising
The Governor’s Arts and Humanities Awards is an annual partnership among the Alaska Humanities Forum, the Alaska State Council on the Arts, the Alaska Arts and Culture Foundation, the Anchorage Museum, and the Office of the Governor to recognize and honor noteworthy contributions to the arts and humanities in Alaska.
CIRI Descendant Melissa Shaginoff (Ahtna and Paiute) received the 2025 Humanities Rising award, which recognizes a rising individual or organization whose efforts in connecting Alaskans through narratives, concepts and experiences are already having a significant positive impact in our communities.
Melissa’s interdisciplinary work bridges culture and creativity. She operates Kuzuundze’ ts’eghaanden (“the place where we make/destroy pretty things”), an Indigenous-centered studio-gallery that supports Elders, youth and emerging artists. She is also a founding member of Łuk’ae Tse’ Taas (Fish Head Soup) Comics and leads Dena’ina teh/theh eł Ahtna k’ae (“This is a Dena’ina and Ahtna place”), a project promoting language visibility and cultural reclamation in present-day Anchorage.
In addition to being a CIRI Descendant, Melissa is a citizen of the Chickaloon Village Traditional Council and the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, as well as a member of the Udzisyu (caribou) clan.
TAYLER HIGGINS
AFN Lu Young Leadership Award
Each year, the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) honors those who have made outstanding contributions to their families and the Native community. The Lu Young Youth Leadership award recognizes a young woman (aged 18-30) who demonstrates leadership qualities and a deep connection with Alaska Native culture and heritage. The award is named after the late Lu Young (Gwich’in Athabascan), wife of the late Alaska Congressman Don Young, who was heavily involved in her husband’s political career and served as an ambassador on Native issues.
For her involvement in youth programs, advocacy efforts and outreach initiatives, CIRI Shareholder Tayler Higgins (Yup’ik, Athabascan and Alutiiq/Sugpiaq) received the 2025 Lu Young Leadership Award.
Tayler’s areas of advocacy include climate justice, mental health, and ensuring low-income communities and their youth are included in leadership and community equity efforts. She was one of five young adults selected nationwide as a Champion for Change (2024), a leadership initiative with the Center for Native American Youth designed to highlight positive stories of impact in Indigenous communities. She has also served as an Indigenous youth advocate with the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), an Arctic youth ambassador with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and a youth cohort leader with Native Movement, among many other activities at the local, state and national level.
Tayler is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a minor in Alaska Native studies at UAA. She also works in CIRI’s Shareholder Relations department where she supports engagement and communication efforts that strengthen connections between Shareholders and Descendants and the Corporation. In addition to being a CIRI Shareholder, Tayler is an enrolled member of the Seldovia Village Tribe.
