Central Council's Tribal Court is celebrating 10 years of providing a culturally-appropriate forum for tribal citizens to address their judicial needs and was recently featured in a KTOO article. The Tribal Court has grown from handling a short list of child support and paternity cases to approximately 1,000 open cases including protection orders, custody disputes and adoptions. Approximately 85 percent of all cases relate to child support. 

The Executive Council, Judiciary Committee and Tribal Court staff continue to work toward expanding and sustaining the Tribal Court and its judicial services. The Tribal Court is available for and has subject matter jurisdiction over a large range of civil and criminal issues including: adoptions, child custody, child support, child welfare, divorce, domestic violence, guardianships, marriage and paternity.

The Tribal Court’s judicial services are guided by the traditional values of respect, patience and the essential responsibility to safeguard the future of the Tribe by promoting healthy tribal families. 

To read the full article, please click here.

Head Start’s Administrative office has relocated to the second floor of the William G. Demmert Head Start Center located at 9095 Glacier Highway (formerly known as the Carmag Building). The Head Start administrative staff made the move following the sale of the old Head Start building on Douglas Island. The new center will also be the new location for two Head Start classrooms (Taashuka I and II) this coming Fall. 

Myrna Gardner, Business & Economic Development Manager, recently provided a full progress report on the Tlingit and Haida Cultural Immersion Park project during KINY radio station's Action Line program. In her report, Myrna beautifully describes the conceptual design for the cultural immersion park, the interactions that visitors will experience, the opportunities for our youth to learn and practice our Tlingit and Haida languages and art. She also reported on the estimated costs for construction and operation and funding concerns. To listen to the recorded interview, click here. 

Please consider showing your support for our Tlingit & Haida Cultural Immersion Park by making a donation today. All funds raised through GoFundMe will support the construction of the cultural immersion park and be used as a match for grant funds. 

On March 1st, Central Council’s Tribal Transportation department held their second meeting with Southeast Alaska Native Veterans to continue discussions on renovations to their memorial park located across from Central Council’s Andrew Hope Building. The March meeting served as an opportunity for veterans to meet directly with Chris Myrtle, an architect with Corvus Design, who the Tribal Transportation department has contracted to complete the memorial park redesign.

The Southeast Alaska Native Veterans Memorial Park currently includes a raven/eagle totem, a marble centerpiece, and six headstones that have the words ‘courage’ and ‘warrior’ scribed on the front in Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian. So far, plans include the installment of a series of plaques with the names of all Southeast Alaska Native veterans. Conceptual plans for the memorial park redesign are expected to be presented to the veterans at their next meeting with construction expected to start this summer.

For more information on the memorial park renovations, please contact the Tribal Transportation department at 1.800.344.1432 or 907.463.7763.

Through a new partnership with Alaska’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHS&EM), Central Council’s Public Safety department will be developing and implementing local emergency preparedness plans in the Southeast Alaska communities served under the State’s Village Public Safety Officer (VPSO) program. The partnership between the DHS&EM and Central Council is the first of its kind that creates a unique tribal jurisdiction in Southeast Alaska that will allow the Tribe to seek further emergency planning funding.

“Oftentimes the focus of emergency planning is on larger communities, but it’s just as important that our rural communities have emergency plans in place for prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery,” said Public Safety Manager Jason Wilson.

Sergeant Corey Padron has been promoted to the position of Emergency Management Coordinator to help partner communities in Southeast Alaska develop their local emergency preparedness plans.

"I am thrilled to be working with our partner communities on this important project," said VPSO Sgt. Padron. "As the Emergency Management Coordinator, I plan to work directly with other VPSOs and partner communities to first review and update any existing plans, create additional plans as necessary, and ensure everyone identified in each community’s plan understands their role and has the appropriate training to perform their duties. I will also be focusing on identifying training opportunities and grants to help Southeast Alaska’s communities increase their disaster resiliency."

To read the full press release, click here.

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