Ivalu Blanchett, Empowering Our Shareholders
Storyknife, March/April 2025 edition
Ivalu Blanchett, a Calista Shareholder and intern in 2024 & 2025 with ties to Nunapitchuk and Bethel, is attaining her undergraduate degree with a career goal to support Alaska Native Corporation Shareholders.
Blanchett is currently working toward her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, with plans to continue her education for a Master of Public Administration from the University of Alaska Southeast.
Blanchett says she wants to work at a Native corporation or in a government setting to help Native people. Her first internship last year with the Calista Legal Department opened her eyes to the possibilities on where to take her career.
Blanchett grew up in Anchorage with village ties to Bethel and Nunapitchuk on her dad’s side and ties to the Greenlandic Inuit culture on her mom’s side. Her favorite cultural activity is yuraq, or Yup’ik style dance.
“I love to visit the Native hospital when I’m in Anchorage and yuraq with the community,” Blanchett says. “I’d love to learn how to hunt in the future, but I will always remember summers at fish camp with my family.”
Blanchett grew up going out to her family’s traditional fish camp near Bethel with no electricity and no running water. She says the traditional life felt natural and free.
“I didn’t realize it when I was younger at the time how impactful and how special it was to go to fish camp,” Blanchett says. “It was so great to learn our traditional ways and connect with my family and community.”
As Blanchett continues with her degree, she is considering applying to the Calista internship again because she says it made her a better student.
“The [Legal] internship allowed me to work on projects that I felt mattered to me and the [Calista] community,” she says. “Projects I’m passionate about helped pinpoint what I want to learn, and it gave me a reason to learn it.”
Blanchett says leaving Alaska to pursue a degree helped her realize how much she loves Alaska and how much she wants to be part of the community.
“Pursuing higher education helped me appreciate where I come from,” Blanchett says. “Having those ties to the Region motivated me to keep going and gave me something to work towards.”