Andrew Guy, Calista President and CEO
Storyknife, January/February 2026 edition
Calista Corporation hosted its third annual Yukon-Kuskokwim Youth Summit on December 2, 2025. The Y-K Youth Summit stems from a Board set goal to host a youth-oriented event to learn about ANCSA, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
ANCSA was signed into law in December 1971 to settle aboriginal land claims in Alaska and formed regional and village Alaska Native Corporations. The corporations’ primary goals were to promote the socio-economic well-being of their respective regions or communities, to select and be stewards of a portion of Alaska Native homelands and to be successful for-profit organizations.
More than 50 years since becoming law, ANCSA remains a mystery to many Alaskans despite its profound impact.
We want to increase transparency and educate our younger generations on ANCSA. We host the one-day Y-K Youth Summit to go over the history of the Region, and before and after contact with Western cultures.
Students learned about the challenges we’ve faced over the decades since first contact and the opportunities we have under ANCSA. We took a closer look into our lives before, how it evolved, and challenges of adopting a land ownership mindset in relation to our traditions.
We want to increase transparency and educate our younger generations on ANCSA.
The summit provides perspective to our youth as we delve into our cultural traditions, historical land claims and Tribal self-determination. Students even break into groups into a mock Alaska Federation of Natives session to see what it was like when AFN first originated in 1966 before the passage of ANCSA.
Students as groups discussed what is important to them today and what is important to them as Alaska Natives aimed at preserving Alaska Native cultures, languages and ways of life. Students learned how AFN began and how we’ve advocated for our priorities like Alaska Native land rights, subsistence rights, self-governance and infrastructure, among many evolving priorities.
The first two youth summits were held in Bethel in 2023 and in Anchorage in 2024, respectively. This year’s Youth Summit coincided with the Y-K Regional Tribal Government summit the day before.
Quyana to the Tribes and to the Kusilvak Career Academy for your participation. This year saw the participation of over 30 youth from the Region. Thank you to our staff for continuing this learning opportunity for our next generation. Quyana.