Angoon Alive Project

Why have a bunch of Philadelphians partnered with Angoon and Alaskan citizens to revitalize and bring Angoon Alive?

Three years ago, Aaron Campbell — who is of Native-American descent and no foreigner to helping the needy-and-neglected, in his ten years of inner-city ministry — had been invited on a once-in-a-lifetime fishing trip to Alaska. While on that trip, he found himself exposed to a whole new world. And beyond the snowcapped mountains, killer whales, brown bears, and salmon, it was the world of the wonderful Tlingit natives (pronounced “Klink-it”), of a small village called Angoon, or in the Tlingit language, “Kootznoowoo” (fortress of the bears).

Angoon is located in Southeast Alaska’s, “Inside Passage.” It lies 55 miles southwest of Juneau, and 41 miles northeast of Sitka. Accessible only by seaplane or a five-to-seven-hour ferry, Angoon is literally, “in the middle of nowhere.” Sadly, this contributes to it being a village of “No:” There is No doctor, No hospital, No bank, No ATM machine, No police officer, No fast food, No jobs, and as some of them say, No hope.

But yet, even amidst the rampant bootlegging and alcoholism, 40% living below the poverty level, and some 87% unemployment, the people of Angoon remain some of the warmest, most hardworking, and self-sacrificing people you could ever have the pleasure of meeting.

Welcome to a village where some of its own fishermen have risked their lives in saving drowning boaters before their local Coast Guard was even notified—and in tiny boats, at that. Welcome to a village who’s renowned artwork sits on major display at both The Smithsonian Institute of Washington, D.C., and New York City’s, Museum of Natural History. Welcome to a village where a person’s worth is based, not on how much they have, but on how much they give away. Welcome to the village of the priceless smile. The village of “No quitting!”

However, there is still much pain there. A crisis has crossed over from benign to malignant, and Angoon needs your help!

How are we going to bring Angoon Alive?

We are blessed to have some very smart people, with differing professional and educational backgrounds commit to achieving the vision of Angoon Alive Project.  After much discussion and analysis internally and externally with partners, government and local representatives,  and donors, we have settled on the following 4 modules for bringing Angoon Alive:

Education – AAP will begin in the classroom, with a curriculum of free entrepreneurship and community life skills courses.  One class will focus on helping Angoonians think creatively about skills and products they will like to develop into businesses,  and another class will work with people who have honed in on an idea to develop a detailed, actionable business plan. A third class will focus on community development and preservation, with case studies on other Native American revitalization stories.  And many other such classes…

Micro-credit and mentoring – In our quest to develop a sustainable model, we feel it is imperative to provide the resources for entrepreneurs to succeed – in particular, funding and mentorship. Therefore, we will have a microfinance fund and venture incubation hub that selects cohorts of entrepreneurs and works with them to launch their businesses, and provide financing, mentorship, group discussion sessions, and troubleshooting help with problems that arrive.

Farmers Market – Another facet of Angoon’s sustainable model is our Farmer’s market. The farmer’s market will be operated by natives and will enable entrepreneurs to sell their homemade jams, their native “fry bread,” smoked salmon and halibut, seal and deer meat, herring eggs, as well as their renowned beadwork, woodwork, and artwork. Additionally, this native-owned and operated store will loosen the financial noose on members of the community by removing the monopoly power of the current non-native grocery store.

Youth scholarships and development program – We believe the future of Angoon lives with the young.  Thus, we will invest in the Youth of Angoon by providing scholarships and youth mentorship and development opportunities.    The youth will have opportunities to intern in the Farmers Market, learn early about entrepreneurship and most importantly, have scholarships available to them to achieve the highest form of education.