Yakutat ANB Camp President Devlin Anderstrom delivers the keynote speech Wednesday (10-5-16) at the Alaska State Brotherhood and Sisterhood Grand Camp Convention in Juneau. (Photo by Ed Schoenfeld/CoastAlaska News)
A 19-year-old Yakutat man says the state’s oldest Native organizations are taking important steps to reach out to young people.
But they need to do more, he says.
Devlin Anderstrom was the keynote speaker at this year’s Alaska Native Sisterhood and Brotherhood Grand Camp Convention.
He spoke Wednesday to leaders and delegates gathered in Juneau.
“I’m just a young man, but even though I’m young, you still wanted to hear my voice,” he said. “And that shows that you really care what your children and your grandchildren think and how they feel in the present situation, and what we think about how we can improve our situation.”
Anderstrom is president of his hometown’s Alaska Native Brotherhood chapter and teaches Tlingit language and art at Yakutat High School.
He praised efforts to support and expand Native rights and culture.
But he said those efforts need to grow.
“It’s … important that we get all of our youth involved in not only furthering their education in the Western sense, but also in the cultural sense,” he said. “Because it’s that base, that identity, that I have that is my drive and my motivation to do well and to succeed and to help the Tlingit people.”
Alaska Native Sisterhood Grand Camp President Johanna Dybdahl, left, and Alaska Native Brotherhood Grand Camp President Sasha Soboleff listen during convention proceedings Wednesday. (Photo by Ed Schoenfeld, CoastAlaska News
The Alaska Native Sisterhood and Brotherhood are each more than 100 years old.
And most attending the convention are in their 50s, 60s or 70s.
But this year, Anderstrom was joined by other, younger delegates.
He said that’s important.
“When our children know who they are, then they’ll have something to fight for and they’ll fight for it. They’re going to want to further their education. They’re going to want to do everything they can to help the Tlingit people,” he said.
The ANB-ANS convention continues in Juneau through Saturday. The convention’s theme is, “Bridging the Past, Present and Future with Our Youth.”
Hear Anderstrom’s full speech:
