Impact Stories
“It’s in my blood, being a fisherman, and the understanding that our people, our Tahku kwaan, we depend culturally on salmon.”
- Jerry Jack from Salmon Resiliency interviews 2018, funded by TAC.
The Haa Aaní Tulatín TRTFN Land Guardian Program
Working in a cooperative partnership with the Taku River Tlingit Lands and Fisheries Departments TAC has functioned as a vehicle to develop, fund, and facilitate the implementation of various TRTFN programs required to fulfill the intent of the Wóoshtin Agreements, most notably the Haa Aaní Tulatín TRTFN Land Guardian Program.
The TRTFN Land Guardians acts as the eyes and ears on the traditional territory of the Taku River Tlingit First Nation, gathering information to inform decision makers, revitalizing Tlingit Kusteeyí (way of life), empowering Tlingit citizens, and asserting Tlingit authority on the land. The Land Guardians conduct regular monitoring patrols to observe, record and report information from out of the Traditional Territory, and they act as a liaison between TRTFN Government, Tlingit citizens, local Atlin residents, and the general public.
Lingit Yoo X’atangi Project
TAC has provided core funding to the Lingit Yoo X’atangi project led by Children of the Taku Society since 2019. This project has grown substantially each year to deliver effective Lingít language classes, Lingít Teacher Trainings, and is working to develop a comprehensive curriculum designed to help new learners become fluent in Lingít.
Since the Tlingit worldview and laws are held within the Lingít language, revitalizing the Lingít language is essential to protecting the land and culture of the Taku River Tlingit people.
Knowledge of the Lingít language strengthens community cultural identity and ensures the retention of generational knowledge necessary for stewarding the land through traditional laws and practices.
Tʼaaḵu Salmon Resiliency Initiative
The Tʼaaḵu Salmon Resiliency Initiative, led by the TRTFN Fisheries Department, aims to foster resiliency for salmon, people, and the Taku River Watershed. The initiative advances knowledge, relationships, and stewardship actions that link together cultural activities, collaborative field work, and western science methodologies with Taku River Tlingit traditional knowledge.
In the early days of the initiative, TAC played a central role by providing initial funding support and capacity to gather community input to better understand how the Taku River Tlingit people could ensure that cultural connections and relationships to salmon and the Taku River Watershed remain strong. TAC provided logistical and capacity support to the inaugural Salmon Ceremony held to acknowledge and honour the sacred ties to salmon.