‘Cultural Warriors’ is a new mentoring program based on a traditional model

Note: The application deadline for Sealaska Heritage Institute’s Cultural Warriors program is Thursday, May 22. Applicants must be male, aged 16-22. Apply online.

This is something that is quite different from many western societies: In Lingít culture, children fall into their mother’s moiety – or her clan, as it’s often explained to visitors wondering about the prevalence of the Eagle and Raven crests in town.

This is why uncles – rather than fathers – take precedence when it comes to cultural education.

Joe Zuboff is with the Sealaska Heritage Institute.

“Within our culture, we always send our younger men off with their uncles to teach them war tactics, or finding food, and how to preserve food and to learn to share the food that they get within their community,” said Zuboff, “ in order to teach them to give back, so that they have a understanding of what it means to be a part of a community.”

Zuboff says the program, called Cultural Warriors, has been in development for a few years, and it’s not about recreating the past. Zuboff says it’s about creating a future for young men aged 16 to 22.

“We want them to succeed in life, because we’re losing a lot of young men today with other things that are holding them back,” he said.

Cultural Warriors will be available beginning this summer in Sitka, Angoon, Haines, Hoonah, Hydaburg, Juneau, Kake, and Klukwan. Uncles have already stepped forward in each of those communities.

Robert Miller is the uncle in Sitka.

“It’s not a job,” said Miller, “It’s just being a good person and trying to help people. That’s how I look at it. I had some experiences that, if I can help other young men avoid,that would feel like a big win.”

Miller is well known in Sitka as a seal and sea otter hunter, who tans and sews hides. But he’s adept in deer hunting and fishing, too, and just about every other facet of surviving and thriving in Southeast Alaska. Sealaska Heritage did not have to work very hard to persuade him to lend a hand to help the region’s young men.

“I think I’m just going to try to pour my heart and soul into it and try to show them a path that maybe they weren’t going down before,” he said.

Sealaska Heritage is hoping for eight applicants for the two open slots in each town. Again, the age range is 16 to 22, and applicants do not have to be Lingit, or even Alaska Native.

Joe Zuboff says the model is flexible, and can be tailored to the goals of the applicant.

“We’re just looking for those men that aren’t sure what they want to do yet,” he said, “and while they’re waiting to figure out what they want to do, we want to get them out there learning how to hunt and fish and preserve the food and feed their elders and their parents – and live life.”

Robert Miller recently retired from the Forest Service, where he spent considerable time in the field on all types of projects, often supervising an inexperienced, seasonal workforce. He’s seen what happens when a young person begins to gain competency in the outdoors, and he’s eager to help his two “nephews” succeed.

“My biggest reward is not finishing the million-dollar fish pass in the middle of nowhere with a crew,” said Miller. “The big reward at the end is that the crew can now go on in life with these skills they’ve learned: about how to work hard and how to work as a team and all that stuff. So it’s a pretty important thing.”

Cultural Warriors pays a stipend to successful applicants, and also pays an incentive to those who stay in. The program also fully equips participants with all the gear needed to keep up with someone like Robert Miller, which they can keep on the completion of the program.

‘Cultural Warriors’ is a new mentoring program based on a traditional model

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