Discover how three transformative laws — two federal and one state — are helping Alaska move toward energy independence. With climate shifts and rising energy costs impacting residents, these laws support innovative, resilient energy solutions that align with Alaska’s unique needs.
Spruce Root is making significant strides in sustainability and economic development! We’re thrilled to announce that Spruce Root has won Stage Two of the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition, positioning us to lead strategic development in our region. Additionally, the Coalition for Green Capital has chosen Spruce Root as its first network investment, underscoring our shared commitment to green growth initiatives.
Resilience Circles hosted there second intensive, three-day participant retreat for Indigenous entrepreneurs. Participants engaged in an array of in-person works sessions covering personal and business financial planning, marketing and branding, physical health and nutrition, Indigenous values exploration talking circle.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced late September that Spruce Root is a Stage Two winner for the 2024 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC). Spruce Root will receive a $150,000 cash prize for its approach to nurturing a collaborative national innovation ecosystem to advance small business research and development, from the idea stage to the market.
President Joe Biden awarded Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl with a 2023 National Humanities Medal at the White House. The award, from the National Endowment for the Humanities, honors an individual or organization whose work has deepened the nation’s understanding of the human experience, broadened citizen engagement with history and literature or helped preserve and expand Americans' access to cultural resources.
Two Southeast Alaska tourism businesses – Costa Brava, Bakery & Pâtisserie and New Earth Fungi – have been selected as the winners of the 2022 Path to Prosperity Competition. Each winner will be awarded $25,000 to grow their businesses. To commemorate their achievements, each will receive a Tlingit wall carving, hand-crafted by Brian Chilton, as part of the formal winners' announcement at the 2022 Mid-Session Summit hosted by Southeast Conference on Tuesday, January 31st.
You can now select Spruce Root as a charity through your PFD and Pick. Click.Give. Visit pickclickgive.org to learn more and access your MyAlaska account. Your support of Spruce Root through Pick.Click.Give allows us to provide critical support to small businesses and artists and to further our mission of building a regenerative Southeast Alaska through community and economic development.
Well, we made it. Another year in the books. And it's a big one for us -- celebrating our 10-year anniversary.
A lot has changed in 10 years. Some of our staff have moved on. We added new team members -- but the mission has stayed true to Southeast Alaska -- and we couldn't be prouder of its communities and the people we've collaborated with over the years. As we reflect on 2022 and our 10 years of service, we look forward to 2023 and all the possibilities it holds.
Your Spruce Root team has been busy in December. Most of our team were able to visit Yakutat, and plan our 2023 work year. Yakutat is such a beautiful community and we are so grateful for its hospitality. Special thanks to the Yakutat Tlingit Tribe for co-hosting a Culture Share Dinner and all the great community members who came out to say hi and share with us. For everyone that's in our Spruce Root community we hope you have safe and enjoyable holidays. Enjoy the newsletter!
The establishment of the Seacoast Trust represents a large-scale shift of investment and decision-making to the communities and peoples of Southeast Alaska. Grounded in Indigenous values, annual earnings from the Seacoast Trust will fund a different kind of conservation: one that understands people and communities are inseparable components of a healthy environment. If we want thriving rivers and forests, we need mechanisms that shift power and resources to the people living here.
Allison Mills manually drilled a bit into the base of a massive yellow cedar tree on Prince of Wales Island, in Southeast Alaska. The drizzly August day filled with the dull squeak of metal rubbing against wood. Once she reached the center of the tree, she gently pulled the delicate core sample free, lifted it to her face and inhaled the wood’s slightly spicy, medicinal scent. “I love the smell so much,” she said.
