Job Summary
The Indigenous Food Sovereignty Coordinator strengthens Tribal Members’ traditional Ways of Life by maximizing access to hunting, fishing, gathering, and trapping, and by ensuring the knowledge of these practices is passed on to future generations. This position coordinates all harvesting, preservation, and distribution programs for KIC, including the operation of shared resources such as the KIC Smokehouse. The Coordinator leads seasonal harvesting projects, manages equipment and community resources, and develops opportunities for Tribal Members to participate directly in traditional food systems. The Coordinator also organizes and teaches educational workshops, subsistence trainings, and Culture Camp activities that connect youth, families, and Elders on the land and waters. By weaving together traditional knowledge, cultural practices, and hands-on learning, the Coordinator ensures that Tribal Members not only have access to traditional foods but also the skills to prepare, preserve, and share them. This role is central to advancing food sovereignty within KIC, fostering intergenerational connections, strengthening health and wellness through traditional diets, and supporting the resilience of Our Ways of Life.
Job Duties & Responsibilities
- Lead harvesting, processing, and distribution of traditional foods, including Local Food Purchase Assistance, seafood distribution (e.g., herring roe harvest), and other food sovereignty projects such as aquaculture, mariculture, and community gardening.
- Spend significant time on the land and waters with Tribal Members, ensuring youth and families have hands-on opportunities to learn harvesting, preparation, and preservation techniques.
- Oversee use and operations of the KIC smokehouse, with the long-term goal of expanding its use across departments (e.g., Elders Program, community food sharing).
- Collaborate with the KIC Communications Team to promote awareness about the health, cultural, and spiritual benefits of traditional foods and highlight food sovereignty successes through newsletters, social media, and community events.
- Organize and teach subsistence activities at Culture Camp, with a focus on intergenerational transfer of knowledge from Elders to youth.
- Work across KIC departments to find ways to collect and archive Elders’ traditional subsistence knowledge through oral histories, fieldwork, and cultural documentation.
- Work with the Cultural Resources Director to find ways to integrate traditional subsistence knowledge into educational workshops and trainings.
- Support the Cultural Resources Director in guiding stewardship crews with land and water restoration, habitat monitoring, and fish/wildlife data collection.
- Assess community needs for resources and equipment (e.g., boats, smokehouses, nets, processing tools), and develop solutions to reduce barriers to access.
- Coordinate and mentor volunteers, interns, and youth participants on harvesting, restoration, and food distribution projects.
- Develop and deliver subsistence workshops, community trainings, and seasonal harvesting events to ensure traditional practices are passed down.
- Work with the KIC’s Natural Resources Department to track population dynamics and harvest trends of key cultural foods (e.g., hooligan, herring, seaweed, halibut, and salmon) and share findings with Tribal Members in accessible ways.
- Provide cultural and technical input on harvest openings and closures, advocating for Tribal perspectives with managing entities.
- Create and expand MOUs/MOAs with management agencies to protect Tribal harvesting data and strengthen co-management.
- Support co-management of sea otters and other species with Tribal governments and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
- Prepare and submit end-of-season reports, data, charts, and updates for the Tribal Council and funding agencies.
- Collaborate with the Our Way of Life Committee to draft policies, comment letters, and resolutions that reflect community priorities.
- Assist with grant writing and program management to support subsistence, harvesting, and cultural food projects.
- Respond to inquiries on program regulations, policies, and procedures as directed.
- Perform other related duties as assigned.
Necessary Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Deep knowledge of Southeast Alaska Indigenous Ways of Life, including traditional hunting, fishing, gathering, trapping, food preservation, and seasonal cycles.
- Ability to teach and pass on traditional food practices to youth and families in culturally appropriate, hands-on settings.
- Skill in operating and maintaining equipment used in harvesting and preservation (e.g., boats, nets, smokehouses, canning, drying, and smoking tools).
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills for working respectfully with Elders, engaging youth, and fostering intergenerational learning.
- Cultural competency and sensitivity when working with Tribal Members, ensuring that teaching and harvesting activities reflect and uphold KIC values.
- Ability to organize and coordinate community harvesting events, workshops, and cultural camps.
- Knowledge of traditional food safety practices alongside modern food handling standards.
- Basic record-keeping and reporting skills to document harvest data, distribution, and program outcomes.
- Ability to work outdoors in challenging conditions (rough terrain, inclement weather, harvesting environments) while maintaining safety.
- Strong organizational skills with the ability to balance field-based responsibilities and administrative tasks.
- Commitment to teamwork, collaboration, and building partnerships with other KIC departments (e.g., Elders Program, Health, Education).
- Demonstrated reliability, accountability, and respect for community resources and equipment.
- Effective communication; ability to ensure important information is passed to those who need to know; convey necessary information with respect, clearly and effectively orally or in writing.
KIC Competencies
Cultural Competency: To be respectful and responsive to the health beliefs, practices, and cultural and linguistic needs of KIC Tribal Members. Developing cultural competence is an evolving, dynamic process that takes time and occurs along a continuum.
Commitment: To serve Tribal Members and set a high standard for yourself in your performance; strive for results and success; convey a sense of urgency and bring issues to closure; and stay persistent despite obstacles and opposition.
Customer Service: Meet/exceed the expectations and requirements of internal and external customers; identify, understand, and monitor the needs of both internal and external customers; always talk and act with customers in mind; and recognize working colleagues as customers.
Effective Communication: Ensure important information is passed to those who need to know; convey necessary information with respect, clearly and effectively orally or in writing.
Responsiveness and Accountability: Demonstrate a high level of conscientiousness; hold oneself personally responsible for one's own work; and do the required fair share of work.
Working Conditions
The physical demands described here are representative of those that an employee must meet to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these functions.
While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to stand and/or sit. The work requires regular and recurring physical exertion related to rough terrain, carrying equipment, climbing steep banks, wading in shifting lake/stream beds, and gathering vegetation for sampling, which includes repetitive upper body motions, bending and twisting to inspect boats and trailers. The employee is occasionally required to walk, sit, climb, or balance. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 25 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, peripheral vision, and depth perception. The noise level in the work environment is usually average.
Conditions of Hire
- May be required to possess and maintain a valid driver's license or capable of obtaining one, as well as be insurable by KIC’s company insurance.
- KIC is a Drug-Free Workplace. All employees must adhere to KIC drug and alcohol policies and procedures to ensure a safe workplace. Employees must pass a pre-employment and subsequent random and/or for-cause drug and alcohol screening to be eligible for and maintain employment.
- KIC has several positions that must comply with the P.L. 101-630 Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Protection Act (ICPA); all employment offers in the "covered" classification are conditional until KIC has received a Federal criminal background check verifying eligibility to work in these programs.