The Alaska Native Heritage Center announces inaugural Community Recognition awards; Paul Tiulana Elder Award and Autumn Apok Ridley Youth Recognition Award
(April 14, 2023 – Anchorage, Alaska) As a statewide cultural and educational center, the Alaska Native Heritage Center (ANHC) values the guidance and impact that we receive from our Alaska Native community. In honor of ANHC’s mission, we are elated to share the establishment, naming, and first honorees of two community recognition awards. The first award established is the Paul Tiulana Award (Present and Posthumous) that recognizes an Elder whose visionary guidance aligns with our mission to preserve and strengthen the traditions, languages, and art of Alaska’s Native peoples. This award is named after the late Paul Tiulana who shared his vision for an Alaska Native place for all cultures and peoples leading to the establishment of the Alaska Native Heritage Center. The 2023 recipient of the inaugural Paul Tiulana Award is the late Dr. Oliver Aveogan Leavitt (Iñupiaq) of Utqiagvik. Dr. Leavitt was an influential man of the 20th century for not only Iñupiat but for all Alaska Natives and he will be dearly missed and always remembered.
Dr. Oliver Aveogan Leavitt was an Iñupiaq leader from Utqiagvik. Oliver was an integral part of the formation of the North Slope Arctic Borough, the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, and the development of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. He served for over two decades on the boards of the Alaska Federation of Natives and the Arctic Slope Native Association, and on the North Slope Borough Assembly, being elected its first president. He was elected to the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation Board of Directors in 1972, serving as treasurer and chairman, and was Vice-President of Lands and Government Affairs. He was also a whaling captain, an Umialik, who hunted selflessly to feed the community. Dr. Leavitt was an influential man of the 20th century for not only Iñupiat but for all Alaska Natives and he will be dearly missed and always remembered.
The second community award has been named the Autumn Apok Ridley Award and recognizes a youth age 0- 27-years-old whose spirit of love for their culture and ways of life are exemplified in their learning and sharing of these teachings. This award recognizes a youth who has dedicated their life and is fearless in their cultural pride and identity. This award is named after the late Autumn Apok Ridley, a former ANHC intern and Alaska Native Gamer, who first learned the Alaska Native Games at the Alaska Native Heritage Center and went on to become a world record holder in numerous Native Games. Autumn was unapologetic in her love for culture and learning from others; she shared these teachings with millions of visitors and relatives worldwide. The 2023 recipient of the inaugural Autumn Apok Ridley award is Sam Schimmel (Siberian Yupik/Kenaitze Indian) of Gambell, Kenai and Seattle.
Sam Schimmel is an Indigenous, passionate, fearless youth advocate who is Siberian Yupik and Kenaitze Indian who spent his childhood listening and learning from his Elders; and his undergraduate college years at Stanford University focused on Earth Systems and Public Policy. He is incredibly passionate about learning and sharing perspectives and facts with others about Arctic environmental changes, advocacy and access to resources, and the need for effective leadership that impacts Native subsistence. In response to food security needs, he founded Operation Fish Drop to support families in need of this critical resource.
“These awards are just one way we are able to publicly honor our cherished Elders and youth who have made an imprint on our hearts and our Native communities,” shared ANHC Board Chair, Tabetha Toloff.
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“As an act of love and lifting up our community members, ANHC is honored to create and name two community awards to be recognized yearly at our annual Spring Brunch Fundraiser. With permission from the families of the late Paul Tiulana and the late Autumn Apok Ridley, these awards will carry on the legacy, leadership, and spirit of love for our peoples and cultures for years to come,” shared Emily Edenshaw, President and CEO of the Alaska Native Heritage Center.
The awardees will be presented at the ANHC’s annual Spring Brunch Fundraiser on Friday, April 14, 2023. Dr. Leavitt’s family will be receiving the award on his behalf and Sam Schimmel will be present to accept his award. For further inquiries on the establishment of these awards, please contact Kelsey Ciugun Wallace, Development and Communications Director, at kwallace@alaskanative.net.
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The Alaska Native Heritage Center is a nonprofit organization that preserves and strengthens the traditions, languages and arts of Alaska’s Native Peoples through statewide collaboration, celebration and education. 8800 Heritage Center Drive, Anchorage Alaska, 99504 | www.alaskanative.net | 907-330-8000
