Tanana Chiefs Conference facts for kids

The Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) is an organization for 42 villages in Interior Alaska. It helps more than 10,000 Alaska Natives, mostly Alaskan Athabaskans, in this large region. TCC believes in helping Native communities make their own decisions. It also works to keep Native groups in the region united. TCC is a non-profit group, meaning it focuses on helping people, not making money.

TCC main campus in downtown Fairbanks, with the Chena River in the foreground.

How Tanana Chiefs Conference Works

The Tanana Chiefs Conference is a non-profit organization. It includes Native governments from 42 communities in Interior Alaska. Each village council chooses a representative for the main Board of Directors. This board has 42 members and meets every March in Fairbanks.

A smaller group, the nine-member Executive Board, is chosen by the main Board of Directors. The president of the Board of Directors leads the whole organization. TCC runs programs funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Department of Labor. These programs help tribal governments and eligible Alaska Natives and American Indians. TCC also offers services for all people in the region, paid for by the state of Alaska.

In 2006, TCC had almost 700 full-time employees. Many others worked part-time or seasonally. About two-thirds of the staff work in the villages. Also, about two-thirds of the employees are Alaska Native.

History of Tanana Chiefs Conference

The history of TCC shows how Native people balance old traditions with new challenges. TCC helps over 10,000 Alaska Natives across a huge area. This region is about 608,000 square kilometers (235,000 square miles).

TCC started to become a modern organization when non-Native people moved into the Interior. Native leaders came together to protect their traditional rights.

Protecting Native Land and Rights

The first land problem happened in 1915. Chiefs worked together to protect a burial ground in Nenana from the Alaska Railroad. Because of their efforts, the railroad changed its path. After Alaska became a state in 1959, the threat to Native land grew.

The Alaska Statehood Act said Native land rights were important. But the state government started planning as if they weren't. Two plans were very worrying. One was a road to the Minto Lakes area. The other was the Rampart Dam project. These projects, and a plan to use nuclear blasts to create a harbor at Point Hope, helped start the movement for Native land claims. Young, educated Native leaders began to push for a fair solution.

Al Ketzler Sr. from Nenana was one of these leaders. He helped organize a meeting of 32 villages in Tanana in June 1962. From this meeting, the Tanana Chiefs Conference was officially formed.

Working for a Better Future

Al Ketzler Sr. was TCC's first president. He contacted other Native groups, like the Alaska Native Brotherhood/Sisterhood and the Inupiat Paitot. In 1963, Ketzler went to Washington, D.C.. He asked the Secretary of the Interior to stop state land choices until Native land claims were settled. Ketzler left TCC for a few years, but other young leaders continued the work. In 1966, TCC met with other Native leaders and formed the Alaska Federation of Natives.

In 1968, oil was found on the North Slope. This made the state and oil companies more interested in settling land disputes. After a big effort by Al Ketzler and many other Alaska Natives, Congress passed a law. This law gave Alaska Natives over 160,000 square kilometers (40 million acres) of land and almost $1 billion.

The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act

The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) was passed in December 1971. It created 13 regional corporations for Alaska Natives. Twelve were in Alaska, and one was for Natives living in the rest of the United States. It also created nearly 200 village corporations. The regional corporations manage land and money. Village corporations manage their own resources.

TCC created Doyon Limited as the regional corporation to make a profit for its owners. ANCSA also allowed for non-profit groups to run health and social programs. The Tanana Chiefs Conference became the non-profit group for the TCC region.

Growing Services for Communities

After the land claims were settled, TCC focused on other needs. Under Mitch Demientieff, who became president in 1973, TCC started a health authority. In 1975, the Indian Self Determination and Education Act allowed TCC to take over many programs. They made agreements with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. This meant TCC became responsible for housing, land management, tribal government help, education, jobs, and natural resources programs.

The Chief Andrew Isaac Health Center, across from Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, is TCC's primary health care facility. Left: Beginning stages of construction, May 2011. Right: Nearing completion, June 2012.

TCC also made agreements with the Alaska Area Native Health Service. They started offering health aide services, outreach, environmental health, and mental health services. In the late 1970s, TCC also received grants from the state of Alaska. This allowed them to provide healthcare, social services, and public safety for everyone in the Interior.

In 1980, TCC moved some of its operations out of Fairbanks. They opened smaller offices in places like Fort Yukon and Galena. This helped create more local jobs. It also made it easier for people in villages to get information and services.

In the mid-1980s, under President William C. "Spud" Williams, TCC took over the Alaska Native Health Center in Fairbanks. It was renamed the Chief Andrew Isaac Health Center. New facilities and services were also added. These included the Paul Williams House and new dental and eye clinics.

Tanana Chiefs Fire Crew in 2019

All of TCC's programs are built on the strong beliefs of past Tanana Chiefs. This includes fighting for land rights and self-determination. It also means working to protect the right of rural Alaskans to hunt and fish for food. TCC supports local village governments in making and enforcing their own laws.

Tanana Chiefs Conference Region Demographics

The Tanana Chiefs Conference region is very large. It covers about 608,000 square kilometers (235,000 square miles). This is about 37 percent of Alaska's total area. It is just a bit smaller than the state of Texas. The total population of the region is 86,130 people. Of these, 10,623 are Native people. About half of the Native population lives in Fairbanks. Fairbanks is the only big city in the region.

Cities and Villages in the TCC Region

(Listed roughly from east to west)