PRESERVING OUR

cultural

  VALUES 

SAFEGUARDING

our

  TLINGIT HERITAGE 

SUSTAINING OUR

ancestral

  LAND 

PRESERVING OUR

cultural

  VALUES 

SAFEGUARDING

our

  TLINGIT HERITAGE 

SUSTAINING OUR

ancestral

  LAND 

PRESERVING OUR

cultural

  VALUES 

SAFEGUARDING

our

  TLINGIT HERITAGE 

SUSTAINING OUR

ancestral

  LAND 

THE LATEST NEWS

 

For more Kootznoowoo News click on the NEWS tab in the menu above!

KCEF Announces 2024-25 Scholarship Recipients

KCEF Announces 2024-25 Scholarship Recipients

The Kootznoowoo Cultural & Education Foundation (KCEF) is pleased to announce the scholarship recipients for the 2024-2025 academic year.  In order to be eligible to receive a scholarship, recipients must be a Kootznoowoo, Inc. shareholder or descendant, Alaska...

BIA Grant Brings Thayer Hydro to Fully Funded

BIA Grant Brings Thayer Hydro to Fully Funded

Kootznoowoo, Inc. recently received notification from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) that it has been awarded a nearly $6M grant from the Office of Indian Economic Development Tribal Electrification Program (TEP).  The program was established under the Biden...

KPFST Trustees Announce October Distribution

KPFST Trustees Announce October Distribution

The Trustees of the Kootznoowoo Permanent Fund Settlement Trust are pleased to announce that the October 1, 2024, Kootznoowoo Permanent Settlement Trust (KPFST) distribution will be paid out in the amount of $3.40 per trust unit. For the purpose of calculating the...

KOOTZNOOWOO, INC. IS DEDICATED TO PROVIDING ECONOMIC BENEFITS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR TRIBAL MEMBER SHAREHOLDERS AND DESCENDANTS.

KOOTZNOOWOO, INC. IS DEDICATED TO PROVIDING ECONOMIC BENEFITS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR TRIBAL MEMBER SHAREHOLDERS AND DESCENDANTS.

Kootznoowoo was born as a result of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971. We are the corporation for the village of Angoon in Southeast Alaska which has a population of about 450 people. The majority of our shareholders are Tlingit Indian and have…

Initially, Kootznoowoo, like every other village corporations in Southeast Alaska, had the right to select a total of 23,040 acres in the immediate vicinity of its own home village. Through a series of negotiations, Kootznoowoo agreed to take entitlement to…

Though Kootznoowoo, Inc. is a for-profit business, as an Alaska Native Village Corporation, we embrace our duty of upholding the traditional values of our Tlingit ancestors while remaining watchful stewards over the land that we are entrusted. 

Kootznoowoo understands its responsibility in making sound investments and implementing responsible business practices that support financial stability to provide meaningful distributions to shareholders.

Kootznoowoo understands its responsibility in making sound investments and implementing responsible business practices that support financial stability to provide meaningful distributions to shareholders.

WE ARE STEWARDS OF OUR LAND

Initially, Kootznoowoo, like every other village corporations in Southeast Alaska, had the right to select a total of 23,040 acres in the immediate vicinity of its own home village. Through a series of negotiations, Kootznoowoo agreed to take entitlement to most of its lands on Prince of Wales- the third largest island in the United States (after the islands of Hawaii and Kodiak).

 

ANCSA provided Kootznoowoo with the right to select 21,400 acres of timberland off Admiralty Island. In the early 1980’s, Kootznoowoo made selections in the vicinity of Chomondeley Sound on the cast side of Prince of Wales Island. In addition, Kootznoowoo received the surface and subsurface estate to certain lands and around Angoon including a strip of shore land along Kootznoowoo Inlet, Mitchell Bay and Kanalku. 

Kootznoowoo’s management and board share a collective vision that through strong leadership, creative innovation, and steady growth, the corporation will be an example of economic success throughout the region.

Kootznoowoo understands its responsibility in making sound investments and implementing responsible business practices that support financial stability to provide meaningful distributions to shareholders.

MEET OUR BOARD

Kootznoowoo’s leadership team is focused on building businesses that are mindful of operating costs, employee productivity, and outstanding service. 

EUNICE E. JAMES

EUNICE E. JAMES

BOARD CHAIR

MELISSA M. KOOKESH

MELISSA M. KOOKESH

VICE CHAIR

TIA PAYTON

TIA PAYTON

TREASURER

SHARON LOVE

SHARON LOVE

SECRETARY

Ralph “Chico” Bierely

Kootz Commercial Center Maintenance Manager

Chico serves as a jack-of-all-trades for the corporation. His main responsibility is overseeing the maintenance and upkeep of the K-Plaza building. However, he provides additional support when needed on a variety of projects. He is based in Juneau.