JUNEAU, AK (August 25, 2020) – The Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (Tlingit & Haida) is pleased to announce it has been awarded a $150,000 CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA).
Tlingit & Haida is a current EDA-designated Native American planning grantee and was one of more than 850 existing, high-performing grant recipients invited to apply for the supplemental funds.
Tlingit & Haida will use the funds to update the Tribe’s economic development plans, increase capacity to develop programs, and provide technical assistance to community and tribal businesses in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. Under the grant-funded project, Tlingit & Haida’s Vocational Training & Resource Center (VTRC), a State of Alaska authorized post-secondary institution, will develop resources, secure equipment and leverage today’s technologies to offer vocational, small business and cultural education distance delivery opportunities to tribal citizens and the general public.
“The VTRC has traditionally provided in-person training opportunities, but the pandemic has caused operations and opportunities to come to a halt,” shared Cultural Heritage & Education Director Sarah Dybdahl, who oversees the VTRC. “It is our goal to provide cultural, educational and vocational opportunities to assist our tribal citizens and community in the recovery from job loss and the changing workforce due to the pandemic.”
Earlier this year, Congress appropriated EDA with $1.5 billion for economic development assistance programs to help communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to the Coronavirus pandemic. The EDA’s CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant provides a wide range of financial assistance to communities and regions as they respond to and recover from the impacts of the pandemic.
“I am proud of the perseverance and strength shown by our communities coast to coast throughout this pandemic, and these funds will help provide Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska with resources to make a swift and lasting economic comeback,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross in a press release issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s EDA.
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