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Volume 2020, June
Summer Edition
Message from the President & CEO
Published by NANA Regional Corporation, Inc.
Dear shareholder,
This newsletter – Aŋuniaqti: The Hunter
– exists as a time capsule of sorts. In
its 31-year history, we could look back
at a given issue, in a certain year, and
get a sense of the milestones that were
reached, loved ones who were lost,
culture that was lived and values that
were shared. The history that was made.
This issue is no exception and was
published during a time when many of us
are hunkered down, socially distanced,
wearing masks or working from home as
the global COVID-19 outbreak continues
Sharon and Wayne
Westlake, president
and CEO.
to alter our daily lives in new and profound
ways. Many of the stories and much of
the news included in the following pages
detail NANA’s response to the pandemic,
and I’m reminded that our response to
life’s uncertainty – as Iñupiat – is often
what sets us apart as the real people.
Throughout this time of change, our
Iñupiat Iḷitqusiat guide our actions and
provide a framework for our decisions.
Our values are fundamental to who we
are and are evident when neighbors
help neighbors, families come together
at home, friends call on one another
and coworkers connect while apart.
At NANA, we joined with our partners
on the Northwest Arctic Leadership Team
(NWALT) to align our regional COVID-19
response and moved forward plans to
provide emergency relief for shareholders
– efforts you can read more about on page
4. In mid-March, NANA employees acted
quickly to begin working from home as
our corporate offices closed to the public
(page 5), and our family of companies
immediately adapted operations to
continue to serve clients and customers
safely and without interruption (page 6).
Shareholders voted two new directors
to the NANA board during a first-ofits-kind
Annual Meeting (page 2), and
I thank the leaders and community
members of Kivalina for their flexibility,
understanding and cooperation as we
made necessary changes to the meeting
agenda. We look forward to visiting
Kivalina to celebrate on a larger scale
at a later date, when the public health
threat of COVID-19 is reduced.
On a personal note, though I’ve returned
to working at the NANA office, during
the height of the state of Alaska’s health
mandates, Sharon and I spent more days
hunkered down at home. The time allowed
us to reflect on memories of family and
friends and connect with others through
phone calls and virtual check-ins. These
moments of forced stillness remind us of
what we have, and for that I am grateful.
NANA shareholders live all over the world,
and many of you live in communities
that are combatting different phases
or levels of the pandemic. Our own
region reported its first confirmed case
in May. My prayer for each of you is
that you remain safe, comforted and
surrounded by the care and support of
loved ones, if only from a distance. May
our values continue to inform the ways
in which we live, during this pandemic
and in the years after it – when future
shareholders look back at this moment
as another milestone in our history.
Taikuu,
Wayne Westlake
President & CEO
PRSRT STD
U.S. Postage
PAID
Anchorage, AK
Permit No. 444
Board Corner
Actions from the telephonic board meeting on April 30, 2020.
Meeting called to order at 9:07 a.m.
• Postponed election of officers to next
in-person board meeting.
NANA Calendar
Photo Contest
• Approved a waiver to Buckland 14 (c) map of boundary.
• Approved the Alaska Department of Transportation
and Public Facilities purchase of a construction
easement and authorization of a permit for
construction for the Selawik barge landing access
road and boardwalk improvement project.
• Approved funding for the Native Village of Noatak
for the purpose of purchasing a sludge pumper.
• Approved funding for water truck for the Native
Village of Shungnak and the City of Shungnak.
Meeting adjourned at 12:21 p.m.
For the 2021 NANA calendar, we will
feature photos taken by NANA shareholders. The photos
should showcase aspects of the NANA region, including
Iñupiaq culture, activities, landscapes, animals and
people. Our goal is to collect photos from our shareholder
communities: Ambler, Buckland, Deering, Kiana, Kivalina,
Kobuk, Kotzebue, Noatak, Noorvik, Selawik, Shungnak and
out-of-region. Please read through the contest specifications
and submit your photos to [email protected].
The next board of directors meeting is July 30, 2020, in
Kotzebue, Alaska, if permitted per COVID-19 travel restrictions.
Deadline to submit: Sunday, Oct. 18, 2020
P.O. Box 49
Kotzebue, AK 99752
For full contest rules, visit nana.com/photo-contest. Questions
can be sent to [email protected] or call the NANA
communications department at (907) 265-4176.
All shareholders who submit photos
will be entered into a prize drawing.