#44 AlexAnna Salmon - President of the Igiugig Village Council
AlexAnna Salmon is President of the Igiugig Village Council. She is of Yup’ik and Aleut descent and was raised in the village of Igiugig, Alaska.
In 2008, AlexAnna graduated from Dartmouth College with a dual Bachelor of Arts degree in Native American Studies and Anthropology. After graduating, she returned to work for the Igiugig Tribal Village Council where she was elected President and, until 2016, also held the role of Administrator. AlexAnna serves as a member of the Igiugig Native Corporation board, which is responsible for the stewardship of 66,000 tribal acres. She also serves on the Nilavena Tribal Health Consortium and is a member of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History’s Advisory Board. She received her Master’s Degree in Rural Development from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 2021.
In her work as President of the Igiugig Village Council, AlexAnna has been a driving force behind the community’s efforts to generate its own energy from renewable sources. In 2015, she was invited to President Obama’s roundtable discussion with Alaska Native leaders and was praised by Sen. Dan Sullivan in 2017 on the Senate floor for helping strengthen her community and making it an incredible place to live. AlexAnna loves raising her kids in the subsistence way of life, revitalizing Indigenous languages, and traveling.
This episode, Mark talks with AlexAnna about what tribal village life is like in remote Alaska, AlexAnna's father's legacy, and how she is manifesting it, energy, health care, and food independence in wilderness, Alaska.
Save What You Love with Mark Titus:
Produced: Emilie Firn
Edited: Patrick Troll
Music: Whiskey Class
Instagram: @savewhatyoulovepodcast
Website: savewhatyoulove.evaswild.com
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Creators and Guests
Host
Mark Titus
Mark Titus is the creator of Eva’s Wild and director of the award winning films, The Breach and The Wild. He’s currently working on a third film in his salmon trilogy, The Turn. In early 2021, Mark launched his podcast, Save What You Love, interviewing exceptional people devoting their lives in ways big and small to the protection of things they love. Through his storytelling, Mark Titus carries the message that humanity has an inherent need for wilderness and to fulfill that need we have a calling to protect wild places and wild things.
Guest
AlexAnna Salmon
AlexAnna Salmon was raised in the Village of Igiugig. She is the granddaughter of John and Mary Olympic, and the second oldest of Dan and Julia Salmon. In 2008, she graduated from Dartmouth College with a dual Bachelor’s degree in Native American Studies and Anthropology. She returned to work for the Igiugig Tribal Village Council as President and Project Director. AlexAnna also serves as a member of the Lake and Peninsula Borough Planning Commission, Igiugig Native Corporation board and the Nilavena Tribal Health Consortium board. She loves spending time with her family, village life and traveling.
