Atka (Atx̂ax̂ )

Atx̂ax̂ is an Unangax community in the western Aleutians. The students at Netsvetov School won a national award on National History day for creating a website about Atka’s history.

Notes from our 2024 planning retreat in Anchorage

Current activities

  • 2023-Baseline GPS
  • NOAA – wave data collection from 2005
  • Harbor Feasibility Study – Army Corps of Engineers
  • Reindeer hunts, looking into potential herding options / sustainability, reindeer processing
  • Tribal support – subsistence sovereignty
  • An ‘Atka Plan’ reviewed/updated annually by community members identifying challenges/opportunities

Successes

  • Affordable connectivity
  • Port Study by USACE
  • wave study, bathymetry
  • Grid Resilience and rehab
  • Tribal and Corporation cooperation
  • Community homes rehab 2023-2024
  • Tribal Transportation Safety Planning
  • Work well with outside/beneficial entities (CDQ, Regional Corporation nonprofits, etc.)
  • Have short & long term priorities identified & building comprehensive plans to move goals forward

Collaborations with ACTION or other communities

  • UAF visit to Atka in 2023
  • Occasional project collaboration with Hooper Bay
  • Native Village of Atka hired the CRL & community liaison identified for the Community Advisory Board (CAB)
  • CRL & CAB attending Southern Hub Mtgs.