(Photo courtesy The Nature Conservancy)
The mayor of Hydaburg won an award last week for his work in preserving the spirit of successful subsistence living. Anthony “Tony” Christianson was presented with the Katie John Hunter-Fisher Award at the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention in Anchorage.
Christianson has served and represented rural communities on the Federal Subsistence Board since 2012. He’s also the natural resource director for the Hydaburg Cooperative Association.
Karen Linnell, executive director of the Ahtna Intertribal Resource Commission, said Christianson’s advocacy for subsistence rights in smaller communities has been paramount.
“I so appreciate his ability to hear our people when they talk about our subsistence, to understand the vast differences that Alaskan Natives have, and his ability to convey that to the federal representatives,” she said.
The Katie John Hunter-Fisher Award honors Alaska Natives who ensure subsistence living will be carried on in future generations. John was the lead plaintiff in a decades-long federal lawsuit that fought for rural subsistence fishing rights under the Alaska Native Interest Lands Conservation Act.
Christianson wasn’t in Anchorage to accept the award in person, but his cousin Barbara Blake attended and accepted the award on his behalf.
“Tony put it simply: to be thought of, shared with, and bonded by our traditional foods — that is what creates community,” Blake said. “Our foods have always done more than feed us; they connect households, they connect generations, and they connect us to the land and waters that have sustained our people since forever. Every jar of fish, every share of harvest, is a way of saying you belong and you are not forgotten.”
Christianson said it was a humbling experience to be recognized, but he doesn’t do the work for recognition. He does it for the gratification of helping his community.
Other AFN President’s Awards include the Small Business Award and the Roger Lang Youth Leadership Award.
