Elders & Youth Conference
40th Annual Elders & Youth Conference
October 15-18, 2023
Join us for the 40th Annual Elders & Youth Conference at the Dena’ina Center, Anchorage, Alaska. This years theme is Woosht Guganéix
"Let it be that we heal each other"
Connecting our Elders and youth is imperative to knowing who we are, and how to work in good relationship together.
About the conference
The Annual Statewide Elders & Youth Conference (Elders & Youth) is hosted by FAI in partnership with our community. Elders & Youth provides a special opportunity to live and love who we are as Alaska Native peoples, build strong relationships with one another, identify and advance solutions for the challenges and opportunities facing our communities, explore our creative worlds, and contribute to the greater community through the transference of knowledge between our generations.
2022 Elders & Youth Conference
Late Ugiaqtag Wesley Aiken (Iñupiaq) was the 2018 Elders & Youth Conference Elder keynote speaker. He advocated for higher education and talked about strong ancestors, respecting animals and land, and living our ways of life.
Elders and Youth past conferences
Another component of First Alaskans Institute’s Leadership Development Initiative is the Elders & Youth Conference. The Institute has sponsored and hosted the event since 2004 at the request of the Alaska Federation of Natives.
Elders & Youth Conference History
In 1984, the first Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) Youth Conference, attended by 54 high school students, convened in response to a resolution passed by delegates to the previous AFN Convention. By allowing Alaska Native students their own gathering, modeled on the main Convention, the conference was a training ground in advocacy, collaboration, and leadership development.
