Napataq Hope Roberts

Tlingit, Gwich'in, Koyukon

Indigenous Stewardship Fellow

Hope is Tlingit, Gwich'in, and Koyukon. Her Indigenous name, Napataq, is Sugpiaq, given to her in 2022 by a Suacit matriarch in recognition of her heart for all of Alaska’s people.

Her advocacy began in 2013, inspired by her first harbor seal harvest and a growing love for marine mammals. Since then, she has served in numerous leadership roles—including Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary—on various wildlife regulatory boards. Some are the Valdez Advisory Committee (past), the Southcentral Regional Advisory Council, the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society, and most recently in July 2025, was elected Vice President of the Anchorage Native Community Council/Sobermiut, a role earned through her consistent dedication to supporting the unhoused.

Napataq is a Sea Otter Tagger with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She holds degrees in Tribal Management and Applied Business Management, with several certifications from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and one from Harvard Business School.

She is exhilarated to share that her first publication, Marine Mammal Huntress, earned second place in the Alaska Press Club Awards for Best Profile. The piece was featured in an Alaska-based business magazine.

In addition to her advocacy and writing, she owns and operated several small businesses. These include a consulting company, a sport fishing charter with her 100 Ton Near Coastal Master Captain's License and using that infrastructure to reconnect coastal people to Marine hunting through her marine furrier business.