People in Fundraising, Season 1, Ep. 29: Trina Landlord, Healthy Alaska Natives Foundation

Originally recorded and aired in fall 2022: November is Alaska Natives and Native American Heritage Month, and I am honored to have welcomed Trina Landlord to Episode #28 of “People in Fundraising.”

An Alaska Native of the Yup’ik tribe, Trina wonderfully and colorfully shares her personal and professional experiences working with Alaska-based non-profits that serve the 299 Indigenous tribes and 5 distinct cultural groups in the 49th state. She works in Anchorage, which is on the Dena’ina tribal land and is the 4th-largest U.S. city by land area.

Highlights of our conversation:

* Her passion is nonprofit work within the Alaska Native community

* The small community of nonprofit fundraisers in Alaska who come from the Alaska Native/Indigenous community

* General assumptions, misconceptions, and lack of awareness that people in the Lower 48 have about Alaska and the Indigenous Inuit peoples native to Alaska

*The answer is always no…until you ask 😉

* Trina’s emphasis on three R’s – respect, relationships, and reciprocity

* The significance of the raven (tulukaruq in Yup’ik) in Alaska Indigenous cultures. One is seen in a print behind Trina in our chat, titled “The Madonna of the Beginning of the Mountains to the North and to the South”