Dig Afognak's purpose is to connect Sugpiat (Alutiiq Peoples) with our rich heritage through connection to community, land, and traditional practices through hands-on cultural experiences and activities with Alaska Native artists, Culture Bearers, and Elders. While NVA focuses on local Alutiiq arts and traditions, we are inclusive and welcome all Alaska Native cultures. Dig Afognak is designed to share Alutiiq cultural knowledge and traditions, which reduce substance abuse, child abuse, and neglect, and strengthen families within our Tribal and larger Kodiak community.
Applications can be emailed to tribe @afognak.org, mailed or dropped off at the NVA office at 115 Mill Bay Road, Kodiak AK, 9-5 Monday through Friday.
Dig Afognak registration applications will be posted April 1st, 2025. Please email or call to express interest in chaperoning, teaching or being an Elder Mentor at Dig Afognak.
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Dig Afognak Camp staff are paid a daily rate for days worked. Temporary staff are not eligible for benefits offered through NVA. Room and board will be provided while onsite at the camp. Seasonal staff is required to secure own lodging and food during camp breaks. The season schedule is set in advance of start date.
NVA offers internships at Dig Afognak for youth ages of 16-18, preference will be given to youth of Afognak descent.
Questions about Dig Afognak can be directed to Denise Malutin, Camp Manager at 1-888-885-3931 or email tribe @afognak.org.
Dig Afognak began in 1993 as part of a community-wide effort to regain, restore and carry forward the light of our ancestral Alutiiq culture. Archaeological research in the Kodiak Archipelago began in earnest following the Exxon-Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound in 1989. With the clean-up of Alaskan shorelines following the disaster, many archaeological sites were being disturbed and valuable information lost. Storm waves, vandalism and time itself were working to destroy the archaeological record.
At the same time, the former Soviet Union made available collections gathered during the days of the Russian American Company, and our people saw for the first time in more than two hundred years, beautiful and elaborate bird-skin parkas, painted and decorated bentwood hunting visors, and mask regalia. Our hearts were deeply touched by the work of our ancestors and we determined that we needed to take responsibility for the excavation of sites located on our Native lands.
Through our direction, archaeologists worked alongside Native landowners, which promoted sensitive handling of culturally significant materials. Artifacts and information recovered are housed and curated in the Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository in Kodiak. To make the research circle complete, we invited tribal members and the visiting public to join us as Dig Afognak participants.
As the program developed, traditional cultural activities and youth camps joined the itinerary. Now, Dig Afognak has transformed into a haven for cultural exploration.
The upcoming season heralds a series of cultural immersion programs for our community. So join us to light the past and spark the future as we reveal the life ways of our Alutiiq ancestors.
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