“I like the flowers and the rainbows and the shine on the butterflies,” Taviana Cooper, who’s going into second grade, said. “I knew I was going to choose something pretty.”
A total of 1,000 backpacks and 1,000 lunches prepared for Juneau families by The Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program were available to pick up at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall on Saturday. Families registered before the event or at the door.
Dara Irlatos, the special projects coordinator for TANF, said it’s her second year leading the event. The backpacks and supplies are available for Alaska Native and Native American students.
“We’re giving kids a great jumpstart with high-quality backpacks and school supplies that we know are constantly increasing in price over time,” she said. “So we also send these backpacks all over Southeast Alaska except for Metlakatla. It’s a big program that touches the villages as well.”
TANF provides financial assistance to families with dependent children while emphasizing work participation, education, family stability and responsibility, according to Tlingit and Haida’s website.
Backpacks line the tables at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall on Saturday. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Irlatos said the previous school year’s enrollment numbers across Southeast are reviewed before ordering backpacks in April. School supplies come from Amazon, 56 Degrees North in Wrangell, and OfficeMax in Juneau. 56 Degrees North allows orders at wholesale prices, and OfficeMax gives Tlingit and Haida a discount. Supplies are funded through a TANF grant.
“This is the fun part,” Irlatos said. “When you see kids getting excited about going back to school because they get to choose their new bag and all the school supplies in it. So we just get to see them at the fun part of going back to school. Every single kid needs a backpack. Every single kid needs school supplies.”
If families missed the backpack pickup on Saturday, Irlatos said another event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 27 at the Airport Shopping Center at 9131 Glacier Highway.
Backpacks were separated for Head Start, elementary, middle schoolers and high schoolers. Richard Siverly was handing out backpacks for 5-12 grade. High schoolers received a binder, paper, folders and pencils.
“It’s fun to see the kids grow up,” Siverly said.
Sydney Baines said it was her third year bringing her three children to pick up backpacks.
“It helps out drastically because backpacks are expensive,” she said. “It provides really nice backpacks that don’t get destroyed within the first month and the supplies inside make it easier too.”
“Kuhaantí,” a Lingít-language children’s book was also given away at the back-to-school event. Tlingit and Haida’s Cultural and Education department handed out 324 books. With brand-new backpacks slung on their shoulders, kids posed with the characters.
“Kuhaantí” is the first of nine books and animated videos planned to share tribal stories in their Native language and is the first publication of its kind in decades, according to a Tlingit and Haida press release.
Mia Willard, 7, Brandon Lott, 8, and Keisha Lott, 11, stand in front of cardboard cutouts of characters from the Lingít children’s book “Kuhaantí” at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall on Saturday.
Other Tlingit and Haida programs attended the giveaway to outreach to students and their families. Louise Kadake and Lorena Gray, both cultural specialists, discussed the Indian Studies Program.
“I like that I’m able to advocate for them to make sure they’re getting equal benefits as any other student,” Gray said. “Culturally — so there’s no bias. I love sharing my culture with students in a school which was usually unheard of before. Being able to express your cultural identity — it’s amazing.”
The program offers culture and homework clubs, either during lunch or after school. Alaska Native or Native American students fill out an Indian Student Eligibility Certification form for Title VI Indian Education Formula Grant Program which allows the Indian Studies Program to receive funding.
Haley Terry, a foster care licensing and recruitment specialist, said it was important for her to attend the event to raise awareness of foster kids in need.
“I think just getting the word out, even if people don’t apply today, it’s in their mind,” she said. “They see us out here letting people know that kids need rooms and we need as many families to help out as possible. Just being present at these kinds of things so people see us and know.”
The Tribal Child Support Unit also attended the event. TSCU helps establish paternity parentage, enforces child support orders, helps navigate the state or Tribal Court process, and provides referral services. All TSCU assistance is free of charge.
“We’re here for the kids,” Erica George, an administrative assistant for the unit, said.
• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz.garrett@juneauempire.com or (907) 723-9356.
