From Akutan to Anchorage: Preserving Unangax Culture for the Next Generation

Key Takeaways

• Supporting Unangax Cultural Preservation: Trident Seafoods helps support participation in the Urban Unangax Culture Camp, an annual gathering focused on preserving Unangax language, traditions, arts, history and cultural identity.

• Connecting Akutan Youth with Their Heritage: Participants from Akutan travel approximately 1,200 miles to Anchorage to engage in hands-on cultural learning experiences, including traditional dance, language, mask-making, basket weaving and ancestral food preparation.

• Investing in Alaska Communities: Trident's support reflects its commitment to the communities where employees live and work, including helping create opportunities for cultural learning, education, and community connection.

• Anchored in Alaska: Trident's support for Alaska Native communities demonstrates the company's long-standing commitment to supporting the people, cultures, and communities that shape Alaska.

It starts with a journey of more than 1,200 miles...

In the heart of the Aleutian Islands, on a remote volcanic island, the Unangax people have long preserved a rich cultural heritage shaped by resilience, community and tradition.

Every summer, Unangax youth, elders, and families from make the 1,200-mile journey from their island home of Akutan, Alaska to Anchorage for a week dedicated to culture, learning and connection. There, they participate in the Urban Unangax Culture Camp, an annual gathering that celebrates and preserves Unangax identity, traditions and heritage.

Hosted by the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association, the camp provides immersive opportunities to learn traditional practices ranging from language and dance to mask-making, basket weaving, and preparing ancestral foods. For many participants, the experience offers something even more meaningful: a chance to reconnect with culture, community, and one another.

For Those Who Attend, the Impact Extends Beyond a Single Week

In partnership with the camp, Trident Seafoods helps support participation by Unangax community members who call Akutan home, creating opportunities for youth and families to deepen their understanding of Unangax culture while building lasting connections with fellow participants from across the region.

"We enjoy coming together with our people and sharing knowledge and learning from one another," one participant recently wrote Trident in a letter of appreciation. "Promoting and supporting this for our youth is the key to reviving tradition in our region."

The letter, signed by several members of the group, went on to express gratitude for the opportunity to connect with their heritage. One participant shared how children from their group performed traditional dances at the Aleut Picnic, while others proudly completed handmade visors, drums and masks - each item a reflection of cultural pride and personal growth.

Camp participants take part in traditional dances, create handmade visors, drums, and masks, and celebrate their culture through shared experiences and storytelling. Each activity offers an opportunity to strengthen cultural pride while learning skills and traditions that have been passed down for generations.

Beyond cultural activities, the trip creates opportunities for new experiences and lasting memories. Participants explore Anchorage, visit the Saturday market, fly kites, spend time at the lake, and enjoy activities that are often less accessible in remote village communities.

"These small things that people who live in an urban setting get to do all the time are fun for us," participants of this year's camp reflected.

Anchored in Alaska. Anchored in Community.

For Trident, supporting programs like the Urban Unangax Culture Camp reflects a broader belief that to truly be 'Anchored in Alaska' means investing not only in fisheries and operations, but in people, culture and community. The company has operated alongside Alaska communities for decades, and that commitment extends beyond the workplace to supporting opportunities that strengthen community wellbeing and cultural continuity.

"When we support opportunities like the Urban Unangax Culture Camp, we are not simply helping fund a trip. We are helping create space for culture to be practiced, shared and carried forward," said Stefanie Moreland, Executive Vice President of Public Affairs at Trident Seafoods and an Alaska resident.

Being 'Anchored in Alaska' means showing up for the people and communities connected to our work. It means investing in the next generation and helping ensure these traditions continue to thrive.

At its heart, the camp is about ensuring that the knowledge, traditions and cultural identity of the Unangax people continue to thrive. Every song learned, basket woven, story shared and friendship formed helps strengthen the connection between generations and contributes to a future where Unangax culture remains vibrant and actively lived.

Trident's support of the Urban Unangax Culture Camp is an example of how the company invests in the communities where its employees, fishermen and their families live and work. By helping create opportunities for cultural preservation and youth development, Trident helps support a future where Alaska's diverse cultures and traditions continue to be celebrated for generations to come.

The company's 'Anchored in Alaska' ethos also means showing up for the people and communities that make Alaska unique. By supporting the Urban Unangax Culture Camp, Trident helps ensure culture, connection and tradition continue to flourish for future generations.

To learn more about Unangax history and culture, visit the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association online or the National Park Service's Aleutian Islands National Historic Area.

To learn more about Trident's corporate social responsibility efforts in Alaska and elsewhere, view the company's latest sustainability progress report.

About Trident Seafoods

Trident Seafoods is North America's largest vertically integrated seafood harvesting and processing company. Trident is a privately held, 100% USA-owned company with an international operating presence in 10 countries and customers across nearly 60 global markets. Anchored in Alaska and headquartered in Seattle, Washington (USA), Trident employs approximately 7,700 people worldwide each year and partners with over 2,700 independent fishermen and crewmembers in Alaska. Trident catches and processes virtually every commercial species of salmon, whitefish and crab harvested in the North Pacific and Alaska. The global supply chain also encompasses cultured and wild species sourced from an international network of trusted suppliers.

Follow Trident Seafoods on the web at www.tridentseafoods.com or on social media on LinkedIn, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok and YouTube.