The team at the Intertribal Ag Council (IAC) is pleased to welcome Silas Tikaan Galbreath as the new Technical Assistant Specialist – Alaska Region.
“I believe the work of IAC aligns with my personal passion for food and my Alaska Native identity,” he said. “As a Technical Assistant Specialist for IAC, I am excited to partner with Tribes across the state to explore what food security means to them and to develop viable projects that can contribute to the prosperity of all the individuals and communities involved.”
“Currently, Alaska imports 95 percent of the food consumed, but it hasn’t always been this way,” he went on to explain. “Alaska Native people have practiced a sustainable food model for thousands of years and I believe that knowledge still exists in the diverse communities across the state.”
Galbreath was born in Fairbanks, Alaska and throughout the first 20 years of his life his time was spent in Fairbanks and the Village of Mentasta, where his family is from. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts – Amherst with a Bachelors in English and a minor in Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences. Prior to joining IAC, he previously worked as a Senior Public Relations Specialist, Technical Writer and Improvement Specialist for the Southcentral Foundation, a nonprofit healthcare organization providing care to Alaska Native and American Indian people.
Galbreath hopes to help foster meaningful dialogue about food security that is happening nationally and globally and to blend his traditional knowledge with his education about Western agriculture, “In Alaska, standard approaches to agriculture are resource intensive and often not feasible. However, I believe there is still an incredible opportunity to pursue creative solutions that can be successful in multiple ways to create local and regional economic opportunities, increase diversity of food available, and to address concerns that may exist about food security.”
In closing he said, “My hope is that Indigenous people of Alaska will reduce the entire state’s dependence on food coming from outside the state, contributing to a more sustainable Alaska.”