FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 23, 2005

TLINGIT HAIDA CENTRAL COUNCIL STRONGLY SUPPORTS NATIVE EDUCATION
President Thomas Recognized with Awards from UAF and JSD

Central Council Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (CCTHITA) is a strong supporter of educating today's Native youth. Our stance on education is "Dropping Out Is Not An Option".

The Tlingit and Haida people have always been strong educators and strong students. They had to be to live in Southeast Alaska. They were taught to survive (fish, hunt, gather, weave, bead, sew and dance). When those are the skills you're learning, you can't afford to fail. Dropping out was not an option in traditional times and it's not an option today.

On September 9, 2005 Juneau School District Superintendent Peggy Cowan presented President Thomas with a letter and Plaque recognizing him as the "Outstanding Community Professional Supporting Education". The presentation was made during CCTHITA's annual All Staff Meeting. At this all-staff meeting our President challenged staff to fully utilize our tribal policy of taking up to one hour of administrative leave to attend their child's school functions such as parent/teacher conferences.

At the end of the month President Thomas will travel to Fairbanks to receive an Alumni Achievement Award from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) for "Business and Professional Excellence". The Alumni Achievement Awards were created in 1991 to recognize the outstanding contributions made by graduates and former students of UAF.

As a strong voice for Native education, President Thomas will be addressing the Alaska Native Brotherhood and Sisterhood Grand Camp on the "Importance of Education" during their annual convention in Juneau next week. We must all join together and insist that all of our Native students finish high school.

Photo of President Thomas receiving JSD award.

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Media Contact:
Jodi Wolf - CCTHITA Publications
9097 Glacier Highway, Juneau, AK 99801
Tel. 907/463-7123
Email: jwolf@ccthita.org