(SitNews) Ketchikan, Alaska - The Tongass National Forest is seeking interested candidates to fill its critical tribal relations specialist position. The specialist will be responsible for building, sustaining, and enhancing positive working relationships between the Tongass and its Tribal partners.

The Tongass is a “Native Place,” home of the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian people whose cultural identities and subsistence lifestyles are rooted in and tied to the land and waters of Southeast Alaska. Alaska Natives have continuously inhabited the forest for more than 10,000 years and today are dependent on subsistence hunting and fishing to sustain their bodies as well as their traditions and cultures.

The person selected for the job will work alongside Angelina Lammers, Tribal Relations assistant, who has served with the Forest Service in Ketchikan for 19 years. Lammers’ mother was Haida and her father was Nish’gaa.

“I would tell any candidate for the job that working for the Forest Service provides stable employment and will allow them to take a daily walk through our local history,” said Lammers.

“I thought I knew a lot about Alaska Native history and Ketchikan, but I learn something new every day,” said Lammers, who was born and raised in Alaska's ‘First City.’ “I really like this job. I have grown so much as a person by uncovering history. I enjoy learning about the building of Ketchikan and how things impacted Alaska Natives in Alaska.”

Being an Alaska Native has helped Lammers excel in her position because her Haida and Nish’gaa upbringing has made her “more compassionate and understanding of what Alaska Natives face.”

The Forest Service is looking for a candidate who possesses excellent interpersonal communications skills; the ability to deal with dynamically changing priorities in an environment with multiple stakeholders of differing views; the ability to work effectively with Forest Service and Tribal members and corporations; keen cultural awareness; facilitation skills; and an ability to personally promote and nurture strong partnerships. The person will also help Tongass employees improve their capacity to work effectively with Alaska Native interests.

The working environment for the person selected as the tribal relations specialist is unparalleled. Their office is the largest intact temperate rainforest on earth and the largest national forest in the United States, consisting of nearly 17 million acres of pristine habitat whose fish, wildlife and forest resources are largely unchanged.

The forest supervisor will determine the specific duty location for the tribal relations specialist during the hiring process. The targeted duty location for this position is Ketchikan, but other locations may be considered, including Juneau, Petersburg, or Sitka.

“The Tongass is an extraordinary place to work and affords employees the opportunity to preserve critical traditional cultural values; promote conservation and sustainability ethics; and support dynamic forest stewardship,” said O’Connor. “It’s a fantastic place to work.”

Those interested in learning more about the position should contact Deputy Forest Supervisor Tricia O’Connor at 907-228-6282, email poconnor@fs.fed.us, or current Tongass Tribal Relations Specialist John Autrey at 907-228-6264, email jautrey@fs.fed.us no later than July 22.

The job will be advertised in the near future at www.usajobs.gov.

Edited by Mary Kauffman, SitNews

Source of News: 

U.S. Forest Service
www.fs.fed.gov

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Ketchikan, Alaska

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