About 50 people gathered on a snowy April day on a lot in Kotzebue. Some attendees were dressed in regalia, with fur parkys and fancy atikłuks. A few construction workers, in fluorescent yellow coveralls, looked on beside excavators and dozers.
“The Tribal Council wanted to start the project off correctly, and that was with a ceremony that included a request for blessing over the land and over the project,” said Carl Nasruk Weisner, deputy director for the Native Village of Kotzebue.
Elder Lorena Kapniaq Williams gave the blessing, and preschoolers from the immersion school sang Iñupiatun songs.
“It was just a beautiful day, and everyone is so excited about the opportunities for this project and what it presents,” Weisner said.
The new facility will be a two-story building that will house the tribe’s administration offices and the Iñupiaq immersion preschool, Nikaitchuat Iḷisaġviat.
It's been about four decades since a fire destroyed the tribe’s previous building. Right now, the tribe has offices scattered across Kotzebue in leased spaces. Weisner said that means extra costs, inefficiencies and limited visibility in the community.
“To have all of it, the programs and services under one roof is about dignity and stability, self governance,” Weisner said. “For the first time in 40 years, we'll have a permanent tribal facility, a home that speaks our language, reflects our values, and delivers services in a way that's uniquely ours.”
The structure, designed by Kuna Engineering, a NANA subsidiary, is a mix of sharp angles and soft curves. Weisner said the design reflects the environment, with features that account for the dark winters and 24-hour daylight in the summer.
The domed skylight is shaped like an igloo. Solar panels on two sides take advantage of the summer sun and reflection off snow during the winter.
Weisner said initially the building was designed to have enough solar panels and energy-saving features to produce more power than the building needs, allowing the tribe to sell electricity back into the grid.
“We found that to be very expensive, and although we still wish to pursue net zero facility, if we don't have the funding, then we're just going to have to do the best we can,” he said.
The tribe allocated $15 million to the project, leftover from federal pandemic relief. It still needs another $5 million.
According to Weisner, the tribe is pursuing a variety of funding sources, including state and federally directed spending, banks and commercial lenders, philanthropic organizations and the Northwest Arctic Borough.
“You name it, we're going down the list for every opportunity we have to gain what we need in funding to become a fully funded project,” Weisner said. “We're optimistic in a measured way about that effort, and we're at it every day.”
With a new federal administration, Weisner said there are fewer opportunities for funding green initiatives, and the tribe needed to make adjustments to the design to fit their budget.
Still, the tribe is committed to reducing its carbon footprint, he said.
For example, by picking a site kitty-corner to Kotzebue Electric Association, Weisner said wasted heat from the utility’s diesel generators can be reclaimed to heat the new building.
The building site is also adjacent to Ashley Johnson-Barr memorial park, which offers a playground for the Iñupiaq immersion preschool.
“We're building more than walls. We're building belonging, and we want to finish what we started for the community, for continuity, for Kotzebue,” Weisner said. “We're just so thankful for the support and for the trust that our community and our region has given us, and we're looking to keep building this together.”
Weisner said as many as 60 employees will be hired during construction. He said one of the contractors, Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation, hopes to get some of the steel and paneling onto the barge to begin construction this summer.
Weisner expects the building to be complete by the end of 2026, but said the tribe does have contingencies for extensions.
