Deenaalee Hodgdon
BCCA Alaska Indigenous Policy Coordinator

Deenaalee is a queer Deg Xit’an Athabaskan and Supiaq person from the villages of Gitr’ingithchagg (Anvik) and Qinuyang (South Naknek), Alaska.

They are the Director of Marine Regeneration at the Native Conservancy, Executive Director of On The Land Media and a commercial fisherman on the F/V Cozy Ray. Deenaalee holds their Bachelor of Arts Degree in Anthropology with an emphasis in Public Policy, Urban Studies and Food Sovereignty from Brown University.

In 2019, Deenaalee interned at the Wilson Center’s Polar Institute as a Brown in Washington Fellow, where they worked on understanding U.S Arctic national security and the impacts of climate change as it pertains to Arctic Indigenous Peoples. Their time at the Polar Institute led them to work directly with the Arctic Athabaskan Council where they now sit as the AAC Permanent Participant Youth Representative to the Arctic Council.

Deenaalee has also worked as a restaurant manager, cultural interpreter, and raft guide in Denali National Park. These positions taught them the importance of communicating effectively with visitors throughout the world, especially regarding the intricacies of Alaskan Native land rights.

Their intellectual pursuits and curiosities are primarily dedicated to sustainable fisheries, next economies, climate justice, emergent strategy, and pleasure activism. They seek to guide policy-making decisions with a more holistic and Indigenous approach. As a rock climber, backcountry skier, hiker and kayaker, Deenaalee hopes to increase visibility and inclusivity in the outdoors for Indigenous youth and people of the global majority.