Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) is excited to welcome Diloola Erickson as our new Tribal Resource Stewardship Division (TRSD) Director! Diloola spent most of her childhood on Tlingit Aani (‘our land’ in Tlingit) in the village of Hoonah, and recalls spending a lot of time on the beach, in the woods, and learning the Tlingit language and culture in school. In high school, she moved to Galena where she began to learn her Athabascan culture before moving to Fairbanks to attend University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). Diloola has also lived in Galena and Kaltag, where she is currently enrolled as a Tribal member. She has family ties to Tok, where her late grandpa John Erickson and grandma Joyce Erickson settled during the territory days.
At UAF, Diloola earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts in Rural Development, which she intended to use towards building rural infrastructure. She quickly realized, however, that language revitalization was a more passionate pursuit for her. She worked at Doyon Foundation in their language program where she acted as the Doyon Languages Online II Project Manager. Following her work there, she transferred to Native Movement as their Environmental Justice Director, where she rooted herself in Indigenous advocacy for land and water rights. “I have always had a mind, as many young people raised in the village do, of going out, getting my education, and then returning home to use my skills to serve my community,” she says. “It’s because of that directive that I pursued my degrees with intention, and in my career path, I now find myself here at TCC,” she adds.
When speaking of her goals at TCC, Diloola says she wants to spend the first year building out the Tribal Resource Stewardship Division (TRSD) team in order to support Tribal advocates who have been doing this work for generations. Her long-term goal is for the team to work closely with Tribal leaders in advancing the priorities of TRSD so that the work is deeply rooted in Athabascan values and heavily guided by the frontline advocates who live and teach our ways of life. “One of the priorities I’m really keen on building is the use of Indigenous Knowledge in tandem with Western science to build towards Tribal-led co-stewardship of our lands, waters, and animals,” she says.
Diloola enjoys honing her skills in traditional Athabascan arts like beading, quill work, caribou tufting, and skin sewing, as well as contemporary fiber arts such as knitting and crocheting. She is also being taught by her auntie the art of brain tanning moose and caribou hides. She loves spending time with her Kaltag family, learning the Denaakk’e language and joining them in coaching their Youth in the Denaakk’e dub-over of Molly of Denali. “Learning my language with my family and community and teaching it to my daughter is one of my biggest sources of joy,” she recounts. Diloola also enjoys being on the land, harvesting with her family.
Diloola’s immersion into and passion for our culture infuses her career choices with exactly the right attributes TCC seeks in the leader of our Tribal Resource Stewardship Division, and we are so proud and honored to welcome her!
Deloole’aanh se’ooze’. Eenaa’e Susan Erickson me’ooze’. Eetaa’e Arne Erickson me’ooze’. Setsoo yeł setseye eenaa’e medełnekkaa Irene Solomon yeł Alex Solomon Jr. hev’ooz gheelaa. Setsoo eetaa’e medełnekkaa Joyce Erickson me’ooze’. Setseye eetaa’e medełnekkaa John Erickson me’ooz gheelaa. Sedenaa Kylah Huntington me’ooze’. Ggaał Doh hʉts’enh ts’aadaanslet, Fairbanks lesdo. Denaakk’e hedohʉdege’eeh.
(My name is Deloole’aanh. My mom is Susan Erickson (from Kaltag) and my Father is Arne Erickson (from Tok). My grandparents on my mom’s side were the late Irene Solomon and Alex Solomon Jr. (from Kaltag). My Grandparents on my dad’s side are Joyce Erickson and the late John Erickson (from Tok). My daughter’s name is Kylah Huntington. I come from Kaltag, and I live in Fairbanks. I am learning my language.)