Oral history interview with Melanie R. Bahnke, 2022
Abstract
Melanie Bahnke reflects on her service as president and CEO of Kawerak, a non-profit organization that provides a wide range of services to residents of the Bering Strait region in Alaska, and supports Alaska Native communities. Bahnke focuses on her selection for, and participation in, a roundtable discussion with President Obama during the GLACIER (Global Leadership in the Arctic: Cooperation, In novation, Engagement and Resilience) Conference in 2015. She recalls joking with Obama, as well as discussing potential government actions to address the effects of climate change in Alaska. She also considers Obama's signing of Executive Order 13754 (on Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience) in December 2016, and outlines how the creation of the Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area was both a victory and only the beginning of the protections required to prevent climate change disasters in the region. Also discussed are Bahnke's culturally-rich childhood in Savoonga, Alaska; subsistence lifestyles; work/life balance; and her experience serving on the Council of Advancement for Alaska Natives and on the Alaska Redistricting Board in 2021
At the time of the interview, Melanie Akighqukaaghaq Bahnke is president and CEO of Kawerak, the regional tribal consortium in the Bering Strait region of Alaska. She started working at Kawerak in 1999. Bahnke grew up in Savoonga, and her first langua ge is St. Lawrence Island Yupik. She is a vocal advocate on Alaska Native and arctic issues and a leader in her community. In 2015, Bahnke participated in a roundtable discussion with President Obama and local leaders during his trip to Alaska. She has also served on the Council of Advancement for Alaska Natives and, in 2021, on the Alaska Redistricting Board
Note
Interviewed by Charlotte Wang on September 6, 2022. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Melanie R. Bahnke, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2023