The Skagway Traditional Council (STC) is active in protecting the environment through education and the development of platforms for productive dialogue on the delicate balance of community development, environmental impacts, the assessment of current habitat states & historical effects, and protecting traditional activities and existing ecosystems. Our people have always attempted to live in harmony with their surroundings by carrying traditions from generation to generation that house intimate knowledge on the relationships that exist in nature. This lifestyle, that our people called haa kustéeyi (our way of life / our culture), has often been difficult to mesh within the boundaries of federal programs and departments, but due to the recent success of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Indian General Assistance Program (EPA – IGAP) many Tribes throughout Alaska and the Northwest Coast have been finding the means to do so.

The IGAP allows Tribes educate their staff in the ways of modern science so we can best convey the essence of our ancestors’ teachings to the Federal Government, which leads to better Tribal Consultation from other sectors of the Federal Government, such as the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Park Service. Through the IGAP, the EPA has provided a program that is seeing monumental success, and is leading to Tribes having a stronger voice in the environmental happenings in their area; and thus assisting those Tribes in their right to exercise self determination within their Tribal Boudaries.

In October of 2000, the STC initiated the Skagway IGAP Program, which has now developed into the Tribal Environmental Protection Program (TEPP). The goals of the TEPP are: to promote environmental education and collaboration within the boundaries of the Tribe; to serve as a consultation resource for the Tribal Staff and Board of Directors; to cooperate with regional and statewide Tribal Environmental Programs and help determine the best possible solutions to problems that exist at such scales; and to develop into a community resource that responds to environmental hazards and assists with the coordination of clean up and prevention efforts.