Tava Kairaiuak

Tava Maliaaq Kairaiuak is Dena’ina Athabascan, Yup’ik and Aleut and a member of the Nondalton Tribe. Tava’s family comes from the villages of Nondalton, Chefornak and Karluk. They were raised in Anchorage and currently reside in Seattle. They are in their senior year at the University of Washington pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and Resource Management. Tava is interested in Tribal/Environmental Law and Policy and hopes to promote climate justice in their work, especially for rural Native communities in Alaska. 

Tava is also an artist specializing in using traditional materials, techniques and patterns to create contemporary artwork by way of beadwork, skin sewing and graphic design. For the past two years, Tava has been involved with their Native student club and has served on sustainability committees on their campus. They spent five years as an intern at the Alaska Native Heritage Center and spent the summer of 2023 interning at Abt Associates as a Tribal Environmental Intern. 

Tava is motivated by love for their family and people, and hopes to make them proud as they continue on their path.

About Tava’s Project

During their time as a 2024 Brave Heart Fellow, Tava worked to create a zine (a small-production publication) focused on food sovereignty, community relationships, concerns surrounding climate change and current climate resiliency projects in Alaska. Their project is designed to bring together people, science and art.