Contact Shawn Wolkoff
About Shawn Wolkoff
My name is Shawn Wolkoff, and I’m an Alutiiq/Sugpiaq raised in Kodiak and currently reside on Dena’ina land in Anchorage. My pronouns are He/Him. I am the youngest child of the late Roy and Lucinda Wolkoff (Squartsoff). I have four older sisters (one deceased) and two older brothers. My parents were raised in the village of Ouzinkie, which is a little over 10 miles from Kodiak. Being raised in Kodiak was interesting; my father was a commercial fisherman, and because of that, I was raised around boats and fishing all my life. I have always been fascinated with the Ocean and all the life inside and around it.
Growing up, I was always off in my own little world, and as such, I didn’t make the same connections my older sibling did with the people who were important to our community or even my extended family. That was a big mistake, and I wish I had paid more attention to those around me or asked more questions at the time because I missed out on getting to know and learn from many amazing Elder family and community members. I have aimed to rectify that by utilizing social media and networking in the Alaska Native community to grow my knowledge of who I am and what my culture means to me. Hopefully, I’ll be able to share my knowledge through my writing so others can realize we, as Alaska Native/ American Indians, are more than what is normally seen and noticed in the news and social media.
Shawn is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service volunteer and served as an Indigenous Knowledge Liaison supported by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Conservation Legacy and hosted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Region Office of Communications.
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