Surrounded by paintings of Tribal Elders, members of the Election Board and the Coghill Group count ballots for Tribal Council seats during the 2021 Annual General Membership Meeting. Pictured are Bernice Crandall; Katheryn Rodgers; the Coghill Group’s Ramona Trujillo and Bill Coghill, and Logan Wik, Election Board Chair.
The Kenaitze Indian Tribe was federally recognized as a sovereign, independent nation in 1971 under the Indian Reorganization Act as amended for Alaska. Today, we have about more than 2,100 Tribal Members who live across the Kenai Peninsula and beyond. We employ more than 430 full-time and part-time employees and interns.
The Tribe delivers a variety of programs and services that promote the wellness of our people and the community.
In 2014, we opened the 52,000-square-foot Dena’ina Wellness Center, an integrated health care facility. Kahtnuht’ana Qayeh, the Tribe’s campus in Old Town Kenai, also includes Tyotkas Elder Center, Qiz’unch’ Tribal Court, and Chuq’eya Qenq’a (Birch Tree House), which houses the Tribe’s Behavioral Health services.
The campus expanded in 2019 with renovations to the adjacent Toyon building to accommodate offices and workspaces for Na’ini Family and Social Services and the Kenaitze/Salamatof Tribally Designated Housing Entity office.
The Heartbeat of Mother Earth Drum group performs as Tribal Members line up for lunch during the annual Opening of the Net celebration at the Tribal fishery.
The Tribe’s new Kahtnuht’ana Duhdeldiht Campus opened for in-person services in September 2023. The 67,259-square-foot building is home to the Tribe’s Early Learning, Yaghanen Youth Language and Culture, and Community Education and Career Training programs.
In 2025, the Tribe opened Tułen Charter School in partnership with the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District. The curriculum focuses on Dena’ina language and culture and serves children in kindergarten through third grade.
The Tribe also operates an educational fishery from its beach site on the shores of Cook Inlet near the mouth of the Kenai River.
At our Annual General Membership Meeting on the first Saturday in October, we elect members to the Tribal Council to serve staggered terms. The seven-member Tribal Council governs the Tribe in accordance with our constitution, by-laws, ordinances and resolutions. The Council appoints a Chief Judge to oversee Qiz’unch’ Tribal Court and uphold Tribal laws. The Tribal Council also hires the Executive Director to manage the day-to-day operations of the Tribe.
A team pulls the Tribal net from Tikahtnu, Cook Inlet, during the annual Opening of the Net celebration.
Our funding comes from federal, state and private grants, as well as third-party revenue generated by our health care programs.
Our Tribe is more than buildings and programs; it is our people, the Kahtnuht’ana Dena’ina. The Kahtnuht’ana Dena’ina have inhabited Yaghanen, the good land, since time immemorial. Our vision, to assure Kahtnuht’ana Dena’ina thrive forever, continues to guide us in all that we do.
Tribal Members crowd together to join in the festivities as the opening ribbon is cut at the Kahtnuht’ana Duhdeldiht Campus in June 2022.
