• Careers
  • Member Services
    • Tribal Member Enrollment
    • Tribal Member Services
    • Tribal Fishery
    • Tribal Member Benefits
    • Tribal Employment Rights Ordinance
    • Kenaitze Store
  • Newsroom
    • Media Releases
    • Our Stories
    • Newsletters
    • Annual Reports
    • In the News
    • Media Contact
  • Contact
(907) 335-7200  vimeo  facebook flickr

Kenaitze Indian Tribe

Kahtnuht’ana Dena’ina

  • Home
  • About
    • Kenaitze Indian Tribe
    • Mission
    • Procurement
    • Culture
      • Kenaitze Culture
      • Dena’inaq’ Huch’ulyeshi
      • K’beq’ Cultural Site
  • Tribal Government
    • Constitution
    • Tribal Council
    • Committees
    • Ordinances
    • Tribal Court
      • Henu Community Wellness Court
      • Ts’iłq’u Circle
      • Tribal Court Codes
    • Annual General Membership Meeting 2020
    • Annual General Membership Meeting 2021
    • Annual General Membership Meeting 2022
  • Services
    • Tyotkas Elder Services
    • Emergency Help
    • Food Cache
    • Energy
    • Housing
    • Burial
    • Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault
    • Family Services
    • Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA)
  • Dena’ina Wellness Center
    • Preparing For Your Visit
      • About the Center
      • Customer Service
      • Privacy Practices
      • Rights and Responsibilities
      • Registration Packet
      • Release of Information
      • Un’ina Services Handbook
    • MyHealth
    • Medical
    • Dental
    • Behavioral Health
      • Sobriety Services
    • Wellness Services And Gym
    • Rehabilitation Therapy
    • Lab & Pharmacy
    • Optometry
    • Traditional Healing
    • Purchased and Referred Care
  • Education
    • Dena’ina Language Institute
      • Audio Dictionary
      • Grammar Book
    • Early Learning
    • Yaghanen Language And Cultural Programs
    • Community Education (College And Career Support)
    • Child Care Assistance

Honoring our past

November 17, 2021

Tribe contributes to Russian Orthodox cemetery cleanup

Members of the Tribe’s Facilities and Maintenance crew guide a tour for Tribal leaders through the Russian Orthodox Cemetery in September. From left, Trevor Smagge, Maintenance Technician; Chelsea Hendriks, interim Executive Director of Tribal Administration; Dale Segura, TDHE Housing and Facilities Director, Quintin Kimball, Summer Laborer; and James Gray, Maintenance Technician.

Over the summer, members of the Tribe’s Facilities and Maintenance crew put in some extra work to help clean up the Holy Assumption of the Virgin Mary Russian Orthodox Cemetery in Old Town Kenai.

The cemetery is a significant place for the Kenaitze Indian Tribe. The Russian Orthodox Church in Kenai was founded in 1846, and over the years, many Tribal Members have been interred in the cemetery.

Mary Ann Mills, Tribal Council Vice Chair and Chair of the Tribe’s Elders Committee, said a number of people had noticed that the cemetery had gotten to be overgrown.

Trevor Smagge, a Tribal Member and Maintenance Technician, said that after his grandmother, Rita Smagge, passed away over the summer, he wanted to visit the cemetery to see other relatives who have been interred there. He found waist-high grass and brush obscuring much of the site, and was moved to do something about it.

“Our Tribal values include honoring our past, and our past Tribal Members,” Smagge said, adding that the work to clean up the cemetery is about “honoring our Tribe’s past and present.”

Smagge said the Tribe was an important part of his upbringing, and he has attended burials at the cemetery for family members who belonged to the church.

The Elders Committee asked Elders staff to reach out to the church to see if assistance was needed. Maintenance staff were asked to help out, and Smagge took the lead on the project.

Brandi Bell, Elders and Transportation Manager, said the Tribe’s maintenance crew has a well-earned reputation for getting things done – and doing them well.

Tribal Member Trevor Smagge stands at his great-grandmother’s gave in the Russian Orthodox Cemetery in November. Trevor and other employees in the Tribe’s Facilities and Maintenance department cleared the site of overgrowth last summer.

When they had down time from their other job duties, maintenance staff stopped by the cemetery to clear brush and do some landscaping work.

The crew hauled away six truckloads of brush. Uneven ground made the work a challenge and required the use of a brush hog to do the work, rather than a regular lawnmower.

The intent is that all the work will make the cemetery easier to maintain going forward.

“Almost all – if not all – of the people in the cemetery are our people,” Mills said. “It was really important. To honor our relatives, we wanted to get it cleaned up.”

Mills said she is grateful to all of those who helped with the work. Those pitching in included Andy Ellestad, George LaRoque, Quintin Kimball and Victor Evan Jr.

“It really is an honorable thing,” Mills said.

Father Peter, who is Rector at the church, said the church appreciates the help.

“We’re really grateful for the incredible job the work crew did,” Father Peter said.

Father Peter said the church has a long-term beautification plan for the cemetery that includes walking paths and seating.

“We’re grateful to God for the partnership we have with the Kenaitze Tribe,” Father Peter said.

Smagge said he is happy to have been able to help.

“It’s very important to remember where we came from,” Smagge said. “I’m glad we got to do that.”

Filed Under: Stories

Kenaitze Indian Tribe

Locations

Kenaitze Administration • (907) 335-7200
Dena'ina Wellness Center • (907) 335-7500
Education and College and Career Support • (907) 335-7667
Tyotkas Elder Services • (907) 335-7280
Na’ini Family and Social Services • (907) 335-7600
Kenaitze Tribal Court • (907) 335-7219

Directions & Maps

Photos

All Photos

 
Copyright © 2023 Kenaitze Indian Tribe · All rights reserved. Website by Sundog Media, LLC Logo Sundog Media, LLC.

Heidi King, NCAC II, CDCS

Recovery Support Manager/Counselor
Heidi has eight years of experience in the chemical dependency field. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology, with a minor in Women’s Studies, from the University of Alaska. She is a nationally accredited Chemical Dependency Clinician, and a state accredited Chemical Dependency Clinical Supervisor.

Heidi has a background in providing residential chemical dependency counseling. She is certified as a Conflict Resolution and Relapse Prevention Trainer with the National Association of Addiction Counselors. She is also a certified Peer Supports Trainer and Supervisor through the Alaska Commission of Behavioral Health Certification.

When she’s not serving un’ina, Heidi teaches yoga as a certified and registered instructor. She also enjoys hiking, fishing, and spending time with her child, spouse, and numerous pets, camping all over Alaska.

Heidi provides chemical dependency counseling services in group settings and individual sessions.

Heidi can personally relate to chemical dependency and is passionate about helping those seeking recovery supports. For Heidi, healing is community, and community is an important part of connection with one’s self. She sees the positive ripple effect that healing can provide throughout the community.

Fridrik Rafn Gudmundsson, MSW, LCSW

Recovery Support Manager
Fridrik has earned his master’s degree in Social Work and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. He studied massage therapy in Iceland, and became fascinated with the mind-body connection. He completed his undergraduate degree in philosophy with a psychology minor.

Fridrik has had the opportunity to live in four countries and to travel to many others. He counts finding and marrying the love of his life and adopting his son among his greatest accomplishments. He is grateful to be able to live in this beautiful and sacred part of the world and to serve the Tribe and un’ina, “those who come to us.”

When he’s not serving un’ina, Fridrik loves spending time with his family, hiking, kayaking, camping, fishing, traveling, and having fun. He enjoys learning, listening to music, and taking time for spiritual practice.

Fridrik provides assessments and individual, family and group psychotherapy at Chuq’eya Qenq’a, Birch Tree House.

For Fridrik, coming to the Kenaitze Indian Tribe felt like coming home. The more he learned about the Tribe and its history, as well as the history of the Alaska Native people, the more he knew he had found a place to be of service.

Teresa A. Ford, MSW, LMSW

Behavioral Health Clinician
Teresa earned her bachelor’s degree in Social Work at Limestone University in South Carolina, and her master’s degree in Social Work from Campbellsville University in Kentucky. Teresa’s experience includes serving homeless and other disadvantaged populations, as well as work in outpatient rehabilitation, hospice, chemical dependency, adult and adolescent counseling, and prevention.

Teresa appreciates the Kenaitze Indian Tribe’s traditional values. She sees them as a driving force in how we treat ourselves and others, and how we serve those in need of help.

When not serving un’ina, “those who come to us,” Teresa spends her time bonding with her family, creating and traveling. She also enjoys learning about Alaska Native culture, exploring new hobbies, and gardening.

Teresa provides individual, family, and group therapy services. Teresa takes a variety of approaches to therapy, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Trauma Focused Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, Motivational Interviewing, Narrative Therapy, Person-Centered Therapy, and Dialectical Behavior Therapy.

Teresa has always been a helper at heart. Being able to overcome the things she experienced growing up in South Carolina empowered and inspired her to help others navigate through their life journeys.