May 22, 2025 by Robin McKnight

Special to the Seward Folly

On the edge of Resurrection Bay in Seward, a multi-building campus spans the water’s edge, nestled between the UAF Seward Marine Center and the Lowell Canyon waterfall. Alutiiq Pride Marine Institute is a one-of-a-kind shellfish hatchery, marine research facility, and mariculture technical center. As of April 4, 2025, the facility and the property it sits on officially belong to its parent organization, the Chugach Regional Resources Commission (CRRC).

Since its construction between 1992 and 1994, Alutiiq Pride has gone by different names, such as the Alutiiq Pride Shellfish Hatchery, and served many purposes. Originally, the property Alutiiq Pride now resides on was leased by the City of Seward to the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 1970. The facility, built using Exxon Valdez settlement funds, was subleased back to the City of Seward, which then placed bids for operations. In 1997, the Qutekcak Native Tribe (then Marathon Native Tribe), with the help of Chugach Regional Resources Commission, took over operations and began by developing an oyster hatchery in the facility. In the early 2000s, the Chugach Regional Resources Commission took over operations from Qutekcak, one of its constituent Tribes, and began increasing the diversity of species cultivated in the hatchery and expanding operations to include marine research and kelp mariculture. 

“The agencies, the university, the City of Seward, the State of Alaska- were all trying to make something work to promote mariculture in Alaska.”

Jeff Hetrick- Director of Alutiiq Pride

Indeed, Alutiiq Pride is a cutting-edge mariculture technical center, cultivating dozens of species of shellfish, growing kelp seed for the state’s growing kelp industry, and conducting research and development related to kelp processing. More than this, Alutiiq Pride plays an integral role in carrying out the mission of its parent organization.

The Chugach Regional Resources Commission is a Tribally led nonprofit which serves the seven Tribal communities of the Chugach region: Qutekcak Native Tribe in Seward, Nanwalek, Port Graham, Native Village of Eyak in Cordova, Tatitlek, Chenega, and Valdez Native Tribe. The Chugach Regional Resources Commission’s mission is “to protect, rebuild, and conserve the Chugach environment and natural resources while promoting Tribal sovereignty and the protection of a subsistence lifestyle.” The organization focuses on elevating Tribal voices and priorities, supporting Tribal natural resource management, and conserving important subsistence species.

The work that happens at Alutiiq Pride is key to realizing this mission. Aquaculture technicians cultivate and spawn native shellfish species which restore populations at community beaches across the region, replenishing subsistence species for Tribal members to harvest. Chemists and biologists monitor the health of the marine ecosystem through a community sampling program that assesses ocean acidification and the presence of paralytic shellfish toxins, and identifies harmful algae species. Kelp mariculture specialists grow kelp seed spool for community and commercial farms, hoping to diversify and strengthen the economies of the region’s rural communities. The facility is one of two Tribal hatcheries and the only shellfish hatchery in Alaska.

Purchasing the facility from the City of Seward, which previously leased the space to the Chugach Regional Resources Commission, also known as CRRC, has been a long-term goal for the organization. The goal became a reality when the previous City of Seward administration approached CRRC after an assessment of their real property that was a cost and liability and did not provide the City with any financial benefit within their portfolio. After many meetings and testimony to the Seward City Council, the goal became a reality and CRRC entered into a purchase and sale agreement for less than fair market value in December of 2022. Then, the fundraising and financial positioning began.

Seward Deputy City Manager Jason Bickling commented, “The City of Seward is excited to be able to sell the Alutiiq Pride Marine Institute (APMI) property to the Chugach Regional Resources Commission. APMI has a long history of being part of the Seward economy and doing excellent work in the preservation of marine natural resources for the region. Owning their own property will open doors to be able to expand and meet the needs of the growing mariculture industry and continue to lead the way in research and resource enrichment.”

According to the Chugach Regional Resources Commission’s Executive Director, Willow Hetrick-Price, this purchase would not have been possible without the support of two Indigenous philanthropic organizations. The First Nations Development Institute is a nonprofit that operates across the United States to “uplift and sustain the lifeways and economies of Native communities through advocacy, financial support, and knowledge sharing.” First Nations has been with CRRC since the beginning of its journey to purchase Alutiiq Pride. The NDN Collective, a nonprofit that operates across the Turtle Islands, is dedicated to “building Indigenous power.” NDN Collective has supported CRRC through their diverse ecosystem of funding opportunities to secure the crucial final funding to purchase the facility.

Executive Director Hetrick-Price hopes that the purchase of the property and building will increase visibility of the organization’s work for its service communities, collaborators and partners, and funders. Hetrick-Price sees Alutiiq Pride Marine Institute’s purchase as a pathway to accelerating CRRC’s work through increased decision-making power for property improvements, as well as providing an anchor in the Seward community.

Jeff Hetrick, the Alutiiq Pride director, remarks, “Owning the facility means we control our own density with usage and programs and improvements and repairs.”

This purchase is aligned with CRRC’s mission, creating a greater impact region-wide for Alutiiq Pride’s programs, which promote habitat and species restoration, ocean monitoring, and food security. 

The purchase of Alutiiq Pride is not merely a way to increase the efficacy of CRRC’s programs but a part of the larger picture of the Land Back movement.

Hetrick-Price comments, “Owning this waterfront property and building isn’t just a financial or strategic decision — it’s a reclamation of space, identity, and future. For too long, Native organizations have had to operate in borrowed spaces. This purchase anchors us permanently in Seward and deepens our commitment to the Chugach region. It’s Land Back in a real, tangible way — creating a place that reflects our mission, empowers our people. We’re not just claiming space — we’re rooting ourselves in place, in biocultural restoration, and in the future. This gives us the freedom to build our own vision — for the facility, for our community in Seward, and for the Chugach region for generations to come.”

To learn more about the Chugach Regional Resources Commission, visit https://crrcalaska.org/

To learn more about First Nations Development Institute, visit https://www.firstnations.org/

To learn more about the NDN Collective, visit 

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