Austin Ahmasuk, nome

Austin Amahsook studied Rural Development at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and works as the Marine Advocate for Kawerak, the Native corporation that includes villages of the Bering Straits Region of Alaska.

Kawerak’s stated goal is to “assist Alaska Native people and their governing bodies to take control of their future”. Ahmasuk manages the Kawerek Marine Program, where he advocates for subsistence activities in the face of melting sea ice that’s leading to increased shipping in the Bering and Chukchi Sea.

His advocacy is personally rooted. He remembers the lessons his grandfather would teach him while they were walrus hunting together