Cheesh-Na Tribe

The Cheesh-Na Tribe is a federally recognized tribal government located in the Copper River region of Alaska, registered in SAM.gov since June 2004 and based in Gakona, Alaska. As a tribally owned firm and tribal government entity, the Cheesh-Na Tribe has established itself as a significant recipient of federal grant funding, utilizing these awards to address critical community needs spanning violence prevention, infrastructure development, environmental stewardship, cultural preservation, and emergency preparedness. The tribe does not currently serve as a federal contract prime awardee but has developed substantial grant management capacity through its role as a prime recipient of federal project and formula grants from multiple agencies.

The Cheesh-Na Tribe has received federal grant awards totaling approximately $4.7 million across nine distinct projects since 2021, demonstrating diverse programmatic expertise and community-focused initiatives. The tribe's work encompasses violence prevention services through a $519,448 three-year grant from the Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women (awarded October 2025), which supports enhanced tribal legal and justice capacity, law enforcement collaboration, victim legal assistance, and transitional housing in partnership with the Mt. Sanford Tribal Consortium. Community infrastructure and housing development has been supported through a $2 million Department of Housing and Urban Development Indian Community Development Block Grant (December 2024) focused on affordable housing construction, rehabilitation, and economic development. Environmental and climate resilience work includes two overlapping EPA Region 10 grants totaling unspecified amounts (October 2024) addressing waste management, climate adaptation planning, and emergency response, a Denali Commission climate change adaptation and hazard mitigation planning grant (July 2024), and a $947,788.56 FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant (November 2023) for infrastructure resilience projects in Gakona. Wildlife conservation efforts have been supported through a $197,400 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Tribal Wildlife Grants award (January 2024) for the Mentasta Caribou Herd monitoring project. Additionally, the tribe has received funding for cultural and community connectivity initiatives, including a Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund formula grant (May 2023) for broadband infrastructure and digital access, an Institute of Museum and Library Services grant (August 2022) for computer equipment and internet services benefiting over 1,400 community members, and two Administration for Native Americans grants for Upper Ahtna language preservation projects (September 2021). The tribe has managed these grants without identified subrecipients in most cases, though the violence prevention project operates in formal partnership with Mt. Sanford Tribal Consortium.