Knik Tribe

Knik Tribe, doing business as Knik Tribal Council, is a federally recognized Alaska Native tribal government based in Palmer, Alaska, that operates as the primary recipient of federal grants across health, education, environmental management, social services, and infrastructure programs serving over 10,000 Alaska Native and Indian people across a 25,000 square mile service area in the upper Cook Inlet region. The tribe operates as a grant recipient across 38 distinct federal agencies, with a portfolio of 152 prime grant awards (96% of total) and 6 sub-awards (4%), with combined obligated dollars of $144 million across 158 total awards accumulated since 2006.

Customer concentration centers on human services and community development agencies. The top five funders by award count account for 46% of awards: the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Public and Indian Housing Office leads with 18 awards, followed by the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Community Living (17 awards), the Administration for Children and Families (16 awards), the Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (13 awards), and EPA Region 10 (9 awards). The Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service holds the full combined potential value of $80 thousand, though the majority of the tribe's obligated dollar volume concentrates in the human services and education funders.

The tribe's recent grant portfolio spans culturally integrated behavioral health, education, environmental stewardship, and victim services. Named recent examples include a $5.06 million National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Cooperative Agreement (CFDA 11.463, Habitat Conservation) to complete 100 percent design for at least five fish passage barriers along Talkeetna Spur Road through September 2029, opening approximately 66 miles of anadromous spawning habitat and benefiting the Gulf of Alaska Chinook stock and endangered beluga whales; a $996,966 Department of Health and Human Services SAMHSA Center for Mental Health Services Project Grant (CFDA 93.532) to plan and design a family-driven, youth-guided system of care for American Indian and Alaska Native children, youth, and young adults from birth through age 25 across Alaska's Matanuska-Susitna Borough through September 2029; a $4.307 million Department of Education project grant (CFDA 84.356) for STEAM Academy construction in Palmer; a $1.421 million Department of Education Indian Education grant (CFDA 84.299) for Delta College and Career Readiness Programming; a $400,000 Department of Justice Treatment Court Discretionary Grant Program award (CFDA 16.585) to enhance an existing youth healing to wellness court with restorative justice practices and cultural integration through 2030; and multiple EPA Region 10 grants for pollution prevention technical assistance, brownfields response, and solid waste infrastructure for recycling.

Award activity has remained relatively stable, with 13 awards in 2022, 14 in 2023, 12 in 2024, 11 in 2025, and 9 year-to-date in 2026. Thirteen awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, representing near-term recompete exposure. The tribe operates two named subsidiaries: Benteh Led, LLC and Benteh Development, Inc., both tribally owned and minority-owned entities classified as Indian Economic Enterprises and Indian Small Business Economic Enterprises. The Benteh Wellness Center, established by the Knik Tribe Behavioral Health Department, operates as a cornerstone behavioral health facility delivering therapy, case management, and skill-building services to youth and families across the Mat-Su Valley, integrating Alaska Native languages, cultures, and traditional knowledge into programming.

The tribe acts as a sub-recipient on a small portion of its portfolio, including a Public Law 102-477 grant sub-award through the Citizen Indian Training Center, a subaward from the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium for fiscal year 2025 gap funding, and a sub-award from the City of Palmer for Mat-Su Valley Drug Endangered Children Multidisciplinary Team implementation services.