JUNEAU, AK, Jan 5, 2023
Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC) is excited to announce Sonia Luokkala as their new Communications Director.
SEITC is a consortium of 15 sovereign Tribal nations located in Southeast Alaska working to protect the transboundary watersheds from rapidly expanding mining development occurring in the British Columbian headwaters.
Sonia comes to SEITC with a wealth of experience in journalism, having covered environmental and humanitarian topics for over a decade. She is of Amazigh and Finnish descent and moved to the US in 2012. Her work has appeared in many of the nation's most prominent publications, including The Los Angeles Times. In 2017, Finland's Timantti-awards for visual journalism recognized her climate report from arctic Alaska as one of the best stories of the year.
She is currently co-directing and co-producing her first feature documentary film, set in Quinhagak, Alaska.
"It's an honor to join SEITC to help elevate the unified voice of the Tribal nations whose lifeways are interwoven with the transboundary region," said Luokkala. "SEITC is set to make history by strategically aligning with the space we all intersect; the obligation of individuals, nations and corporations to protect and respect fundamental human rights."
Sonia will be responsible for leading SEITC's communications strategy, planning, and execution. She will work closely with SEITC's Executive and Assistant Executive Directors and Executive Committee.
"We welcome Sonia to the SEITC family"," said SEITC Chair Rob Sanderson Jr. "Her experience will help us in the delicate conversations we must have with our First Nation allies in order for the Alaska Tribes to have some say on how to protect our way of life from the threat of mining in British Columbia."
Significant mining development is occurring in the recognized traditional territory of the Southeast Alaska Tribal nations. The SEITC member Tribes seek to assert their right to free, prior and informed consent.