Author Archives: Media

BSNC Announces Bereavement Assistance Increase to $2,500

By Media | Published: January 28, 2019

The Bering Straits Native Corporation (BSNC) Board of Directors has voted to increase bereavement benefits from $1,500 to $2,500. Bereavement assistance helps defray the cost of funeral expenses for an original BSNC shareholder, a lineal descendent of an original BSNC shareholder, or the spouse of a living original BSNC shareholder. “We recognize that families have […]

In Memoriam: Shareholder Lela Kiana Oman

By Media | Published: December 19, 2018

BSNC shareholder Lela Kiana Oman passed away peacefully surrounded by loving family members on Monday, July 9. Lela was BSNC’s oldest shareholder at 102 and a half years of age. Lela was born in 1915 in Noorvik, Alaska. She moved to Nome as a young girl and resided there for the remainder of her life. […]

Lonny Piscoya Awarded Glenn Godfrey Law Enforcement Award

By Media | Published: December 19, 2018

The Alaska Federation of Natives awarded BSNC shareholder Lieutenant Lonny Piscoya the Glenn Godfrey Law Enforcement Award. Lieutenant Piscoya’s law enforcement career has spanned nearly 25 years and during that time he has served Alaska and its communities from the Southeast panhandle to the Northern Interior. The knowledge he gained growing up in rural Alaska […]

In Memoriam: Shareholder June Degnan

By Media | Published: December 18, 2018

BSNC mourns the passing of shareholder June Degnan who served on BSNC’s Board of Directors from 1985-1989. June passed away on July 9. Born in 1937 and raised in Unalakleet, June was the daughter of Ada and Frank Degnan. June earned a Master of Arts in Library and Information Science with Phi Kappa Phi Honors […]

BSNC Offers Scholarship for Maritime Career

By Media | Published: December 18, 2018

BSNC is offering qualified shareholders and descendants a one-time scholarship for up to $2,000 for a career opportunity with Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO). The scholarship will help hired candidates obtain prerequisite TWIC and U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariners certificates, and pay for air travel to ECO’s training facility in Louisiana. Once hired, training starts immediately. […]

U.S. Army to Repatriate Remains of Students Who Died at Boarding School

By Media | Published: December 18, 2018

The U.S. Army will repatriate remains of young students buried at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania. The school’s mission was to remove children from their culture and assimilate them into mainstream American culture. The boarding school operated between 1879 and 1918. More than 10,000 Native American children were required upon arrival to have […]

BSNC Awarded Community Champion of the Year Award

By Media | Published: December 18, 2018

BSNC is pleased to announce that it has been selected as the Arctic Indigenous Investment Conference’s (AIIC) Community Champion of the Year for the Alaska region. This award honors a business, nongovernmental organization, development corporation or a company with aboriginal partnerships that has demonstrated a significant commitment to community enhancement. The award was presented at […]

Introducing Board Director Becka Baker

By Media | Published: December 18, 2018

Edna “Becka” Baker was elected to BSNC’s Board of Directors at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders held on Oct. 6 in Anchorage. Baker resides in Nome, where she was born and raised. In addition to serving as a Director of Bering Straits Native Corporation, she also serves as a Director of Sitnasuak Native Corporation. Baker […]

Shareholder Cindy Massie Honored at AFN

By Media | Published: December 18, 2018

BSNC shareholder Cindy Massie and her husband Tom were awarded the Alaska Federation of Natives Small Business Award for their generous philanthropic efforts advancing causes in Alaska. Tom and Cindy met in Nome, Alaska where Tom was working. Cindy was working construction as a flagger. From the day Tom spotted Cindy flagging, he never wanted […]

Shareholder Lisa Anaya Earns Professional Certification

By Media | Published: December 18, 2018

BSNC congratulates shareholder employee Lisa Anaya on receiving Basics of Government Contracting and Federal Acquisition Regulation Workshop certificates. Obtaining these certificates, along with her past experience with contracts, allows her to test for the Certified Federal Contract Manager Certification. Anaya has 26 years of experience in the oil industry as a business analyst. She was […]

Shareholder Spotlight: Tom Piscoya

By Media | Published: December 18, 2018

BSNC shareholder and Bering Straits Foundation scholarship recipient Tom Piscoya is a Boeing 737 Captain for Alaska Airlines and has been flying professionally for more than 35 years. Captain Piscoya spent most of his childhood in Nome, where he remembers walking to grade school in his mukluks, and a great fascination for airplanes. As a […]

Shareholder Spotlight: Shareholder LTJG Kya McAllister

By Media | Published: December 18, 2018

On July 6, 2018, BSNC shareholder Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG) Kya McAlister of Medford, Ore. received her Naval Aviation Wings of Gold from the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas. She is a 2016 United States Naval Academy graduate and a 2012 graduate of Phoenix High School in Phoenix, Ore. LTJG McAlister will continue […]

Historical Spotlight: 1918 Marks 100th Anniversary of Flu Pandemic

By Media | Published: December 18, 2018

This October marked the 100-year anniversary of the 1918 pandemic of influenza, which swept the globe as World War I drew to a close. Worldwide, at least 2 billion people would contract the virus and 20 million people would succumb as the epidemic ran its course. For indigenous groups with little or no previous contact […]

BSNC Honors Elders at Annual Meeting

By Media | Published: December 18, 2018

BSNC recognized Elder shareholders at its 2018 Annual Meeting held Saturday, Oct. 6 in Anchorage, Alaska. Cecilia Smith and Vern Olson, the two Eldest shareholders present at the meeting, were recognized with a cash prize, blueberries and the book “Menadelook: An Inupiat Teacher’s Photographs of Alaska Village Life, 1907-1932” written by BSNC shareholder Eileen Norbert. […]

Winter 2018

A Message from the President & CEO

By Media | Published: December 18, 2018

I hope that everyone has had a wonderful summer and autumn filled with quality time spent outdoors with your loved ones. Winter’s return brings longer nights and much cooler weather. I hope that everyone stays safe while out in the country engaging in our subsistence activities. BSNC recently held its Annual Meeting of Shareholders in […]

2018 Annual Meeting Prize Winners

By Media | Published: October 18, 2018

$1,000 Early Bird Winners JANICE M KNOWLTON MARGARET M ACOMAN NOREEN MOUNTAIN CARRIE J KOENIG MAGGIE KOWCHEE RICKY OUTWATER MOLLY V MOON JERRY D KOWCHEE SR LISA M SOOKIAYAK MIKE T WILLOYA STEVEN N KIMOKTOAK ROY O WALLUK JR CHRISTINE AMAKTOOLIK CAMILLAS J LOCKWOOD CARRIE A TAKAK SHANTA M ESPARZA KATIE L ELLANNA ROBIN ROCK […]

2018 Annual Meeting Results

By Media | Published: October 16, 2018

BSNC held its 2018 Annual Meeting of Shareholders on Saturday, Oct. 6 in Anchorage, Alaska. The sole resolution to establish the BSNC Beringia Settlement Trust was approved by shareholders with 93 percent voting in favor of the resolution. The BSNC Board of Directors has authorized a $12 million transfer into the Settlement Trust. Future dividends, […]

BSNC Announces 2018 Elder Dividend Distribution

By Media | Published: August 13, 2018

The Bering Straits Native Corporation (BSNC) Board of Directors has voted to declare a 2018 special Elder dividend distribution of $1,000, an increase of $250 more than the 2017 special Elder distribution. This special distribution will be paid to original BSNC shareholders who are 65 years of age or older on Nov. 5, 2018, the […]

BSNC Announces 2018 Shareholder Dividend Distribution

By Media | Published: August 13, 2018

The Bering Straits Native Corporation (BSNC) Board of Directors has declared a record-high dividend of $5.00 per share to be issued in December, an increase of $1.25 per share more than the 2017 shareholder dividend. The average BSNC shareholder who owns 100 shares of stock will receive $500. The total 2018 distribution will be approximately […]

Chinese Research Vessel Visits our Region

By Media | Published: July 26, 2018

This Summer starting in mid-July, the Chinese icebreaking research vessel XUE LONG will travel through the Bering Strait conducting research in close proximity to several of our communities. It is expected that Nome and Little Diomede will have good views of the research vessel as it traverses the Strait. This will be the vessel’s sixth […]