Being invited into a community, to listen, work and guide is a privilege SEF has always and will continue to be humbled and excited by. Working alongside passionate people to create long-lasting, sustainable businesses is a thrill and challenge that SEF treasures. Between earned trust and pragmatic business principles, from cultural listening to workshops on entrepreneurial development, SEF has been encouraged to see meaningful economic and social change in countless projects they have been a part of. The Piġuqtuq Entrepreneurial Inspiration Project in the Northwest Arctic Borough in Alaska is no exception.
Passionate Community Members
When a project hits its stride, where the project management council, mining stakeholders and all involved parties have leaned in and the momentum is infectious, there is much to be encouraged about, work within and to celebrate, particularly the social connections formed and subsequent business growth.
In an effort to champion the journey as much as the destination, SEF will highlight the extraordinary people met along the way in the Piġuqtuq Entrepreneurial Inspiration Project. One such person is Tristen Pattee, a local member of the community in the Northwest Arctic Borough, specifically Ambler. He’s lived in the region all his life and SEF has been encouraged by his sharing of knowledge and hard work, his openness to invite others in conversation and his storytelling. As the chair of the Piġuqtuq Entrepreneurial Inspiration Project Tristen and SEF have been able to work closely in a collaborative environment.
Relationships Earned
Getting to know and see Tristen provide much knowledge, passion and wisdom to the Piġuqtuq project, as well as his formal role at Teck and the numerous committees he’s on, is part of the pivotal ingredients that SEF enjoys facilitating, guiding and supporting for projects. Tristen highlights the community driving and owning the development process for themselves, from their passion, for their hopes and their long-term sustainable goals, this is what SEF is all about.
This key privilege SEF is able to enjoy, of meeting and earning authentic relationships with local community members is the heartbeat of its approach. Tristen’s warmth, openness and skillset, partnered with SEFs experience and proprietary knowledge, has already brought about exciting development and understanding markers in the project's course.
It’s no wonder that SEF and Tristen clicked, bringing people into the conversation has always been something foremost on Tristen’s mind. As an Environmental Technical Supervisor for Teck Inc, at the Red Dog mine in Alaska, Tristen has developed and continues to honor communication and learning highly. He expresses that his favorite aspect of his formal role is the constant learning.
Listening and learning
Early on in his career he recalls that he thought knew everything but then something new would arise and challenge him. In those moments he knew he needed to learn, so he pivoted to researching and growing. In that lesson, Tristen discovered that integral to achieving environmental and commercial success meant collaborating with different departments and contractors to achieve common goals. It would take a team, of people of all backgrounds, to achieve success for all stakeholders. SEF has experienced this too over the course of decades of working on projects, core to its success has been forming bridges between different stakeholders. Earning buy-in of process and of entrepreneurial potential, to collaboratively pivot for sustainable economic futures for the community benefits and larger stakeholder positives is a journey that is worth the effort.
Balance and protection
Tristen details that balance is key and a consistent challenge, a truth SEF seeks to walk well too. Balancing different aspects of his formal position is a challenge he seeks to meet diligently. His department's main focus is compliance with multiple permits, which involve multiple processes and teams to accomplish. Collaboration and communication remain hallmarks of both difficulty and reward as an employee and entrepreneur, cross-over skills that SEF seeks to support and develop.
An honored component of Tristen’s role as both an employee of Teck and his Inupiaq culture is monitoring and protecting the caribou run. Managing, communicating and monitoring the caribou run has many components and is a significant undertaking but ensuring that the caribou are able to migrate with the least amount of impact is protecting a process that has been a critical part of his People’s sustenance for thousands of years.
Separate from his formal role at Teck, Tristen is able to wear another ‘hat’. This year during the annual migration near his home in Ambler, he was able to gather 12 caribou and distribute the resource with multiple people that needed food. Nothing of the animal is wasted, further continuing the responsible stewardship of the land and its resources. For centuries his family would wait at Onion Portage to take caribou from the river as they swim across. He emphasizes that importance, that the tradition continues of subsistence food for the community, using the land well, for the good of its people.
Collaboration and persistence
Tristen explains that he works with people from all backgrounds. He has been encouraged that when getting to know people who don’t come from the Northwest Arctic Borough, many times values align. While communication may be a difficult process to get right, continuing to ask questions, from all stakeholders is key. Tristen encourages people to ask lots of questions, to not be afraid to take calculated risks, and so being able to learn from your mistakes.. All these elements are key ingredients that SEF seeks to facilitate through the projects it participates in the beginning process, through workshops and meetings with the Facilitator, patience, persistence and collaboration are the fuel of community led entrepreneurial development.
Adding to the numerous hats that Tristen wears, he is excitingly also working to create and run a thriving adventure touring business. The tenacity, patience, support from the community, these are elements that Tristen honors and is leveraging for his entrepreneurial success.
These components are always present as SEF seeks to guide and teach through development projects. Tristen’s involvement with the SEF team has brought enthusiasm, momentum and excitement from all sides. As the community, SEF, Teck and the Piġuqtuq stakeholders continue on the exciting journey of this project, it is seeing the heart and passion of people like Tristen, displayed out in how they live, share, collaborate and teach, that inspires SEF to continue on the challenging and rewarding journey of entrepreneurial development for sustainable economic futures by the community, for the community.