Birch bark texture.

Ahtna Kanas Winter 2016

Shareholder-Owner Appointed as AFN Village Rep

Portrait of Danna Finnesand

Danna Finnesand serves as a board director for both Chitina Native Corporation and Ahtna Intertribal Resource Commission. For nearly 10 years, Danna has been involved in various Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) activities, keen to learn how best to serve and support the best interests of the Ahtna people. Danna’s recent appointment as the AFN village representative speaks to her unending commitment to the Ahtna people and to ensuring a strong voice on topics such as natural-resource management, customary and traditional rights, and economic opportunities that secure prosperity for future generations.

As an Ahtna shareholder-owner, Danna was raised in Chitina. Her grandparents are Neil and Hannah Finnesand. Her parents are Martin and Beverly Finnesand. Danna and her husband, Chris McIntyre, have two daughters, Katelynn and Nicole McIntyre. Danna and her family still call Chitina home, where they enjoy much fishing and hiking. She also loves to bead and paint.

On serving as the AFN village representative, Danna states that she is “excited and honored to be further involved in AFN, to be helping make a positive impact and difference for the Ahtna people. It is through working together that we will successfully protect our traditional and subsistence way of life. My Ahtna leaders and Elders have always been a true source of inspiration, and I will always look out for the best interest of our people.”