Backpacks, but no balloons: Tlingit and Haida scales back school supplies giveaway after loss of funds
- Ellie Ruel
- Jul 23
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 23
More than 2,400 backpacks distributed in Southeast, but program halted at other locations
The selection was as plentiful and colorful as ever for Tlingit and Haida’s annual Backpack Pickup in Juneau on Saturday, although the balloons and other adornments from past years were absent as organizers opted for a focus-on-fundamentals approach.
The adjustment came as the distribution of free backpacks and school supplies to tribal citizens was halted this year outside Southeast Alaska due to the federal funding for the program ending. Officials with the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska did not say if the program will return for a 22nd year in 2026.
Interest in the back-to-school giveaway remained strong on Saturday as hundreds of families flowed through the main conference room at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall, which was missing the balloon mascots, cardboard character cutouts and other flourishes of past years.
Plenty of color existed, however, in arrays of bags with a variety of themed motifs such as video games and popular cartoon characters lined tables separated by grade level.
Henrietta Soboleff, a teacher’s aide at Tlingit and Haida, handed out bags for students going into the Head Start program.
“A lot of Bluey,” Soboleff said. “And then Spider-Man was pretty popular.”
Soboleff has been helping out with the backpack program for a couple of years now, and sometimes sees students who were in her classroom last year. She said it’s fun seeing the kids happy about their bag choices.
“I like it because I get to see the joy in the kids' faces when they pick up the backpacks that they really like,” Soboleff said. “I'm glad that we have this offered. It helps, even me being a teacher, I have my children get backpacks too. It still helps.”
The most popular table by far was put together by members of the Wayfinder early intervention program, which supports high school-age Indigenous youth as they transition from adolescence to adulthood through weekly meetings within core groups. This year is the first they’ve had their own table at the backpack giveaway.
Staff and program members gave kids formline coloring pages to create their own masterpieces with colored pencils.
“There's some great ones, like a formline pig and a formline snail,” said Kaley Hoyle, who works with the Wayfinders program at Tlingit and Haida. “We have a lot of fun, the kids will come and hang out and stay here and color, and then we just joke around with them, and it's really, it's an easy thing to do. But it's a way to kind of get us out there, so people will ask questions about our programs.”
The annual giveaway is part of a broader community outreach effort by the Temporary Assistance For Needy Families Department, which provides financial assistance to families with children while “emphasizing work participation, education, family stability and responsibility.” TANF and the 477 program, which consolidates federal funds for streamlined use by tribes, were recently notified of a reduction of $425,512 in state funding.
About 1,000 bags were available in Juneau and about 1,400 more shipped to outlying Southeast communities, said Dara Rilatos, special projects coordinator for the department.
“It’s part of a longer outreach program from TANF to offer something to all of the Native kids in Southeast Alaska,” Rilatos said. “We try to keep it different and have many different kinds of bags.”
The program was halted outside the region due to the end of funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, a COVID-19 stimulus package passed in 2021. Tlingit and Haida leaders have also expressed concerns about the potential impacts of Trump administration cuts to various tribal programs.
Holly Morales, 477 Development and Innovation Director at Tlingit and Haida, said that despite uncertainty, the tribe will continue to monitor funding levels.
“We are absolutely committed to the continuation of our backpack program and other critical services. Tlingit and Haida has been, and will continue to be, a vigorous advocate at both the federal and state levels to maintain funding for essential services,” Morales said.
A second distribution will be held on Saturday, July 26 at the Airport Shopping Center.
• Contact Ellie Ruel at ellie.ruel@juneauindependent.com.
More photos from Saturday’s backpack giveaway in Juneau. (All photos by Ellie Ruel / Juneau Independent)
