Rebuilding Clan Houses, By Hand and By Song

Outer Coast service projects take many, many forms. Some of them are long term–with students going in at regular times every week to volunteer at one place–while others are more seasonal or responsive. This might include harvesting herring eggs for herring season, organizing a gathering for Orange Shirt Day on very short notice, or helping […]

Read More

Herring Season 2025 at Outer Coast

Herring season has long been a blessing on this island in Lingít Aaní, nestled off the glacial coasts of Southeast Alaska. Herring season, marked by the return of massive schools of the lithe, silvery fish to the waters of the Sitka Sound, also comes with ‘herring weather’: days of rapidly alternating rain, sun, snow, and […]

Read More

A Conversation with Tukaan Dan

Tukaan Dan grew up in Anchorage, Alaska and has attended two semesters of the Outer Coast Year in 2023. Over the course of his time in Sitka, Tukaan has become a leader in the Outer Coast community. This fall, he accepted a two-year term as the student representative on the Outer Coast Board of Trustees, […]

Read More

Meet Luc Diaz, Outer Coast ’22 Alum

Luc Diaz attended the 2021-2022 Outer Coast Year and is now a student at St. John’s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Luc is originally from Girdwood, AK, spent stints in Maui, HI; Petersburg, AK; and Anacortes, WA; and found his way to Outer Coast after being homeschooled for nearly his whole education. “Being homeschooled […]

Read More

Juky: A Summer Seminar 2022 Reflection

Juky (New York, NY) attended the Outer Coast Summer Seminar 2022 before the start of his senior year in high school. Shortly after he finished the program, he wrote this story reflecting on his experience. As a child of a frugal and low-income family, I never had a chance to travel and truly get to know […]

Read More

Annabelle: A Summer Seminar 2022 Reflection

Annabelle (Phoenixville, Pennsylvania) attended the Outer Coast Summer Seminar 2022 between her sophomore and junior years of high school. On her last day of the Summer Seminar, she wrote this story. Our first swim was at Sam Sing. Sam Sing Cabin is a little structure in a cove about a twenty-minute boat ride from Sitka, and […]

Read More

A Day in the Life of the 2021 Summer Seminar

You’re awoken by a glimmer of sunlight streaming through the window of your dorm room. “Finally, a sunny day!” you think as you prepare for another morning at the Summer Seminar.

Read More
Students working in Sitka graveyard

Restoring the Alaska Native Brotherhood Cemetery with Bob Sam

Outer Coast students work with local Sitkan and cemetery restoration expert Bob Sam.

Read More

Alumni Spotlight: Jing O’Brien

Jing O’Brien graduated from Wrangell High School “in a class of 25 kids, which is a big class for Wrangell.”

Read More

Yeey aaní káx̱ g̱unéi x̱too.aat (May we walk on your land). Outer Coast is situated on Lingít Aaní, the ancestral home of the Tlingit peoples. We strive to build a community of safe, inclusive, and integrative learning for all. Learn more.