Cyrus Harris

Cyrus Harris was raised at Sisualik by his parents and grandparents. He grew up following them around hunting, fishing and living off the land and continues to live at Sisualik (located on a spit of land 12 miles across the bay from Kotzebue) as much as possible, living a subsistence lifestyle. His passion is for raising and training sled dogs. He is the Natural Resource Advocate for Maniilaq Association, which allows him to participate in many different forums like the Western Arctic Caribou Working Group (currently vice-chair) and the Alaska Migratory Bird Co-management Council representing the people of northwest Alaska. He manages the Hunter Support program which funds people in the region to hunt for the Elders and he maintains the traditional foods program facility (the Sigluaq) which provides traditional foods to the Elders residing at Kotzebue’s Long-Term Care facility. Currently, Cyrus serves on the Ice Seal Committee, the Alaska Beluga Whale Committee, and the Alaska Nannut Co-Management Council as the Native Village of Kotzebue representative. He has served on the Native Village of Kotzebue Tribal Council for the last 9 years.