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“HTL creates wonderful opportunities for cross-cultural learning and fosters collaboration and trust amongst several different organizations and individuals who are all engaged in anti-racism work. There is no other organization I know of facilitating this kind grassroots change.” —Cheryl Snyder | GM KTOO Music and Arts, LLC
Haa Tóoch Lichéesh (HTL) is a community-based coalition that follows a trauma-informed, survivor-centered approach to preventing violence and promoting healing. Guided by the wisdom of ancestors and grounded in a reciprocal, healthy relationship with the land and with each other, HTL is committed to healing and liberation.
The organization was co-founded in 2018 on the unceded territory of the Áakʼw Ḵwáan, also known as Juneau, Alaska. The name Haa Tóoch Lichéesh, gifted by Lingít activist and artist, means “We Believe It Is Possible.” Having grown beyond their previous role as the Juneau Violence Prevention Coalition under AWARE Inc, HTL is now (as of 2024) a newly formed nonprofit dedicated to violence prevention through regional healing initiatives and systemic change work throughout Southeast Alaska and beyond.
Like many emerging organizations experiencing growth and transformation, HTL dedicated time to internal reflection. This led to the development of an intentional model for enacting positive change, utilizing decolonized processes and establishing itself as a reliable and accessible presence in the community. As a result, the work continues to cultivate the conditions for safety and responds to the impacts of societal inequities that stem from centuries of unchallenged colonization, racism, patriarchy, and capitalism.
Central to HTL’s mission is the recognition of interconnectedness and the belief that true transformation starts from within. This shared journey centers around the following community-focused areas:
- Healing and Transformation: Prioritizing personal healing, wellness, and authentic expression as the foundation for social change.
- Centering Relationships & Working Across Generations: Building intergenerational, inclusive spaces of belonging and care within the community.
- Learning & Unlearning: Committing to ongoing self-discovery and practice, challenging existing norms, and taking action toward social justice.
- Remembering the Past to Build a Collective Future: Advocating for systemic change through legal, policy, and institutional advocacy, guided by the wisdom of ancestors and those most impacted by violence
These collective efforts are not only a means of maintaining meaningful relationships, but also a way of building transformative pathways forward. Programmatic initiatives such as Healing through Culture & Identity allow for intergenerational ties to cultural learning and identity-affirming events and spaces including Indigenous language and art classes, healing circles and retreats, traditional respectful harvesting teachings, and afterschool programs. All are interwoven with socio-emotional teachings that help to build connections, repair relationships, and promote restorative justice. Community Accountability & Racial Justice provides education and advocacy support to help individuals, communities, and organizations reckon with historic and current racial harms including dialogue facilitation and training on transformative and restorative justice, truth and reconciliation efforts, and negotiating reparations. Projects include the Lateral Kindness initiative, Cemetery Restoration projects, and United States Residential School Healing. Working with nearly thirty community partners, the HTL Coalition is a powerful network engaged in a shared vision of healing from and preventing further trauma in the region, using a Community of Care & Modeling Equity approach to respond to the needs of the community. With combined resources, they co-create equitable, accessible, Indigenized organizational frameworks, including facilitation modeled on First Alaskans’ dialogues, the Ḵaa Tukax̱saké Héende Cohort.
Collective well-being is essential to creating a world where kindness and kinship are the seeds that allow a brighter future to blossom. Haa Tóoch Lichéesh aspires towards truth, healing, and justice– where everyone can thrive.
