2023 TRADITIONAL GAMES PLANNED IN JUNEAU, REGISTRATION OPEN

The 2023 Traditional Games will be held in Juneau in April, and the registration form for athletes ages 11 and older is now available online.

The games will include teams competing in 10 events over two days and be live streamed on Sealaska Heritage Institute’s YouTube and a website set up for the games. Athletes who have questions should contact Coach Kyle Worl at kworl@ccthita-nsn.gov or 907.227.4998.

The weekend event is scheduled from April 1-2 at Thunder Mountain High School. The 2022 event marks the sixth anniversary of the Traditional Games in Juneau. Athletes who register by March 1 are eligible to win a sealskin kicking ball in a drawing.

About Traditional Games

​The Traditional Games (also referred to as Native Youth Olympics or NYO) includes various events that test skills of strength, agility, balance, endurance and focus. These games are based on hunting and survival skills of the Indigenous people of Alaska and across the Arctic going back hundreds of years. Athletes strive to perform at their personal best while helping and supporting their fellow competitors, no matter what team. This is the spirit of the games, to work together toward common goals and learn from the skills and values that allowed Alaska Native people to survive and thrive in some of the harshest conditions.

Sponsors and Partners

The Traditional Games and Juneau’s NYO team are a community collaboration made possible by the following major sponsors: Sealaska Heritage, Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, Sealaska, University of Alaska Southeast, Select Physical Therapy, Juneau School District and Trickster Co.

Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private nonprofit founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goal is to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through public services and events. SHI also conducts social scientific and public policy research that promotes Alaska Native arts, cultures, history and education statewide. The institute is governed by a Board of Trustees and guided by a Council of Traditional Scholars, a Native Artist Committee and a Southeast Regional Language Committee.

CONTACT: Kathy Dye, SHI Communications and Publications Deputy Director, 907.321.4636, kathy.dye@sealaska.com; Coach Kyle Worl, 907.227.4998, kworl@ccthita-nsn.gov