Sheet’ká Ḵwáan Sitka Tribe of Alaska’s new general manager, Bert Adams – Deix’wudu’oo, has been on the job for a few months, and he hopes to spend the next year planning for the Tribe’s future.
In a joint interview with KCAW and the Daily Sitka Sentinel on Thursday (10-29-26), Adams discussed his background and experience, including over two-dozen years of work in Tribal leadership across Alaska. Most recently, he worked in Intergovernmental Affairs at Knik Tribe and previously served as Special Projects Manager and Executive Director for the Native Village of Eyak. Prior to that, he spent 13 years as general manager of Yakutat Tlingit Tribe.
He said it was in his role at the Native Village of Eyak that grounded him in the work, and where he gained experience in federal and state partnerships and funding structures.
“Getting [the departments] all involved in the tribal strategic planning, and all working together as one unit in terms of strategies on funding and programs, what we were going to target, and and then getting them to really buy into that,” Adams said. During that time, he said the Tribe’s budget nearly doubled from $32 to $89 million. He said that was thanks to a couple of large infrastructure projects and growing its 8A business program- that provides a pathway for federally recognized Tribes to bring in for-profit revenue.
For now, he said the top priority is grounding the Tribe, working on the internal structure and flow of the Tribe’s administrative department first, then branching out to department directors.
“And then the next phase is the strategic planning for Sitka Tribe, and that’s going to really outline the 2027 priorities between the Council and the departments,” he said.
Adams said input from Tribal Citizens collected earlier this year through a needs assessment survey will be central to the strategic planning process.
“Tribal Citizens are, that’s why we’re here,” Adams said. “So we’ll always have the door open to them and listen to what they have to say.”
He’s hopeful that in 2028, the planning work will begin to pay off.
“[2028] is when we can really hopefully see the growth of STA, and really kind of an identity in terms of how we’re going to be moving forward within as a tribal government,” Adams said. “And how that impact could be with the community of Sitka.”
Adams, who grew up in Yakutat and has family ties to Sitka, is eager to get to know the community better. A longtime basketball coach, he’s looking forward to the busy winter athletic schedule to gear up, and traveling during the holiday season to see his kids and grandkids.
