CITC’s First Fredeen Fellow Wants to Build Networks for Creative Thinkers

Fellowship honoring former CFO empowers Alaska’s emerging Native entrepreneurs

Kierann Bailey, the first recipient of the CITC Fredeen Fellowship, works with a laser engraving machine in the Denełchin Super Fabrication Lab.

“The art around CITC, the earrings she wore—she was a walking advertisement for Indigenous entrepreneurs,” Marcy Herman remembered of CITC’s former CFO Amy Fredeen.

In 2022, Fredeen’s untimely death was a hard loss for CITC, not only because she held an important leadership role and had helped shape the organization’s mission, but because she was a tireless champion for Indigenous artists. To this day, the art throughout CITC’s Nat’uh Service Center—curated by Amy—is a reminder of her passion for supporting and highlighting work from Alaska Native painters, beadworkers, sculptors, weavers, and other artists and entrepreneurs.

In honor of Amy’s legacy, CITC established the Amy Fredeen Entrepreneurial Fellowship, a one-year opportunity intended to empower Alaska Native and American Indian business leaders.

In October of last year, Kierann Bailey was named as the first recipient of the fellowship.

Bridging Western and Traditional Cultures

“As an Alaska Native, I always wondered, how would entrepreneurship look from an Alaska Native point of view? How could you establish a business and keep your own cultural values in a Western society?” Kierann said.

A University of Alaska Anchorage MBA student, Kierann describes herself as “artistically inclined” but “also really interested in technology.”

Since October, Kierann has spent her fellowship working in CITC’s Denełchin Lab, a makerspace equipped with state-of-the-art technology like 3D printers, robotic routers, and laser cutters.

“I’m interested in tackling issues related to technology and innovation by creating solutions that meet the specific needs of Indigenous communities,” she said. “Part of this [fellowship] is trying to narrow my focus, but also expanding the skills I already have, which—this is a great place to do it.”

Fueling Creativity

In addition to learning how to operate the lab’s machinery, Kierann is working with entrepreneurs from the Indigenous Peoples Set Up Shop (IPSUS) program, a partnership between CITC, Anchorage Community Land Trust, and Cook Inlet Lending Center that connects Indigenous entrepreneurs with tools and funding to help them grow their businesses.

Kierann helps the IPSUS entrepreneurs prototype their products and brainstorm solutions as they experiment with the lab’s machinery. One of her favorite parts of the fellowship is the access she has to other creative thinkers and the ability to collaborate with other entrepreneurs and with Denełchin Lab instructors.

“Helping them with their projects and seeing what they’re doing gives me a lot of inspiration because when you work with a bunch of productive, creative people, I feel like that really also fuels your creative juices,” she said.

Collaboration is part of the spirit of the Denełchin Lab environment, and it’s one of the values Kierann appreciates about her Alaska Native culture.

“We uplift each other, and if one person can’t think of a solution to something, maybe somebody else can, based on their own history and knowledge,” she said.

Adding technology to the mix is one way, she added, that Alaska’s villages and communities could problem-solve for the future. “I think the way of the future for Alaska Natives is to learn technology and bring that into our own cultural values. There are some struggles that we have currently in our villages, and I’m sure there are technologies here that could perpetuate better livelihoods for our people.”

In addition to helping entrepreneurs prototype products in the Fab Lab, Kierann will use her fellowship to build on her interest in using technology to create solutions that meet the needs of Indigenous communities.

The Shape of the Future

The fellowship fosters collaboration not just among entrepreneurs but between agencies, by providing Kierann direct access to CITC partners and other resources.

“Whatever she wants, we’ll make it happen,” Marcy Herman explained. “If she wants to meet people from a specific agency around financing or entrepreneurial issues, we’ll make that connection.”

Kierann hopes that future fellows can build upon the networks that form during her fellowship and that fellows can eventually act as mentors to each other. This goal aligns exactly with what CITC had in mind when the Fredeen Fellowship was established.

Because she’s the very first recipient of the fellowship, Kierann will have a unique opportunity to shape what it looks like in the future.

“We want to use Kierann’s feedback to see how we can improve the program. It all goes with our vision of expanding access to the Denełchin Lab for community members and to identifying and eliminating barriers for Indigenous entrepreneurs,” said Marcy.

The Amy Fredeen Fellowship is a year-long opportunity for Indigenous entrepreneurs aged 18 and over. Fellows receive a $25,000 stipend, mentorship from industry professionals, and access to CITC’s state-of-the-art Denełchin Super Fab Lab. The ideal fellow will have a passion for business development and will use the opportunity as a platform to promote diversity and Indigenous representation in business.

Visit citci.org or find CITC on Facebook to be alerted for the next application opportunity.