Every year, AFN honors those who have made outstanding contributions to their families and the Native community.
The Denali Award recognizes the contributions of a non-Native person who has demonstrated strong commitment, dedication, and service to the Alaska Native community and to rural Alaska. This year, the Denali Award is bestowed upon two individuals selected by the AFN Board of Directors for exemplary work that has improved the lives of Alaska Native people. The 2025 Denali Award winner is:
- Dr. Jerry Lipka, born and raised in New York
Read on to learn more about this year’s awardee.
2025 DENALI AWARD WINNER
Dr. Jerry Lipka, has served the University of Alaska Fairbanks with distinction in teaching, research and public service from 1981 to 2015. Dr. Lipka taught in the Cross-Cultural Education Development Program in the Bristol Bay region from 1981 to 1991, helping thirty rural students to earn their baccalaureate degrees in education. Dr. Lipka has been a highly regarded researcher who has focused on indigenous knowledge systems, especially those of the Yup’ik people, examining the development of mathematical concepts and processes utilized by Yup’ik elders, and whose work has culminated in the Math in a Cultural Context program, which created educational materials that have transformed the teaching of mathematics in many of Alaska’s elementary schools. Dr. Lipka shared his knowledge through numerous national and international presentations and peer reviewed publications; collaborated with indigenous peoples from Greenland, Micronesia, Russia, and other countries; and received the prestigious American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation for his co-authored book, Transforming Culture of Schools: Yup’ik Examples.