The leader of the Sun’aq Tribe of Kodiak was ousted by the Tribal Council last week, on Sept. 4. According to a statement on social media, the council ended Jeannine “JJ” Marsh’s employment as Tribal Administrator and Chief Executive Officer, effective on Friday.
Marsh has been the CEO of the Tribe for 12 years since 2014 following a brief stint as the chair of the Tribal Council at the end of 2013.
During her tenure as CEO and Tribal Administrator, Marsh oversaw the Sun’aq Tribe’s joint venture with the Native Village of Afognak to purchase Cost Savers. She also helped secure millions of dollars in grant funding to expand mariculture and kelp processing at Kodiak Island Wildsource, which is owned by the Sun’aq Tribe. And earlier this year, Marsh signed a lease with the Kodiak Island Borough to move the tribe’s Alutiingcut Child Care Center into the former Northstar Elementary school building.
Marsh also represents the Sun’aq Tribe of Kodiak on the Kodiak Area Native Association Board of Directors.
Sun’aq’s Tribal Council said in its statement that the decision to let Marsh go came after her performance evaluation. The statement said that the council, “will not publicly discuss specific personnel information or the details of the performance evaluation.”
The council went on to say the decision was made after “careful review” and considered the “executive leadership and administrative needs of the Tribe.”
Christopher Pruitt, the Tribal Council Chair, will serve as the interim administrator until further notice according to the statement. He did not respond to KMXT’s request for comment.
Pruitt, along with five other council members and the Tribal Administrator/CEO, make up the Sun’aq Tribal Council according to the Tribe’s website. Pruitt is joined by Carla Schauff the Vice Chair, Thomas Johnson Jr. the Secretary/Treasurer, and council members Kathleen Druckery, Sarah Rastopsoff and Heather Reft Parker on the current council according to Sun’aq’s website.
More than a dozen tribal members weighed in on the public social media post that announced Marsh’s departure, saying they were upset by the decision to announce a leadership transition via Facebook.
Many expressed support for Marsh and thanked her for her leadership as the head of the Sun’aq Tribe.
