Buffalo, NY - Andrei Jacobs ‘99 is listening. And what he hears will help make history.
Jacobs is senior manager of tribal partnerships for America250, a foundation and commission created in Congress to plan and coordinate the celebration of America’s 250th birthday in 2026. In his role, Jacobs works with Native peoples across the country to build and grow awareness of the celebration, and ensure the perspectives of Native Americans, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians are included in the semi-quincentennial commemoration.
“At America250, I am part of the largest effort ever to honor the contributions of all Americans in the creation of our country and to give everyone a voice in looking toward the future,” Jacobs explains. “My work involves building regional inter-tribal relationships to engage as many representatives as possible from the 574 federally recognized Native nations in the continental U.S., Alaska, and Hawaii. What I hear from them will then inform the events and activities planned from coast to coast.”
In speaking with Jacobs, it’s as if he was born for the job.
Jacobs grew up in the small town of Bethel, about 400 miles west of Anchorage, AK. His father is an Alaska native, a member of the Yup’ik and Inupiaq peoples. Jacobs’ mother is African American and hails from Philadelphia where her family has been involved with the city’s first Black Catholic Church, St. Peter Claver, since its founding in 1892. She was in the Vista volunteer program in rural Alaska when she met Jacobs’ father.
Graduating from a high school class of 26 students, Jacobs says an English teacher who was from Jamestown, NY, told him about Canisius and encouraged him to apply.
“She knew I was Catholic and thought Canisius would be a good fit. That decision really shaped my life,” he recalls. “For the first time I felt challenged and included. It’s where I learned how to connect with people and share perspectives – the same things that come into play in the work I do today.”
Earning a degree in communication studies, Jacobs returned to Alaska and co-founded a company that sold t-shirts featuring Yup’ik words. “We created one shirt featuring the longest word in Yup’ik language, ‘tengsuucecuaraliyukapigtellrunricugnarpenga-qaa’ which translates as ‘maybe you really did not want to make me a small airplane,’” he laughs.
Jacobs also worked as a grant writer and development specialist for a non-profit in Alaska before earning a master’s in public administration from Baruch College in New York City. He was working as a development officer in Tacoma, WA, when he was recruited by America250 through a LinkedIn connection. Jacobs currently lives outside Philadelphia and keeps ties to his Alaska roots and serves as chairman of the board for a radio station in Bethel, the oldest Native owned PBS station in America, broadcasting in the Yup’ik language since 1971.
“The celebration of America’s 250th birthday is such an important event and I feel truly blessed to contribute to efforts to hear from all populations in planning it,” Jacobs concludes. “Canisius was exactly the right place to help prepare me for this opportunity, although little did I know I would see more snow in Buffalo than I experienced growing up in Alaska!”
