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American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month Spotlight: Stuart Ketzler

November 19, 2024

 American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month

To center diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, we invited OSCPA members to share their personal and professional experiences with culture and identity.

 

 

Stuart Ketzler
Lake Oswego School District, Lake Oswego

How do you define your identity?
While I am proud to be an Alaska native and member of the Nenana Native Council, a part of the Athabasca tribe in central Alaska, one of the original peoples of Dena', or the land, I try to let my actions speak louder than how I define my identity.  Respect and connection to the land, as well as our duty to be caretakers of it, so that the land can take care of us, are what I view as the key attribute of my tribal identity.

What is your favorite cultural dish?
My favorite cultural dish is a tie between smoked salmon sticks or Alaskan blueberry jam.

What sparked your interest in numbers? 
My older brother Roger first got me interested in math at a very early age. Then accounting manifested as a lively field in middle school, when I would visit my father, the late Alfred R. Ketzler Sr., a leader in the Alaska Native community as well as a long-term board member of the Association on American Indian Affairs. He would invariably have me go either to the corporate counsel's office, which was usually very quiet, or his CFO's office, which was almost always very lively with a regular stream of people needing information or authorization.

What values were passed down to you that guide you in your work today? 
Honor your elders, work hard and smart. Focus on the long-term, have gratitude, and be a good steward.

How can we, as a CPA community, better support aspiring American Indian and Alaska Native professionals? 
Internship opportunities and targeted scholarships. 

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