The Calista Education and Culture, Inc. (CEC) is a nonprofit that represents 1,300 Yup’ik tradition-bearers of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in Southwest Alaska. In 2014, the former Calista Heritage Foundation (est. 1980) merged with the Calista Elders Council (est. 1991) to become the research, scholarship, and assistance organization it is today. Beginning in 2000, with the support of the National Science Foundation, CEC worked with Indigenous elders to document Yup'ik place names. CEC's Board of Elders wanted to teach young people the rich history and named places of their homeland, including settlement sites and landscape features. In 2010, CEC partnered with ELOKA, creating a website and online atlas to host, share, and teach about place names to Yup'ik youth and the public. In 2017, the ELOKA-CEC partnership expanded to include the Lower Kuskokwim School District (LKSD), which adopted the atlas for its Yup'ik language program. ELOKA provides atlas training and support to teachers, interns, and others interested in Yup'ik place names, language, and traditional knowledge.
