Alaska Natives

Gov. Mike Dunleavy (left) talks with U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski and local leaders during an Aug. 7 visit to a Mendenhall Valley neighborhood hit by record flooding. (Photo provided by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s office)

Dunleavy to Trump: Give us Mendenhall Lake; nix feds’ control of statewide land, wildlife, tribal issues

Governor asks president-elect for Alaska-specific executive order on dozens of policy actions.

 

The Wrangell shoreline with about two dozen buildings visible, including a Russian Orthodox church, before the U.S. Army bombardment in 1869. (Alaska State Library, U.S. Army Infantry Brigade photo collection)

Army will issue January apology for 1869 bombardment of Wrangell

Ceremony will be the third by military to Southeast Alaska communities in recent months.

 

Equipment arriving in Wrangell in January of 2023 has been set up to provide a test wireless broadband system being used by about a dozen households. (Photo courtesy of the Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska)

Testing underway of new Tlingit and Haida wireless internet service

About a dozen Wrangell households using service officials hope to expand elsewhere in Southeast.

 

Skagway’s main street during tour season. (Photo by Shaelene Grace Moler)

Woven Peoples and Place: Skagway Development Corp.’s community partnership and holistic development

Initiatives like “Made in Skagway” program focus on local business support, community development

Skagway’s main street during tour season. (Photo by Shaelene Grace Moler)
William Todd Hunt guides the Taku Winds ensemble through a rehearsal of music by Indigenous composers on Tuesday evening at Thunder Mountain Middle School. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Taku Winds will be blowing wildly this weekend with concert featuring Indigenous composers

“Eagles, Ravens and Wolf” scheduled at 7 p.m. Saturday at Thunder Mountain Middle School

William Todd Hunt guides the Taku Winds ensemble through a rehearsal of music by Indigenous composers on Tuesday evening at Thunder Mountain Middle School. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo Tesla Cox (left) explains the damage done to her home and possessions by record flooding Aug. 6 to a delegation of municipal, tribal and federal officials on Aug. 11. The City and Borough of Juneau is considering a memorandum of agreement with the Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska for public safety issues such as emergency response, plus a similar agreement involving solid waste operations.

City leaders, Tlingit and Haida considering operational pacts for public safety, solid waste

Assembly members Monday will also discuss flood barriers, short-term rentals, homeless.

Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo Tesla Cox (left) explains the damage done to her home and possessions by record flooding Aug. 6 to a delegation of municipal, tribal and federal officials on Aug. 11. The City and Borough of Juneau is considering a memorandum of agreement with the Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska for public safety issues such as emergency response, plus a similar agreement involving solid waste operations.
Rear Adm. Mark Sucato reads the U.S. Navy’s apology to the people of Angoon on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024 commemorating 142 years to the day since the military bombarded the village in 1882. (Screen image from Sealaska Heritage Institute)
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Angoon accepts U.S. Navy apology for bombardment that destroyed village 142 years ago

“From this day forward, no more crying,” village leader says about declaration sought for generations

Rear Adm. Mark Sucato reads the U.S. Navy’s apology to the people of Angoon on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024 commemorating 142 years to the day since the military bombarded the village in 1882. (Screen image from Sealaska Heritage Institute)
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Prince of Wales Alaska Youth Stewards crew members perform landslide assessment fieldwork. (Photo by Zofia Danielson)

Woven Peoples and Place: Ḵutí expands across Southeast Alaska

Project seeks to address community concerns about landslides and other natural hazards in the region.

Prince of Wales Alaska Youth Stewards crew members perform landslide assessment fieldwork. (Photo by Zofia Danielson)
A panel discussion about cultural tourism in Alaska takes place Tuesday between (left to right) Camille Ferguson, economic development director of the Sitka Tribe of Alaska; Zach Dunlap, operations manager for Doyon; Susan Bell, vice president of strategic initiatives for Huna Totem Corp.; Emily Edenshaw, president and CEO of the Alaska Native Heritage Center; and McHugh Pierre, president and CEO of Goldbelt Inc. during the opening day of the Alaska Travel Industry Association convention at Centennial Hall. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire)

Native cultural tourism is ‘Alaska’s sleeping giant,’ panel tells industry leaders at statewide convention

“Alaska is not ‘The Last Frontier.’ Alaska always has been and always will be a Native place.”

A panel discussion about cultural tourism in Alaska takes place Tuesday between (left to right) Camille Ferguson, economic development director of the Sitka Tribe of Alaska; Zach Dunlap, operations manager for Doyon; Susan Bell, vice president of strategic initiatives for Huna Totem Corp.; Emily Edenshaw, president and CEO of the Alaska Native Heritage Center; and McHugh Pierre, president and CEO of Goldbelt Inc. during the opening day of the Alaska Travel Industry Association convention at Centennial Hall. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire)
Michelle Sparck, director of Get Out The Native Vote, stands by her business’ booth on Saturday at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention in Anchorage. Sparck, wearing a button identifying her as a Cup’ik voter, is urging Alaska Natives to be more diligent about voting in both state and local elections. In addition to her voter-education work, Sparck has a beauty-products business, ArXotica, that she and her sisters founded. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Campaign to boost Native voting combats both apathy and logistical challenges

Advocates are pushing for both engagement and easing of barriers affecting rural residents.

Michelle Sparck, director of Get Out The Native Vote, stands by her business’ booth on Saturday at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention in Anchorage. Sparck, wearing a button identifying her as a Cup’ik voter, is urging Alaska Natives to be more diligent about voting in both state and local elections. In addition to her voter-education work, Sparck has a beauty-products business, ArXotica, that she and her sisters founded. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Celebrity Cruises President Laura Hodges Bethge discusses current and future plans for parent company Royal Caribbean Group during a keynote speech Tuesday at the Alaska Travel Industry Association convention at Centennial Hall. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Royal Caribbean tries to appease angry city leaders with apology after surprise Douglas cruise port announcement

Tensions revived after cruise line president touts project in speech; email apology sent soon after.

Celebrity Cruises President Laura Hodges Bethge discusses current and future plans for parent company Royal Caribbean Group during a keynote speech Tuesday at the Alaska Travel Industry Association convention at Centennial Hall. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
President Joe Biden honors the 10 winners of the 2023 National Humanities Medal, including Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, during a ceremony Monday at The White House. (Screenshot from official video by The White House)
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SHI President Rosita Worl among 10 people receiving National Humanities Medal from President Biden

Ceremony at White House livestreamed online at 1:30 p.m. Monday.

President Joe Biden honors the 10 winners of the 2023 National Humanities Medal, including Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl, during a ceremony Monday at The White House. (Screenshot from official video by The White House)
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Juneau Mayor Beth Weldon and Assembly member Greg Smith (left) read a formal apology to members of the Douglas Indian Association during an Assembly meeting Monday night, acknowledging the City and Borough of Juneau’s role in the burning of the Douglas Indian Village in 1962. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Juneau offers formal apology for 1962 burning of the Douglas Indian Village

Apology called long overdue, but tribal leader says full story of destruction still needs to be shared.

Juneau Mayor Beth Weldon and Assembly member Greg Smith (left) read a formal apology to members of the Douglas Indian Association during an Assembly meeting Monday night, acknowledging the City and Borough of Juneau’s role in the burning of the Douglas Indian Village in 1962. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Salmon dry on a rack in Quinhagak, a Yup’ik village in Western Alaska, in July 2023. Salmon is a staple of the traditional Indigenous diet in Alaska and one of the main foods harvested through subsistence practices. A new rule made final by the Department of the Interior is aimed at boosting tribal participation in subsistence management. (Alice Bailey/University of Alaska Fairbanks)

New rule adds three Alaska tribal representatives to federal board managing subsistence

Federal government also announces three agreements with tribal organizations on lands, water management.

Salmon dry on a rack in Quinhagak, a Yup’ik village in Western Alaska, in July 2023. Salmon is a staple of the traditional Indigenous diet in Alaska and one of the main foods harvested through subsistence practices. A new rule made final by the Department of the Interior is aimed at boosting tribal participation in subsistence management. (Alice Bailey/University of Alaska Fairbanks)
The Alaska State Museum is seen in the fall sun on Wednesday. (Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)

Grant increases museum access for Alaska Native artists and culture bearers

The Access to Alaska Native Collections grant is part of a broader movement.

The Alaska State Museum is seen in the fall sun on Wednesday. (Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)
The Donlin Gold airstrip, with the camp at the far end on the right, is seen from the air on Aug. 11, 2022. The mine site is in the hilly terrain near Southwest Alaska’s winding Kuskokwim River. The mine won a key permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2018, but a federal judge ruled on Monday that the environmental study on which that permit was based was flawed because it failed to consider the impacts of a catastrophic dam failure. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)

Federal judge faults environmental analysis for planned huge gold mine in Western Alaska

Regulators failed to consider impacts of a dam failure when issuing Donlin mine permit, judge rules.

The Donlin Gold airstrip, with the camp at the far end on the right, is seen from the air on Aug. 11, 2022. The mine site is in the hilly terrain near Southwest Alaska’s winding Kuskokwim River. The mine won a key permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2018, but a federal judge ruled on Monday that the environmental study on which that permit was based was flawed because it failed to consider the impacts of a catastrophic dam failure. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
“Back to Lands Week” participants prepare to offload in Howkan. Over 100 ago, the villages of Howkan, Sukkwan and Klinkwan dissolved in order to form a school in the new village of Hydaburg. (Photo by Addy Mallott)

Woven Peoples and Place: Húus dáng hl kíngsaang (I’ll see you again)

Reflections from Prince of Wales’ “Back to the Lands Week”

“Back to Lands Week” participants prepare to offload in Howkan. Over 100 ago, the villages of Howkan, Sukkwan and Klinkwan dissolved in order to form a school in the new village of Hydaburg. (Photo by Addy Mallott)
St. Joseph’s Mission Indian Residential School, a site featured in a scene from the new documentary Sugarcane. (Sugarcane Film LLC)

A new film highlights the traumas inflicted on Indigenous children by residential schools

This story contains difficult subject matter relating to Canada’s and America’s history of operating residential schools for Indigenous people. The National Native American Boarding School… Continue reading

St. Joseph’s Mission Indian Residential School, a site featured in a scene from the new documentary Sugarcane. (Sugarcane Film LLC)
Candace Frank gets a red handprint pressed onto her face at the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Rally in Juneau on May 5, 2022. (Lisa Phu / Alaska Beacon)

Alaska enacts law to reduce high rates of missing and murdered Indigenous persons

Despite Alaska’s small population, a 2018 report by the Urban Indian Health Institute identified it as the state with the fourth-highest number of missing and… Continue reading

Candace Frank gets a red handprint pressed onto her face at the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Rally in Juneau on May 5, 2022. (Lisa Phu / Alaska Beacon)
“We accept this apology,” says Kake elder Ruth Demmert as she addresses the audience at Saturday’s formal apology by the U.S. Navy delivered minutes earlier by Rear Adm. Mark Sucato. The apology in Kake was for the 1869 bombardment and destruction of Kake’s three villages and two forts in winter of that year. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire)
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A long time coming: U.S. Navy apologizes for destroying Alaska Native village of Kake in 1869

“From this time forward we will start healing our people,” village president says at historic ceremony.

“We accept this apology,” says Kake elder Ruth Demmert as she addresses the audience at Saturday’s formal apology by the U.S. Navy delivered minutes earlier by Rear Adm. Mark Sucato. The apology in Kake was for the 1869 bombardment and destruction of Kake’s three villages and two forts in winter of that year. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire)
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