The second and final day of the AFN convention is packed with guests and big conversations. Sponsors of a ballot initiative took the opportunity to say their piece on why tribal recognition in the state is long overdue. Multiple attempts to pas

Day One of Alaska Federation of Natives convention includes Congressional delegates, CARES Act

Dec 14th, 2021 4m 59s

Day One of the annual AFN convention featured all three of Alaska’s sitting lawmakers. Alaska Republican Congressman Don Young spoke to the strengths of AFN and the landmark legislation known as the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. "We have

Alaska Federation of Natives co-chair previews virtual annual convention

Dec 13th, 2021 1m 35s

The Alaska Federation of Natives is the largest convention of Alaska Natives in the state. Affectionately called “Native New Year,” the convention is an opportunity for Indigenous people across the state to come together and develop important s

Haines museum reveals centuries-old formline paintings on Lingít bentwood boxes with infrared photos

Dec 3rd, 2021 4m 23s

The Haines Sheldon Museum is showcasing a display of newly revealed Lingít formline images . The museum staff used an infrared camera to photograph traditional bentwood boxes to reveal paintings, not seen in perhaps 200 years. Several tradition

Governor proposes importing Sitka black-tailed deer to Mat-Su region for additional hunting

Nov 30th, 2021 4m 59s

Governor Mike Dunleavy is proposing additional hunting opportunities in the Matanuska-Susitna region by bringing in Sitka black-tailed deer . A state document obtained by the Anchorage Daily News points out a number of potential issues with tha

Dunleavy’s office announces formation of Alaska Bycatch Task Force

Nov 29th, 2021 4m 59s

Fishing vessels cast wide nets, and they often catch more than the species they’re targeting. That’s bycatch: one of the longest-running controversies in the fleet and a vexing problem for fisheries managers . Now, the Dunleavy administration i

Infrastructure bill to provide much-needed support to rural and Native villages

Nov 22nd, 2021 4m 59s

President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law on Monday, November 15. The Senate passed the $1.2 trillion dollar bill in August. Thirteen Republicans -- including at-large Alaska Congressman Don Young -- joined

For Indigenous festival musicians, identity and representation matter

Nov 13th, 2021 4m 59s

The first international Indigenous musical festival -- Rock Aak’w showcased several Native artists. For several artists, this was their first time on the mainstage of a festival. Rock Aak’w brought musicians from around the world in a virtual c

Indigenous Rock Aak'w virtual festival will showcase 14 music acts

Nov 2nd, 2021 6m 14s

Fourteen musical acts will participate in an international Indigenous music festival based in Juneau. Alaska Native musicians will join several others in the virtual festival called Rock Aak’w . KNBA’s Tripp Crouse talks with one of the festiva

Language glossary pushes Indigenous knowledge and languages to forefront of modern research

Oct 13th, 2021 2m 9s

Bering Strait region Tribal consortium Kawerak published a language glossary which provides terms in research, science and policy in English, Inupiaq, St. Lawrence Island Yupik, and Yup’ik. The glossary is part of Kawerak’s ‘Knowledge Sovereign

Tribal and environmental advocates celebrate the first water flow down the Eklutna River in decades

Oct 5th, 2021 3m 51s

For more than 60 years, the Eklutna River north of Anchorage had been dammed up, stifling the salmon runs that fed generations of Dena’ina people in the area. Before the damming, for hundreds of years, the area surrounding Eklutna Lake was popu

Boarding school survivors, their children and allies mark Orange Shirt Day

Oct 1st, 2021 4m 59s

Content warning: This story contains accounts from descendants of boarding school survivors that may be distressing for some readers. As the sun rose on Thursday, K’aaxnaa.at Bamby James and the Strong Women singers finished a women’s prayer so

Family of Ashley Johnson-Barr hopes sentencing brings some closure, raises public safety awareness

Sep 29th, 2021 5m 2s

A man who pleaded guilty to killing a 10-year-old Kotzebue girl has been sentenced to 99 years in prison. Utqiaġvik Superior Court Judge Nelson Traverso sentenced Peter Vance Wilson on September 21st, 2021, to serve 99 years in custody in the d

With low stocks and closures looming, Bering Sea crab fleet braces for another blow

Sep 22nd, 2021 4m 59s

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced earlier this month that all major crab stocks are down. And for the first time in over 25 years, the Bristol Bay red king crab fishery will be closed . The species is world-renowned and was large

Redistricting plan could force some Southeast incumbents to run against each other

Sep 18th, 2021 4m 59s

The last time political boundaries were redrawn, Southeast lost a senator and a House member which diminished its voice in the legislature. So there was some relief when the draft redistricting maps were published last week because the size of

A mammoth’s life: A new study examines life of woolly mammoth that lived 17,000 years ago

Sep 17th, 2021 3m 31s

A new University of Alaska Fairbanks study featured on the cover of the journal Science explores the life story of a woolly mammoth that lived 17,000 years ago. Thousands of years ago a woolly mammoth researchers dubbed Kik lumbered across what

ACLU wants to hold city of Nome in contempt for withholding evidence in bias lawsuit

Sep 15th, 2021 2m 10s

The American Civil Liberties Union wants a federal court to hold the city of Nome in contempt – for allegedly withholding police audits and emails in a legal case against the Nome police department. ( Editor's note: The plaintiff’s name is publ

CARES Act data reveals disparities in payouts to Native corporations

Sep 13th, 2021 4m 59s

Congress set aside $8 billion for tribal entities across the country as part of the federal CARES Act. But it took a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June to free up some of those pandemic relief funds for Alaska Native corporations. Then, some of

‘This Land’ podcast unravels complexity of child welfare in Indian Country in its second season

Sep 7th, 2021 4m 59s

The award-winning podcast “This Land” returns for a second season . This one examines the legal attacks on a 40-plus-year old federal law meant to protect Native children in the U.S. The first season of “This Land” examined two legal cases that

With inequity in Indigenous incarceration, advocates say more Indigenous law representation needed

Sep 7th, 2021 4m 28s

According to incarceration data from the 2010 Census , Native American people accounted for more than one-third of adults incarcerated in Alaska. Legal experts say that unless the justice system includes more Indigenous people as lawyers and ju

Study: Declining sea ice in Kotzebue Sound shortening subsistence hunt for seals

Aug 30th, 2021 4m 59s

Seal meat makes up a good portion of what’s in subsistence hunters’ freezers in Kotzebue. However, the sea ice the seals haul out on is diminishing, and new research has shown the window to hunt seals is getting shorter as a result. Iñupiaq hun

Initiative seeks to put state recognition of Tribes on ballot

Aug 16th, 2021 49s

A ballot measure initiative seeks to have the state of Alaska officially recognize and acknowledge the 229 federally recognized Alaska Native Tribes. The initiative models itself on a piece of state legislation, HB123, which passed the Alaska H

2020 census data is out. Here’s how Alaska has changed in the last 10 years.

Aug 16th, 2021 4m 59s

Alaska’s racial and ethnic diversity increased over the last 10 years, according to U.S. census numbers released. The share of Alaska’s population that identifies as a race or ethnicity other than solely white rose from less than a third of the

'Chickaloonies' comic puts contemporary spin on inspiration from traditional stories

Aug 13th, 2021 5m

An Alaska Native comic artist will release a book heavily influenced by stories passed down to him by his grandmother. Growing up in Alaska, Dimi Macheras loved drawing and illustrating and comic books. “My mom's got pictures of me before I cou