Alaska Natives

Veterans and active duty servicemembers carry the totem pole on July 24, 2021 as hundreds gathered in Hoonah for its raising. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

Hoonah honors veterans with totem pole, future memorial park

From the Alaska Territorial Guard to today’s servicemembers, the Southeast has a legacy of service.

Veterans and active duty servicemembers carry the totem pole on July 24, 2021 as hundreds gathered in Hoonah for its raising. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
William Tamaree of the Kayáashkéedítaan clan stands next to the Kéet Koowaal in this undated photo. The Kéet Koowaal is being returned to the clan from a museum in Alabama. (Courtesy photo / CCTHITA)

Alaska Native works coming home after decades down South

The objects will be returned to home, to be displayed in a future cultural ceremony.

William Tamaree of the Kayáashkéedítaan clan stands next to the Kéet Koowaal in this undated photo. The Kéet Koowaal is being returned to the clan from a museum in Alabama. (Courtesy photo / CCTHITA)
Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks at a ceremony for Alaska Native Veterans from the Vietnam era at the Walter Soboleff Building in downtown Juneau on May 5, 2021. Dunleavy announced the state filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Biden administration for what Dunleavy says is illegally keeping restrictions in place on federal lands in Alaska. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

State sues feds over continuing land restrictions

Veteran lands available, DOI says.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks at a ceremony for Alaska Native Veterans from the Vietnam era at the Walter Soboleff Building in downtown Juneau on May 5, 2021. Dunleavy announced the state filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Biden administration for what Dunleavy says is illegally keeping restrictions in place on federal lands in Alaska. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Alyssa London, second from right, and her team are working to produce Culture Story, which will showcase modern Alaska Native cultures across and outside of Alaska. (Courtesy photo / Culture Story)

Team works to tell positive, accurate stories about Alaska Native life

Show aims to show Alaska Native cultures as they thrive in the modern world.

Alyssa London, second from right, and her team are working to produce Culture Story, which will showcase modern Alaska Native cultures across and outside of Alaska. (Courtesy photo / Culture Story)
This photo shows the Supreme Court in Washington. (AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite)

Supreme Court sides with Alaska Native corporations in COVID-19 aid case

The justices ruled 6-3 in the case, which involved the massive relief package passed last year.

This photo shows the Supreme Court in Washington. (AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite)
Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire Juneau residents sing together outside the Juneau Montessori School, formerly the Mayflower School built by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, to honor the 215 dead Indigenous children found at a residential school in Canada, on May 31, 2021.

Locals mourn deceased children found at Canadian residential school

The local Montessori school was adorned with flowers and feathers.

Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire Juneau residents sing together outside the Juneau Montessori School, formerly the Mayflower School built by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, to honor the 215 dead Indigenous children found at a residential school in Canada, on May 31, 2021.
Bob Sam and Jamiann Hasselquist touch the headstone of Chief Joseph, a tribal leader buried in the Lawson Creek Cemetery in 1917, as they work with other volunteers to restore the cemetery, on May 22, 2021. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

Volunteers work to restore neglected Douglas cemetery

“We’re giving them a place with dignity, honor and respect.”

Bob Sam and Jamiann Hasselquist touch the headstone of Chief Joseph, a tribal leader buried in the Lawson Creek Cemetery in 1917, as they work with other volunteers to restore the cemetery, on May 22, 2021. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
In this April 22, 2021, photo, signs of spring thaw appear along the Tazlina River in Tazlina, Alaska. The Catholic Church wants to sell 462 acres that once housed the Copper Valley mission school to the Native Village of Tazlina, a federally recognized tribe. The tribe is scrambling to raise the nearly $1.9 million asking price so it can regain stewardship of its ancestral land. (John Tierney/Indian Country Today)

Alaska village eyes return of ancestral lands

A federally recognized tribe is scrambling to raise funds to regain stewardship of the lands.

In this April 22, 2021, photo, signs of spring thaw appear along the Tazlina River in Tazlina, Alaska. The Catholic Church wants to sell 462 acres that once housed the Copper Valley mission school to the Native Village of Tazlina, a federally recognized tribe. The tribe is scrambling to raise the nearly $1.9 million asking price so it can regain stewardship of its ancestral land. (John Tierney/Indian Country Today)
Peter Segall / Juneau Empire Alaska Native Vietnam War veterans James Lindoff (left) and George Bennett drape a ceremonial blanket over Gov. Mike Dunleavy during a news conference on Wednesday. Dunleavy is proposing a program allowing Alaska Native veterans to exchange federal land for state lands potentially closer to their homes.

Gov proposes land exchange for Vietnam-era Alaska Native veterans

Righting an old wrong.

Peter Segall / Juneau Empire Alaska Native Vietnam War veterans James Lindoff (left) and George Bennett drape a ceremonial blanket over Gov. Mike Dunleavy during a news conference on Wednesday. Dunleavy is proposing a program allowing Alaska Native veterans to exchange federal land for state lands potentially closer to their homes.
FILE - In this May 24, 2015, file photo, a vehicle drives on a pier to be loaded onto an Alaska state ferry while people fish underneath the pier in Homer, Alaska. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Monday, April 19, 2021, in a case that will determine who is eligible to receive more than $530 million in federal virus relief funding set aside for tribes more than a year ago. More than a dozen Native American tribes sued the U.S. Treasury Department to keep the money out of the hands of Alaska Native corporations, which provide services to Alaska Natives but do not have a government-to-government relationship with the United States. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)

High court seems ready to send virus funds to Alaska Natives

Justices heard arguments in a case involving the massive pandemic relief package.

FILE - In this May 24, 2015, file photo, a vehicle drives on a pier to be loaded onto an Alaska state ferry while people fish underneath the pier in Homer, Alaska. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Monday, April 19, 2021, in a case that will determine who is eligible to receive more than $530 million in federal virus relief funding set aside for tribes more than a year ago. More than a dozen Native American tribes sued the U.S. Treasury Department to keep the money out of the hands of Alaska Native corporations, which provide services to Alaska Natives but do not have a government-to-government relationship with the United States. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen, File)
Courtesy photo / Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska The Biden administration says it wants to strengthen ties with tribal governments like Central Council of Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, whose workers are seen here loading shipping containers full of supplies bound for needy communities in Southeast Alaska onto a barge in the Gastineau Channel on Oct. 21, 2020.

Nation to nation: A new day for tribal relations?

Feds need to ‘show their work.’

Courtesy photo / Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska The Biden administration says it wants to strengthen ties with tribal governments like Central Council of Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, whose workers are seen here loading shipping containers full of supplies bound for needy communities in Southeast Alaska onto a barge in the Gastineau Channel on Oct. 21, 2020.
A man, seen at top center, threw snowballs at and verbally harassed a group of Alaska Native women at a rally near the Alaska State Capitol on Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. (Courtesy photo / Jamiann Hasselquist)

Man disrupts event focused on missing and murdered Indigenous women

Yelling, throw snowing caught on video by organizers.

A man, seen at top center, threw snowballs at and verbally harassed a group of Alaska Native women at a rally near the Alaska State Capitol on Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. (Courtesy photo / Jamiann Hasselquist)
Cassandra Cropley holds a poster showing photos of her cousin, Linda Skeek, after the 2020 Women’s March, Jan. 18. Skeek went missing in January 2016 and is feared dead. Much of the problem is in the data and the way it’s collected, say advocates of improved and standardized systems. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

Visibility is key: Data and murdered and missing Indigenous women

For some, law enforcment agencies and data systems are active parts of the problem.

Cassandra Cropley holds a poster showing photos of her cousin, Linda Skeek, after the 2020 Women’s March, Jan. 18. Skeek went missing in January 2016 and is feared dead. Much of the problem is in the data and the way it’s collected, say advocates of improved and standardized systems. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
In this Oct. 28, 2016, photo provided by the Maniilaq Association, Alex Whiting, left, and Cyrus Harris, right, are observed by Chris Sannito, second from left, and Brian Himelbloom, third from left, of the Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center as they trim and clean seal blubber in Kotzebue, Alaska. In January 2021, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation approved seal oil to be served at a Maniilaq elder care home, believed to be a first for seal oil in the U.S. (Maniilaq Association via AP)

Cultural ‘big deal’: Seal oil makes menu at Alaska care home

Seal oil is back on the menu for Inupiat elders.

In this Oct. 28, 2016, photo provided by the Maniilaq Association, Alex Whiting, left, and Cyrus Harris, right, are observed by Chris Sannito, second from left, and Brian Himelbloom, third from left, of the Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center as they trim and clean seal blubber in Kotzebue, Alaska. In January 2021, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation approved seal oil to be served at a Maniilaq elder care home, believed to be a first for seal oil in the U.S. (Maniilaq Association via AP)
This cover image released by Roaring Brook Press shows "We Are Water Protectors," written by Carol Lindstrom and illustrated by Michaela Goade. Goade became the first Native American to win the prestigious Randolph Caldecott Medal for best children's picture story. Goade is a member of the Tlingit and Haida Indian tribes in Southeast Alaska. “We Are Water Protectors,” is a call for environmental protection that was conceived in response to the planned construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline through Standing Rock Sioux territory. (Roaring Brook Press via AP)

Goade becomes first Native American to win Caldecott Medal

The award was announced on Monday.

This cover image released by Roaring Brook Press shows "We Are Water Protectors," written by Carol Lindstrom and illustrated by Michaela Goade. Goade became the first Native American to win the prestigious Randolph Caldecott Medal for best children's picture story. Goade is a member of the Tlingit and Haida Indian tribes in Southeast Alaska. “We Are Water Protectors,” is a call for environmental protection that was conceived in response to the planned construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline through Standing Rock Sioux territory. (Roaring Brook Press via AP)
Marine veteran Marvin Kadake, right, of the Keex’ Kwaan Dancers (People of Kake) shakes hands with Ed Kunz during the Grand Entrance for Celebration 2018 along Willoughby Avenue on Wednesday, June 6, 2018. The 2020 version of the every-other-year event had been tentatively scheduled for this summer, but those plans have been canceled, organizers announced. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

Celebration 2021 canceled, organizers announce

It’s the second pandemic-related scheduling change for the event.

Marine veteran Marvin Kadake, right, of the Keex’ Kwaan Dancers (People of Kake) shakes hands with Ed Kunz during the Grand Entrance for Celebration 2018 along Willoughby Avenue on Wednesday, June 6, 2018. The 2020 version of the every-other-year event had been tentatively scheduled for this summer, but those plans have been canceled, organizers announced. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

White House, tribes joined to deliver Alaska Native vaccines

The initiative has treated Indigenous tribes as sovereign governments and set aside special vaccine shipments.

Elizabeth Peratrovich was featured in a Google doodle, seen above, on Dec. 30, 2020. The Tlingit civil rights activist was illustrated by a Sitka-based Tlingit artist for the tech company. (Courtesy art / Google)

Google spotlights Tlingit civil rights icon with Doodle

Alaskans won’t need to Google her.

Elizabeth Peratrovich was featured in a Google doodle, seen above, on Dec. 30, 2020. The Tlingit civil rights activist was illustrated by a Sitka-based Tlingit artist for the tech company. (Courtesy art / Google)
Organizations are withdrawing searchers from landslide-stricken Haines after the Alaska State Troopers called off active search and rescue operations due to hazardous conditions with the terrain and bad weather conditions in the search area. (U.S. Coast Guard photo / Lt. Erick Oredson)

State calls off active search and rescue operations in Haines

Many organizations are withdrawing their searchers but continuing their support of recovery work.

Organizations are withdrawing searchers from landslide-stricken Haines after the Alaska State Troopers called off active search and rescue operations due to hazardous conditions with the terrain and bad weather conditions in the search area. (U.S. Coast Guard photo / Lt. Erick Oredson)
Personnel from the Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska load a front-end loader aboard the vessel Frontrunner for transit to Haines to provide relief and assistance in recovery efforts in Haines following catastrophic rainfall-fueled landslides, Dec. 3, 2020. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

State, local organizations respond to Haines disaster

Everyone from SAR specialists to tribal organizations to uniformed services are helping out.

Personnel from the Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska load a front-end loader aboard the vessel Frontrunner for transit to Haines to provide relief and assistance in recovery efforts in Haines following catastrophic rainfall-fueled landslides, Dec. 3, 2020. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)