This story has been updated with a response from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which notes the cancelled grant did not contain funding for “Molly of Denali” for the current year.
A grant that funds PBS kids’ shows including “Molly of Denali,” which won an Emmy in March for an episode by a Juneau writer, has been terminated by the Trump administration, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced Tuesday. The announcement comes after PBS had already told “Molly” show creators the series would not be picked up for another season.
The cancellation of the Ready To Learn grant is a loss of $23 million that during previous years has funded shows including “Molly of Denali,” “Sesame Street,” “Reading Rainbow” and “Clifford the Big Red Dog.” President Donald Trump issued an executive order last week ordering the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and federal agencies to immediately stop funding NPR and PBS, part of a broader slashing to cultural entities such as the National Endowment for the Arts and library programs.
According to the Ready To Learn grants to PBS The Ready To Learn grants “were funding racial justice educational programming for 5-8 year-old children,” Madi Biederman, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Education, said in a prepared statement. “This is not aligned with Administration priorities.”
“The Trump Department of Education will prioritize funding that supports meaningful learning and improving student outcomes, not divisive ideologies and woke propaganda,” Biederman added.
“Molly of Denali” debuted in 2019 as the first U.S. children’s show featuring an Alaska Native as the lead character. It won a Peabody Award in 2020 and earlier this year the season four episode “Not a Mascot,” written by Alaska Native language expert X̱’unei Lance Twitchell, won the award for Writing for a Preschool Animated Series at the third annual 2025 Children’s and Family Emmy Awards.
Twitchell, in an interview Tuesday evening, said he and other creators of the show were told about two weeks ago the show wasn’t being renewed for reasons not specified, and that questions about the show’s future had been lingering for a while —including before Trump began his second term in January. But Twitchell said the cancellation of the Ready to Learn grant put a new light on recent developments.
“The Native writers on the show were told it wasn’t cancelled, but that there was no funding to renew it,” he said. “The Trump agenda results in these changes. They say they are against diversity, which means they expect a whites only television network. We had a beautiful thing with Indigenous representation, but racism seeks to eliminate important voices that have always been here, are here right now, and will be here forever. What a shameful thing.”
The current grant was in the final year of a five-year cycle and CPB noted “Molly of Denali” was among the shows receiving funds. However, Tracey Briggs, a spokesperson for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, stated in an email to the Empire on Thursday that “‘Molly of Denali’ did not have any outstanding funds from the 2020-2025 grant, so (the show) was not affected” by the cancellation.
On Monday another of the Alaska Native writers in Juneau, Vera Starbard, posted on her Facebook page that two new episodes of the show were debuting that day. But Twitchell said that’s because there’s a lengthy process between writing and airing an animated show like “Molly of Denali.”
“So they’ll probably come out for a few more months,” he said.
Briggs, in her email, stated “several months ago, PBS informed GBH, the producing station, that they were not going order new additional episodes at this time, as the current order gives them enough new content for more than a year.”
“PBS remains committed to promoting the show and the games and resources that accompany the series,” she wrote, adding “PBS may negotiate for additional ‘Molly of Denali’ episodes or shorts in the future, and CPB would consider an additional funding request.”
The Ready to Learn grants have funded decades of children’s programming, apps and other content, according to the statement issued by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
“Nearly every parent has raised their kids on public broadcasting’s children’s content. For the past 30 years, Ready To Learn-funded PBS KIDS content has produced measurable, real-world impacts on children’s learning,” said Patricia Harrison, President and CEO of CPB. “Ready To Learn has received strong bipartisan support from Congress for the last 30 years because of the programs’ proven educational value in advancing early learning skills for all children. We will work with Congress and the Administration to preserve funding for this essential program.”
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
X̱’unei Lance Twitchell (holding microphone) discusses writing an Emmy-winning episode of “Molly of Denali” during a forum with fellow Juneau show writers Vera Starbard, Frank Katasse and ‘Wáats’asdiyei Joe Yates on Saturday, April 19, 2025, at the University of Alaska Southeast. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
