Site Logo
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)

News

Man disrupts event focused on missing and murdered Indigenous women

Yelling, throw snowing caught on video by organizers.

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)

News

Visibility is key: Data and murdered and missing Indigenous women

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

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)

News

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

Seal oil is back on the menu for Inupiat elders.

Gov. Ernest Gruening (seated) signs the Alaska Anti-Discrimination Act of 1945. Witnessing are O. D. Cochran, Elizabeth Peratrovich, Edward Anderson, Norman Walker and Roy Peratrovich. (Courtesy Photo / Alaska State Library - Historical Collections)

News

Officials honor Elizabeth Peratrovich day with proclamations

With physical gatherings limited, virtual events and statements marked the day.

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)

News

Goade becomes first Native American to win Caldecott Medal

The award was announced on Monday.

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)

News

Celebration 2021 canceled, organizers announce

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

News

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)

News

Google spotlights Tlingit civil rights icon with Doodle

Alaskans won’t need to Google her.

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)

News

State calls off active search and rescue operations in Haines

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

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)

News

State, local organizations respond to Haines disaster

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

The Angoon Community Association is holding a turkey drive for the community of Angoon on Monday and Tuesday November 23-24. The ACA aims to get enough turkeys for every household in the town of about 500, which they will transport in recently acquired refrigerated trucks, shown above. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

News

Angoon organizaton holds holiday turkey drive in Juneau

They hope to get a turkey for each household in the hard-hit town.

David Katzeek, leader of the Shangukeidi clan, speaks about the power of language during an interview on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019.(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

News

Clan leader and Tlingit language education pioneer has died

“An unimaginable void.”

AmeriCorps volunteer Aidan Chadwick places a three-day supply of emergency rations into a container on Sept. 11, 2020. The work was part of United Way of Southeast Alaska AmeriCorps program’s day of service in recogntion of 9/11. The supplies packed by volunteers will be shipped by Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska to Southeast communities. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

News

Tlingit and Haida readies Southeast communities for next disaster

The future may not be a rosy one, but they plan to be ready for it.

U.S. Marine CorpsU.S. Marine Corps F/A-18C Hornets assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 251 prepare to take off from the flightline during Red Flag-Alaska 17-2 on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, in 2017.

News

Military leaders: Partnerships are key as Alaska’s strategic importance grows

The Alaska Native community and military must work together, commanders say

House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, and Senate President Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, in the House Chambers before a joint session in January, 2020. Speaking to the Alaska Federation of Natives Annual Convention Thursday, Edgmon cited his relationship with Giessel as evidence of good bipartisanship in the legislature, but Giessel and other moderate Republicans lost their primaries to more conservative challengers. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)

News

At AFN, Edgmon stresses need for Alaska Natives in government

Every hand makes a difference.

U.S.Attorney General William Barr speaks during a roundtable discussion on Operation Legend, a federal program to help cities combat violent crime, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020, in St. Louis. Barr also spoke via recorded message at the annual Alaska Federation of Natives Convention. (AP Photo / Jeff Roberson)

News

Alaska Natives, law enforcement affirm partnership against public safety crisis

Partnerships, tribal authority, and reliable funding cam help strangle this crisis.

Tlingit and Haida President Richard Chalyee Éesh Peterson, David R. Boxley, Lyle and Kolene James, Stephen Qacung Blanchett and Ben and Maria Young participate in Tlingit and Haida’s Indigenous Peoples Day celebration. This year’s event was held virtually. It was one of several such virtual events held throughout the state in observation of the holiday. (Screenshot)

News

Alaskans celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day virtually with music, language, activism

The legacy of colonization is still a threat to the future of Indigenous culture here, many say.

Judge Deb O’Gara enters the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska’s Tribal Court on Wednesday, March 14, 2018. Funding from federal grants will allow Tlingit and Haida to expand its court. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)

News

Tlingit and Haida receives federal public safety grants

The two Department of Justice grants totalled nearly $3 million.

The Vecchi Store is a location featured in the recently released video game “Tell My Why.” The mural adorning the outside of the market was designed by Hoonah-based artist Gordon Greenwald. The game is set in a fictional Southeast Alaska village, and care was taken to realistically portray the region’s art and culture.(Courtesy Image / Xbox)

News

Xbox marks the spot: New game helps put Southeast Alaska arts and culture on the map

Game makers work with artists, nonprofit to portray local culture.

Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska President Richard Chalyee Éesh Peterson speaks at the Juneau Chamber of Commerce luncheon at Elizabeth Peratovich Hall on Thursday, March 12, 2020. Peterson was elected to his third term as President during the 85th Tribal Assembly held virtually this year. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)

News

Peterson reelected in condensed Tribal Assembly

It’s a third term.