Alaska Natives

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski announces during Celebration on Friday at Centennial Hall the U.S. Navy will be apologizing to “the people of Angoon” for the 1882 bombardment that destroyed the Tlingit village. (Screenshot from video by Sealaska Heritage Institute)
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US Navy will apologize for 1882 bombardment of Angoon, Murkowski says

Senator makes announcement while appearing with dance group from Tlingit village during Celebration.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski announces during Celebration on Friday at Centennial Hall the U.S. Navy will be apologizing to “the people of Angoon” for the 1882 bombardment that destroyed the Tlingit village. (Screenshot from video by Sealaska Heritage Institute)
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Ancestral seal hunting happened at the edge of the Sít Tlein (Hubbard) glacier. Emily Kearney-Williams © Smithsonian Institution

Scientists and Indigenous leaders team up to conserve seals and an ancestral way of life at Yakutat

Five hundred years ago, in a mountain-rimmed ocean fjord in southeast Alaska, Tlingit hunters armed with bone-tipped harpoons eased their canoes through chunks of floating… Continue reading

Ancestral seal hunting happened at the edge of the Sít Tlein (Hubbard) glacier. Emily Kearney-Williams © Smithsonian Institution
Elizabeth Peele, 3, a Saxton resident, is accompanied by her father Charles during the toddler regalia review as part of Celebration on Thursday at Centennial Hall. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
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Small on stage, giants in legacy for participants in Celebration’s toddler regalia review

Kids ages 1-5 showcase family-made clothing, accessories with links to widespread tribal ancestries.

Elizabeth Peele, 3, a Saxton resident, is accompanied by her father Charles during the toddler regalia review as part of Celebration on Thursday at Centennial Hall. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
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Canoes from communities south of Juneau led by the One People Canoe Society land downtown on Tuesday to cheers and songs from people on shore. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)

Paddling to Celebration in traditional canoes a journey of healing, remembrance and kinship

New and longtime participants arriving in downtown Juneau say trip reconnects them to ancestors.

Canoes from communities south of Juneau led by the One People Canoe Society land downtown on Tuesday to cheers and songs from people on shore. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Paddlers in traditional Tlingit canoes, plus a smaller Bering Sea kayak guided by Lou Logan, arrive at the Auke Village Recreation Area at midday Tuesday following their journey down the northern part of the Inside Passage. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire)

Traditional canoes making voyage from Haines to Celebration get warm welcome from Lingít Aaní

Group joins others from Southeast making long paddle to Juneau for biennial Indigenous event.

Paddlers in traditional Tlingit canoes, plus a smaller Bering Sea kayak guided by Lou Logan, arrive at the Auke Village Recreation Area at midday Tuesday following their journey down the northern part of the Inside Passage. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire)
Melina Meyer and Laine Rinehart laugh while weaving the bottom fringe of the Chilkat Pride robe on Saturday. The robe will be exhibited and danced in for the first time during this year’s Celebration. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)

Celebration 2024 mixes decades of tradition with new events

Thousands gather in Juneau for four-day Indigenous dance-and-culture festival starting Wednesday.

Melina Meyer and Laine Rinehart laugh while weaving the bottom fringe of the Chilkat Pride robe on Saturday. The robe will be exhibited and danced in for the first time during this year’s Celebration. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Marie Mead performs a traditional dance during the Inuit-soul musical group Pamyua’s performance as part of the final night of the Áak’w Rock music festival at Centennial Hall on Sept. 23, 2023. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo)

Áak’w Rock bringing another ‘Side Stage’ to accompany this week’s Celebration

10 Indigenous performers scheduled Friday and Saturday at various venues downtown.

Marie Mead performs a traditional dance during the Inuit-soul musical group Pamyua’s performance as part of the final night of the Áak’w Rock music festival at Centennial Hall on Sept. 23, 2023. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo)
Nick Hanson of the NBC show “American Ninja Warrior” kicks off the blanket toss at the 2020 Traditional Games in Juneau. (Lyndsey Brollini / Sealaska Heritage Institute)

Neighbors: Celebration begins Wednesday with mix of traditional and new events

Nearly 1,600 dancers from 36 dance groups scheduled to participate in four-day gathering.

Nick Hanson of the NBC show “American Ninja Warrior” kicks off the blanket toss at the 2020 Traditional Games in Juneau. (Lyndsey Brollini / Sealaska Heritage Institute)
Anchorage pullers arrived at Wrangell’s Petroglyph Beach on May 23 for a canoe-naming ceremony. One of the canoes they will paddle to Juneau was dedicated to Wrangell’s Marge Byrd, Kiks.adi matriarch Shaawat Shoogoo. The canoe’s name is Xíxch’ dexí (Frog Backbone). (Becca Clark / Wrangell Sentinel)

Canoes making 150-mile journey from Wrangell, other Southeast communities to Celebration

Paddlers expected to arrive in Juneau on June 4, one day before biennial Alaska Native gathering.

Anchorage pullers arrived at Wrangell’s Petroglyph Beach on May 23 for a canoe-naming ceremony. One of the canoes they will paddle to Juneau was dedicated to Wrangell’s Marge Byrd, Kiks.adi matriarch Shaawat Shoogoo. The canoe’s name is Xíxch’ dexí (Frog Backbone). (Becca Clark / Wrangell Sentinel)
Wreath bearers present wreaths for fallen comrades, brothers and sisters in arms during a Memorial Day ceremony at Alaskan Memorial Park on Monday. Laying wreaths on the graves of fallen heroes is a way to honor and remember the sacrifices made. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)

Traditional Memorial Day ceremonies offer new ways to ‘never forget’ those who served

New installations at memorial sites, fresh words of reminder shared by hundreds gathering in Juneau.

Wreath bearers present wreaths for fallen comrades, brothers and sisters in arms during a Memorial Day ceremony at Alaskan Memorial Park on Monday. Laying wreaths on the graves of fallen heroes is a way to honor and remember the sacrifices made. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Jennifer Brown plays the drum while Jarrell Williams dances at an MMIP rally on the Alaska State Capitol steps on May 5. (Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)

Alaska lawmakers approve additional support for addressing missing and murdered Indigenous people

Cultural training for law enforcement officers and dedicated MMIP investigators among updates.

Jennifer Brown plays the drum while Jarrell Williams dances at an MMIP rally on the Alaska State Capitol steps on May 5. (Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)
Nathan Jackson (left) and John Hagen accept awards at the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska President’s Awards banquet. (Courtesy photo)

Haines artists get belated recognition for iconic Tlingit and Haida logo

Nathan Jackson and John Hagen created the design that has been on tribal materials since the ‘70s.

Nathan Jackson (left) and John Hagen accept awards at the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska President’s Awards banquet. (Courtesy photo)
Jan Bronson of Anchorage and Cathy Walling of Fairbanks, representing the Alaska Friends Conference, apologize to Alaska Native communities for the boarding schools it ran in Alaska and the United States. The apology took place at Sayéik Gastineau elementary school, the former site of a Quaker mission school in Juneau, during Orange Shirt Day, Sept. 30, 2022. (Lisa Phu/Alaska Beacon)

Alaska lawmakers support push to investigate, document forced assimilation in boarding schools

The widely supported resolution supports a bill championed by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski in Congress.

Jan Bronson of Anchorage and Cathy Walling of Fairbanks, representing the Alaska Friends Conference, apologize to Alaska Native communities for the boarding schools it ran in Alaska and the United States. The apology took place at Sayéik Gastineau elementary school, the former site of a Quaker mission school in Juneau, during Orange Shirt Day, Sept. 30, 2022. (Lisa Phu/Alaska Beacon)
A new online dictionary features Lingít, X̱aad Kíl, Shm’algyack and English. (Mircea Brown / Courtesy of Sealaska Heritage Institute)

Neighbors: Sealaska Heritage Institute debuts multilingual online Alaska Native dictionary with audio

Platform includes resources for Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian languages.

A new online dictionary features Lingít, X̱aad Kíl, Shm’algyack and English. (Mircea Brown / Courtesy of Sealaska Heritage Institute)
Rep. Andi Story, a Juneau Democrat, listens to a presentation during a House Education Committee meeting on Friday at the Alaska State Capitol. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Juneau lawmaker’s bill adding four Indigenous languages to state’s official list unanimously passes Senate

Legislation by Rep. Andi Story also renames, expands size of state Native languages council.

Rep. Andi Story, a Juneau Democrat, listens to a presentation during a House Education Committee meeting on Friday at the Alaska State Capitol. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Red clothing is worn and displayed as a sign of a unified call for action during a rally in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Sunday to commemorate the annual Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)

Rally seeks future where Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day is not necessary

More than 50 people gather at Capitol to share stories of missing family, efforts to address issue.

Red clothing is worn and displayed as a sign of a unified call for action during a rally in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Sunday to commemorate the annual Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
A crowd gathers at the steps of the Alaska State Capitol on Friday, May 5, 2023, for a rally and march to recognize Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Awareness Day. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo)

My Turn: A call to action during Missing and Murdered Indigenous People month

Hello, my name is Patricia Graham. May is Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women/People Month. Sunday, May 5, is the National Awareness Walk — here in… Continue reading

A crowd gathers at the steps of the Alaska State Capitol on Friday, May 5, 2023, for a rally and march to recognize Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples Awareness Day. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo)
About 20 youths dance in Ravenstail robes during a ceremony at Centennial Hall on Tuesday evening featuring the history of the ceremonial regalia. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
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Weavers, dancers and teachers celebrate revival of a traditional crafting of robes from the fringes

“You have just witnessed the largest gathering of Ravenstail regalia in history.”

About 20 youths dance in Ravenstail robes during a ceremony at Centennial Hall on Tuesday evening featuring the history of the ceremonial regalia. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
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X’unei Lance Twitchell teaches an advanced Tlingít course at University of Alaska Southeast on Monday. (Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)

Alaska Native languages at crucial juncture, biennial report says

Call to action urges systemic reforms to the state’s support and integration of Native languages.

X’unei Lance Twitchell teaches an advanced Tlingít course at University of Alaska Southeast on Monday. (Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)
Eulalia Roman, 12, with team Mat-Su competes in the wrist carry on the first day of the Native Youth Olympics Senior Games at the Alaska Airlines Center on Thursday in Anchorage. (Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News via AP)

Alaska’s Indigenous teens emulate ancestors’ Arctic survival skills at the Native Youth Olympics

The athletes filling a huge gym in Anchorage were ready to compete, cheering and stomping and high-fiving each other as they lined up for the… Continue reading

Eulalia Roman, 12, with team Mat-Su competes in the wrist carry on the first day of the Native Youth Olympics Senior Games at the Alaska Airlines Center on Thursday in Anchorage. (Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News via AP)