Elizabeth Jenkins, Alaska's Energy Desk - Juneau
Indigenous leaders are reimagining Vogue covers to get the word out on Tongass
Leaders are using the modified covers to get more traction about the Roadless Rule, which they want to remain in place.
Tribal groups question state’s lawsuit over pandemic hunting requests
Alaska tribal governments and organizations are asking the State of Alaska to withdraw a lawsuit filed recently in federal court.
Nearly a quarter of Southeast businesses at risk of closing due to pandemic
As of June, fewer businesses in Southeast Alaska reported receiving federal COVID relief funds compared to distributions across the state.
The Federal Subsistence Board OK’d an emergency hunt in Kake. Now it faces legal challenges.
Over the summer, the federal agency restricted one hunting area in the Interior to only local subsistence users, and granted permission to Kake for a special out-of-season hunt.
Northwest Coast indigenous arts program opens at UAS
It's been years in the making and part of a larger project to establish a Northwest Coast arts hub.
For Tongass projects, critics say environmental rollback could cut the public out of the process
Recent changes to environmental laws include removing the requirement to analyze cumulative impacts, like climate change, for new projects to take place on federal lands.
With a Roadless Rule decision pending, tribal governments petition for new process
Nine tribal governments in Southeast Alaska submitted a petition to the United States Department of Agriculture on Tuesday, asking for another rule making process for the Tongass National Forest.
The federal agency is close to announcing what’s likely...
Juneau’s got no cruise tourists, so a longtime entertainer hit the grocery store
When you’re pushing a cart at the grocery store, it’s normally to the tune of some generic pop song. But lately at Foodland IGA in Juneau, the music has been coming from an actual keyboard player: 81-year-old Bobby Reynolds.
Alaska Pioneer Homes are trying out in-person visits again
But not all homes have opened due to localized surges in Anchorage and Fairbanks.
Tlingit cultural items could be headed back to Alaska
The items, which currently sit at the museum of the University of Maine, could be returned to Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, under a federal law that allows for the removal of such objects.
Lawsuit over cultural appropriation of Native designs proceeds, despite Neiman Marcus bankrupty
The retailer Neiman Marcus sold a Ravenstail knitted coat on its website for $2500, which contained the same patterns as a coat designed by a Native weaver.
Weaver Lily Hope donates Chilkat Protector mask to Juneau’s Sealaska Heritage Institute
Weaver Lily Hope created a similar mask as part of an online art competition in April.
You might be on a megayacht, but you’re still subject to Alaska’s COVID-19 travel mandates
Though cruise ships aren't allowed in Southeast Alaska this summer, a recent visit by the boat of the owner of the Dallas Cowboys is as big as many cruise ships. But city officials say that wealth won't let you bypass quarantine and testing mandates.
With food supplies threatened by pandemic, tribes say they’re still waiting for permission for special hunts
Tribal governments who requested special hunts in April in order to secure food security for their communities say they still haven't heard back from regulators.
Airline passenger brings first case of COVID-19 to Southeast town of Gustavus
The person is not an Alaska resident and appears to be asymptomatic. They are currently in self-quarantine.
A Chilkat mask remembers how ‘we took care of each other’ during the pandemic
Lily Hope weaving a Chilkat blanket in 2016. (Elizabeth Jenkins/KTOO)
Chilkat weaving has been practiced for hundreds of years by Indigenous people on the Northwest Coast. The intricate design is a kind of woven record,...
With social distancing in mind, a Juneau food cart rigs up a drive-thru
The coronavirus pandemic necessitated some creative thinking for Juneau restaurants. One shifted business from a food-cart style to a drive-thru.
Fred Meyer starts accepting SNAP benefits for curbside pickup
But the WIC program from expectant mothers and children is still not available for curbside ordering at the grocery chain.
Social distancing at a logging camp? An Alaska operator wants more resources
Logging companies in Ketchikan need workers from the Lower 48, but options for testing for the corornavirus are limited in the small community.
Sealaska sues Nieman Marcus for allegedly using Native design in $2,500 coat
Sealaska Heritage Institute has filed a federal lawsuit against the high-end fashion retailer Neiman Marcus, alleging the company copied a traditional Ravenstail pattern when it produced a coat that retails for more than $2,500.