A federally recognized Tribe in the Ahtna region of the Copper River area hopes to buy more than 450 acres of its traditional homeland -- and return it to the Tribe. A permanent village of Tazlina was established in the early 1900s near the confluence of Tsedi Na, or Copper River, and Tezdlen Na, or Tazlina River. Tezdlen or Tazlina is one of eight villages in the Ahtna region and is about 70 miles north-northeast of Valdez, and about 150 miles northeast of Anchorage. And now the Native Village

An Anchorage man was sentenced to five years probation after being found guilty of illegally marketing items he sold as being made by an Alaska Native artist. On March 10th, 2021, a U.S. district judge also sentenced Lee Screnock, 60, to pay $2,500 in restitution, and surrender more than $125,000 in retail product. According to a joint news release from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Indian Arts and Crafts Board , Screnock was charged with a felony violation of the Indian Arts and

The Dunleavy administration says its plan to sign up private vendors to offer DMV services in the communities of Haines, Homer, Valdez, Eagle River, Delta Junction and Tok , allowing it shutter state-run offices there could save around a half-million dollars . DMV officials say that if the private vendors — which have yet to be named — don’t materialize the residents in those communities would still be able to access alternate sites by driving more than a hundred miles or taking a state ferry to

Metlakatla Indian Community will appeal a federal judge’s dismissal of a fishing rights case against Gov. Mike Dunleavy and his administration . Lawyers for the Tribe filed the appeal in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Thursday. Lawyers argue that Metlakatla tribal members shouldn’t need state permits to fish in waters within a day’s travel of the community at the southern tip of the Southeast panhandle. When Congress created the Annette Islands Reserve in 1891 as the Tribe’s permanent self

For years, Bret Bradford has lived the seasonal rhythm of a commercial fisherman. He spends summers gillnetting salmon out of Cordova, and in the winter, he looks for odd jobs around town. When a friend asked if wanted to spend the winters growing kelp instead, he saw an opportunity for stable, year-round work. “I thought, man, how hard could it be to grow kelp?” he said. Bradford already has a boat and knowledge of the water. And the timing is perfect: kelp farmers plant seeds in the fall and

Currently the state of Alaska does not recognize Tribes the same way as the federal government or states in the Lower 48 do. A measure in the state House would amend state law to officially recognize most Tribes of Alaska. Advocates say that pushing for that formal recognition is about changing the relationship between the state and Tribes. House Bill 123 would change state law so that Alaska officially recognized Tribes in the state in the same way that the federal government does. The federal

One of the most remote regions in Alaska is the Aleutian Islands. And for the most part, communities along the island chain have done well throughout the pandemic, recording relatively few cases outside of seafood processing plants. But as the COVID-19 vaccine becomes more widely available across the state and country, health care providers are grappling with the logistical challenges of distributing vaccines to the region's windswept communities . Now, according to health officials, a new Biden

Members of the citizen boards that set the rules for fishing and hunting on state lands aren’t allowed to join the discussion if they have a conflict of interest. But Alaska’s House Fisheries Committee is considering a bill that would allow members of the Board of Fisheries and Board of Game to join in those discussions — even if they’ve declared they have a financial stake in the matter. They still wouldn’t be allowed to vote. House Speaker Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, co-sponsored House Bill 26 .

As spring returns to Bristol Bay, so too do Togiak herring . The Alaska Department of Fish and Game projects a biomass of 236,700 tons — the highest forecast since 1993, when the state started to use its current forecasting method. The total allowable harvest is 47,300 tons. The purse seine fleet is allocated 80% of that, and the gillnet fleet can harvest the remaining 20%. Dutch Harbor Food and Bait will receive 7% of the remaining allocation, and Togiak’s spawn on kelp fishery has a fixed

An Alaska resident last year would have to pay $29 for a sport fishing license. Same goes for the 14 years before that. This year, the same license costs $20. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game scrapped the surcharge after paying off a bond debt on the construction of two hatcheries. But the reduction might just be temporary. Legislators are considering levying another, smaller surcharge on those licenses this summer. This time, the charge would fund maintenance projects at sport fish