A Tlingit master carver living in Ketchikan has been named a United States Artists fellow. Nathan Jackson is one of 60 artists to receive the honor in 2021 . Jackson was born in Tenakee Springs and, after serving in the military, moved to Haines in 1959 to fish commercially. While there, he was challenged by a friend to whittle small totem poles with a pocket knife, copying his friend’s designs. Jackson says an illness ended his plans to become a fisherman. He spent 54 days in Mount Edgecumbe

A 33-year-old woman from Pilot Station returned home on Feb. 8 after spending over two months in hospitals . Nastasia “Bea” Xavier recovered after being in a medically induced coma for weeks due to COVID-19 complications. Her mother said that she’s her “miracle child.” Xavier’s family and friends call her Bea. Her older brother, Joe Xavier, helped give her that name. At the end of November, that same older brother checked into Pilot Station’s health clinic a day before she did. They both had

Alaska Native Tribes are awaiting word on scores of wireless broadband licenses offered at no charge by the Federal Communications Commission. It’s part of a federal push to improve internet access in traditionally underserved communities. A startup called Alaska Tribal Spectrum received a $100,000 grant from the Denali Commission to register as many Alaska Native Tribes during the final months of last year’s application period. The initiative has signed up nearly 70 Tribes. “We created a

For years, harsh weather wore down a painted pod of humpback whales in Seward, on a wall across from the Alaska SeaLife Center. The piece, “Sea-Ward Bound,” is one of many murals that makes Seward the “Mural Capital of Alaska.” But the wall it was painted on was crumbling and the building owners took it down during repairs in 2018. Now, the whales are back. Local artist J. Leslie was tapped in 2019 for a mural makeover, and with the Seward Mural Society and a team of volunteers, he gave them new

A federal judge temporarily stopped the sale of a National Archives building in Seattle, Washington. In a written order filed Tuesday morning, U.S. District Court Judge John C. Coughenour ordered a halt to the imminent sale of the National Archives building -- and removal of an immense archival collection. I n a news release, Washington state’s Attorney General Bob Ferguson said, “Today’s legal victory blocks the federal government’s unlawful plan to sell the Archives and scatter the DNA of our

Inclusivity has always been an issue for scientific fields like paleogenomics, which is the study of ancient DNA. Several academic researchers who document Southeast Alaska’s ancient history are highlighting the need to retain more Native researchers in a lecture series hosted by Sealaska Heritage Institute. In 1996, the remains of a man now called Shuká Káa were found in a cave on Prince of Wales. James Dixon, an anthropology professor at The University of New Mexico, was a lead researcher in

Former Tanana Chiefs Conference Chief and Chairman Victor Joseph has been appointed to a federal task force set up by the Biden administration to ensure all Americans are tested and treated for COVID-19 fairly . Former Tanana Chiefs Chairman Victor Joseph says he’s gratified to have been selected to serve on the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force. “It is a real honor to participate at this level,” he said in an interview Wednesday. Joseph has worked more than 20 years for Tanana Chiefs, including

One of the National Science Foundation’s flagship initiatives for the past few years is called Navigating the New Arctic. It looks at the effects of a warming climate on Arctic communities. However, some in the field believe NSF isn’t doing enough to involve Indigenous people who live there. More than 200 researchers from around the country signed an open letter to the foundation last month, requesting more Indigenous input within the initiative . Margaret Anamaq Rudolf is a doctoral candidate

Angoon’s Native corporation has a new leader. Debbie Atuk took over as the President and CEO of Kootznoowoo Incorporated in February after a career in corporate finance and business. Even back when Debbie Atuk was an undergraduate student studying economics at the University of Chicago, she was thinking about Alaska Native corporations. “I wrote a lot of essays, a lot of scholarship application essays, and I talked about the Native corporations and how I wanted to come back and apply my

Take a stroll along some of Juneau’s downtown streets and you’ll find brand new signs with maps and information about each location . But the signs do more than just tell you where you are — each one tells an oral history about the place as part of an audio storytelling project called Juneau Voices. The new signs feature QR codes. Scan them and you’ll be taken to an audio story about the place. (Editor’s note: The QR codes on the signs are currently inactive, but will be ready to scan in early