The U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday, February 28, that it will hear several cases challenging the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act, or ICWA. The law was passed in 1978 in response to the disproportionate removal of Native children from their homes, families and communities.

Originally put in place in the 1970s during peak beaver trapping, a regulation that requires submerged traps was both meant to prevent over-trapping of the species but also discourage targeting other species or decrease the risk of accidentally trapping another type of animal. But over the years, water levels fluctuate enough that could cause trappers to fall out of compliance.

On Tuesday, March 15, 2022, President Joe Biden signed an omnibus spending package for fiscal year 2022 (FY 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act) into law.The nearly 3-thousand-page bill includes a reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, or VAWA.

Some Alaska Native Elders must make the tough choice of whether to give their Native corporation shares away to be eligible for federal programs like SNAP. A piece of federal legislation would exclude settlement trust benefits from counting against their eligibility for some federal programs.

A group of law professors wants the U.S. Ninth Circuit to reconsider a split decision from March that would allow a land swap. The swap would create a potentially life-saving road between King Cove and Cold Bay, but the road would cross a national wildlife refuge.

The second and final day of the AFN convention is packed with guests and big conversations. Sponsors of a ballot initiative took the opportunity to say their piece on why tribal recognition in the state is long overdue. Multiple attempts to pass a bill through the Legislature were unsuccessful. A tribal recognition bill was passed this year in the House but never went to a vote in the Senate. Chalyee Éesh Richard Peterson is the president of the Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of

Day One of the annual AFN convention featured all three of Alaska’s sitting lawmakers. Alaska Republican Congressman Don Young spoke to the strengths of AFN and the landmark legislation known as the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. "We have to continue the work when we can. I know we can do it– you can do it. You’re extremely well done. With the future of the Alaska Native Land Claims Act – ANCSA will continue." U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski talked about legislation to provide promised land

The Alaska Federation of Natives is the largest convention of Alaska Natives in the state. Affectionately called “Native New Year,” the convention is an opportunity for Indigenous people across the state to come together and develop important state and federal policy. The convention is virtual for the second year out of concerns for the coronavirus pandemic. But that doesn’t diminish the importance of the two-day virtual event. Kaaxúxgu Joe Nelson is the Sealaska board chair. He was elected as

The Haines Sheldon Museum is showcasing a display of newly revealed Lingít formline images . The museum staff used an infrared camera to photograph traditional bentwood boxes to reveal paintings, not seen in perhaps 200 years. Several traditional Lingít bentwood boxes make up part of the Haines Sheldon Museum’s 23,000 item collection. Handmade out of cedar wood and painted, the boxes were used for storage or traded goods, according to museum collections coordinator Zachary James. “These ones I