Alaskans spend nearly 60 percent more on energy than the national average , and in some rural communities, that number is much higher. The Kupreanof Island village of Kake is trying to bring down the high cost of energy by transitioning to renewables. They’ve looked at solar, wind, hydro and now biomass heating, an old technology with a new design . When Gary Williams retired after 30 years as executive director of Kake’s Tribe, the Organized Village of Kake, he decided to turn his attention to

In September 2020, KYUK reported that approximately 130 residents living in Mertarvik did not receive a primary election ballot. After hearing this news, state lawmakers from the state House and Senate wrote letters to state election officials asking how they would fix things for the general election. The Alaska Division of Elections director and Alaska's lieutenant governor shared their response to these questions with KYUK. Here is a review of everything that went wrong during Newtok’s primary

The Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation is sanitizing and reusing gloves as its supply of the personal protective equipment, or PPE, runs short. The regional health care provider issued a notice Oct. 21 to Facebook announcing that its workers are wearing the same gloves for up to six patients, and sanitizing the gloves with alcohol-based hand sanitizer between patients. “Because YKHC needs to have enough PPE to continue to provide health care or respond to COVID-19 surges and medevacs,” the

State attorneys are asking a federal court judge to dismiss a fishing rights case brought by Metlakatla Indian Community at the southeastern tip of the state. The state’s sole native reserve — that’s similar to Lower 48 reservations — argues Congress granted it the right to fish in its traditional waters — even outside the marine boundaries of the Annette Islands Reserve. The tribe says the state thus doesn’t have the right to require state fishing permits for tribal members in state waters. But

The grocer Alaska Commercial Company, also known as AC, has been fined $20,490 by the federal Department of Labor for child labor violations . Investigators from the federal Wage and Hour Division found that in the AC stores in Alaska, there were 30 workers between the ages of 14 and 15 working outside of the legal amount of hours allowed by the government. Those violations include working more than 8 hours a day or more than 40 hours a week during non-school periods. During the school year,

A Washington state resident donated a Frog button blanket to Sealaska Heritage Institute. According to a Sealaska Heritage news release , the blanket is thought to date from the late 1800s and belonged to the late Ethel Kiley. Kiley kept the blanket stored for years in her closet. Twenty years ago, she gave the blanket to her grandson, who kept it stored until September – when he donated it to Sealaska Heritage. Ethel Kiley was born in Klukwan and may have been a Tlingit Raven of the Gaanaxteidí

Stebbins is having one of the Norton Sound region’s worst outbreaks of COVID-19 with at least 24 cases being reported since the outbreak started on October 6th. Community leaders and health experts say the outbreak is highlighting the need for running water . While running water would be ideal, KNOM reports on some temporary solutions the community of over 700 is using in the meantime. Virginia Tom, 73, of Stebbins has seen a lot: including outbreaks of pneumonia, tuberculosis, and other public

Community discussion surrounding a study of generational trauma has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic . Sealaska Heritage Institute and the Hoonah Indian Association are collaborating on a study that looks at the potential impact of historical trauma on Alaska Native people. Participants were recruited beginning in 2019. Researchers from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana were scheduled to visit Hoonah and Juneau to discuss the preliminary results and next steps. But

The Alaska Federation of Natives Convention came to a close with little discussion about how to respond to climate change . This year, the convention’s third day, when resolutions are openly debated, was eliminated. Various Native organizations submitted 30 resolutions for consideration. There is no open resolution debate this year. Only one resolution briefly mentions climate change. It’s very much unlike last year, when a resolution calling on AFN to declare a climate change emergency took

Construction began in August on Sealaska Heritage Institute’s future arts campus in downtown Juneau. But they found contaminated soil, which may affect the institute’s goal to have it complete in time for Celebration next year . The site in downtown Juneau ought to be busy with construction work. Instead, earth movers sit idle inside the fenced-off site. “Believe me, it’s aggravating for me to look out the window and not see anything happening,” said Lee Kadinger, chief operating officer of