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Melanie Bahnke, president of Kawerak, the nonprofit tribal consortium representing 20 Alaska Native tribes in the Bering Strait Region, talks about her childhood in the remote western Alaskan village of Savoonga where she grew up speaking St Lawrence Island Yupik. We also discuss her contentious time this past year serving as one of the 5 members on the Alaska Redistricting Board. This interview was recorded via Zoom at the beginning of December. Closing commentary is provided by Anchorage political consultant Robert Hockema.