Photo: Soren White working at the Harry Race Pharmacy in Sitka, Alaska on July 10, 2026. (Katherine Rose / KCAW)

Historically, pharmacists in Alaska have been limited in what they can do.

Over the last decade they have advocated for and been granted expanded authority. Now, a new law goes further.

Alaska Public Media health reporter Rachel Cassandra delved into the law, which will increase access to care by changing how pharmacists can work in the state.

Soren White grew up in a pharmacy.

“Both my parents are pharmacists here in Sitka.”

As a young adult, he worked as a pharmacy tech, then went to school in Oregon to become a pharmacist.

That included a four-year graduate program with clinical training, but when he returned to Sitka, Alaska for a job at his parents’ pharmacies, his daily work was much more limited.

“Typically we’ve been really stuck behind the counter, counting pills.”

A new state law expands what White and other pharmacists can do as part of their practice.

Starting in next January, they will be able to test and treat certain ailments, like strep throat, urinary tract infections, or the flu.

State Rep. Justin Ruffridge (R-AK) is a pharmacist who supported the bill. He says pharmacists in rural areas play a vital role.

“We are the most highly accessible healthcare professional.”

Data shows people see pharmacists up to twice as often as primary care providers. The law builds on other legislation that has helped increase pharmacists’ authority in recent years.

The bill passed by wide margins in both the Alaska House and Senate.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R-AK) vetoed it, saying it would expand the scope of practice too much and too fast, but lawmakers had enough support to override his veto.

Brandy Seignemartin is executive director for the Alaska Pharmacy Association. She helped write the legislation and says it will change healthcare in the state.

“Patients are gonna be able to walk into community pharmacies and have access to care for minor ailments, test and treat.”

She says that is really important in a rural state like Alaska and it will be easier for pharmacists to set up collaborative agreements where they work with a provider. With more training, that could include specialists.

For example, she says initially a psychiatrist could diagnose the patient, but then work with a pharmacist to optimize their medication, so the patient does not need to see the psychiatrist every single visit.

She says the new law also opens the door to pharmacists covering other healthcare gaps, especially for Alaska’s vulnerable populations, including HIV prevention medication like PrEP and PEP and medications for opioid use disorder.

It also would create a pathway for pharmacists to be able to get a DEA license so they can prescribe those medications.

She thinks that will be a major game changer for the ongoing opioid crisis in Alaska.

Molly from Denali at a Heard Museum meet-and-greet on July 11, 2026. (Photo: Gabriel Pietrorazio)

Molly of Denali made her groundbreaking debut on PBS Kids back in 2019.

The animated Alaska Native girl is the first Indigenous lead of a nationally distributed children’s series. And as KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio reports, she made a stop in Phoenix, Ariz.

If you visit the Heard Museum between now through August, you will come across an Alaskan village where you can tag along with Molly on all of her wild adventures – from flying a bush plane to riding a snowmobile, wearing snowshoes or smoking salmon.

“We brought Alaska to Arizona”

Patty Talahongva (Hopi) is the museum’s chief programming and engagement officer.

“…and therefore the Heard Museum is the coolest place in town.”

Alison Nicolosi is director of the nonprofit AZ Husky Rescue.

“You never know when you’re going to find your best friend, and sometimes it might be at the museum.”

AZ Husky Rescue co-founders Alison Nicolosi, left, and Veronica Reece with Marley, an adoptable dog, at the Heard Museum on July 12, 2026. (Photo: Gabriel Pietrorazio)

Sadly for Heard employee Susan Taylor, Max the husky has already found a new home.

“Oh my gosh, there’s one that I’m trying to adopt. He claimed me like no other.”

But there are still plenty more pups – maybe enough for a pack to pull a dog sled.

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Wednesday, July 15, 2026 – Native Playlist: Shub and Darksiderz

President Donald Trump slashed the size of two national monuments in Utah Monday.

The sites feature ancient cliff dwellings and scenic canyons, as well as coal and uranium deposits.

As Chris Clements of KNAU reports, the move comes over the objections of tribal nations and conservation groups.

President Trump issued proclamations that reduce Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante by about 90% each.

At a signing event with Gov. Spencer Cox (R-UT), Trump said the reduction gives the land “back” to the people of Utah.

Trump tried shrinking the monuments during his first term, but former President Joe Biden reversed the decision.

Tim Peterson with the conservation nonprofit Grand Canyon Trust says the tribal nations that consider the monuments culturally significant were not consulted.

“That lack of consultation represents a violation of federal trust and treaty obligations to tribes.”

A survey of Utah residents commissioned by the trust in 2024 shows support for keeping both monuments at the size President Biden determined.

Connecticut Justice Alliance (CTJA) Executive Director Christina Quaranta speaks in support of a state senate bill raising the age of arrest in CT and restricting the use of handcuffs on young children in March 2025. (Courtesy CTJA / Vimeo)

Connecticut juvenile justice advocates want the state to halt plans for a new youth detention center, as Edwin J. Viera reports.

The latest Re-entry, Goal-oriented, Individualized Opportunity to Nurture Success (REGIONS) center is slated to fulfill a 2018 law when the state’s last large youth prison closed.

Christina Quaranta with the Connecticut Justice Alliance says that was eight years ago and the state should invest in alternatives to incarceration instead.

“Opening a new facility would be taking many steps backwards. It would be the opposite of progressive and doing what’s right for young people. So, I encourage lawmakers to think about that. The barrier there, folks are like, ‘this is in state statute, this is what we have to do,’ and we really need to get rid of that barrier.”

In considering alternatives to incarceration, Quaranta says the state must ask young people what they need to be engaged and have the programs and services they require, but there is a disconnect between what policymakers know needs to be done and what families and communities are asking for.

Given the short legislative session this year, the state was not able to address alternatives to incarceration.

At the start of the session, Quaranta wanted to see lawmakers review the state Department of Corrections budget to find ways to further alternatives to incarceration for youth, but she says the state must keep investments moving forward rather than stalling.

“As folks are stopping to make policy decisions, or wait for the elections to come and go, whatever the hiccup is, the dollars need to be bound and moved because it’s an urgent issue.”

State lawmakers made some youth justice progress in the 2025 legislative session by approving the Raise the Age law.

The bill raises the age of arrest for children from 10 to 12 years old under certain circumstances this year. The law will raise the age of arrest again in 2028 from 12 to 14, and restrict the use of handcuffs on children under 14.

The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Tribal Council. (Courtesy Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation)

The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation has filed a federal lawsuit against the Kansas Lottery, alleging the state is violating tribal sovereignty by selling lottery tickets and operating lottery machines on the Nation’s reservation.

Tribal leaders say the lawsuit seeks to protect treaty rights and enforce the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

(Courtesy U.S. Bureau of Land Management)

In California, tribal leaders continue to oppose a federal roundup of wild horses near Mono Lake.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management says the gather is needed because of drought and overgrazing, while tribal leaders argue the horses are culturally significant and want greater tribal involvement in managing the herd.

The Cherokee Nation has awarded nearly $1.9 million in public health and wellness grants to dozens of organizations across its reservation.

Tribal officials say the funding will support community health programs, mental health services, and wellness initiatives throughout northeastern Oklahoma.

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Tuesday, July 14, 2026 – Strengthening the tribal workforce: trade school and a new federal grant program

What does it mean to have a constitution?

That is a question tribal leaders are going to grapple with this week in southern Arizona during a two-day seminar.

KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio has more.

Up until Congress passed the landmark Indian Reorganization Act, tribes were not seen as sovereign. That all changed in 1934.

Dave Beeksma is from the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa in Wisconsin.

“But there are going to be some conditions. So, what the U.S. government did, was they provided these boilerplate templates. [In] some cases, these were literally fill-in-the-blank constitutions.”

He is also director of the Native Nations Institute at the University of Arizona.

“We the people of – state your tribe – are constituting a constitution to do x, y, and z. That created some challenges for us over the next 90 years.”

Which is why the institute is helping tribes review these outdated texts. The U.S. Constitution has been amended 27 times. Such reform is something Thomas Jefferson encouraged.

“The Cherokee Nation does something like that right now. They have a provision every 20 years where they can look and decide whether or not to have essentially a constitutional convention. Our constitutions should be like nature. They should be like our world. They should be like our communities. They should be able to grow.”

(Courtesy New Mexico Native Census Coalition / Facebook)

The 2030 Census is still nearly four years off, but a growing distrust of government has those planning to help with the New Mexico count worried about fairness and representation.

Roz Brown has more.

The count is conducted every ten years by the U.S. Census Bureau and relies on a vast network of partners and community organizations like the League of Women Voters to help.

State Demographer Robert Rhatigan says New Mexico has had a constant problem with undercounting of first-generation immigrant families and Native Americans, primarily because addresses are missing from the Census Bureau’s address list.

“Those reasons include non-standard addressing, field work limitations; there’s the language and cultural barriers, and distrust of the federal government. The Hispanic community in particular, and that is a big part of it.”

Rhatigan says census undercounts can prevent tribal communities and other groups from receiving federal funding. He notes the state’s financial investment in a program called the Local Update of Census Addresses for the 2020 Census was highly successful – adding more than 100,000 previously overlooked addresses.

He believes the state could see more gains if some $300,000 are allocated by the state legislature for the 2030 Census.

Compared to other agencies, the Trump administration’s staff cuts to the Census Bureau have been minimal.

About 300 workers, or 25% of the Bureau’s employees, were laid off during broader federal downsizing, but Rhatigan worries it still could be detrimental.

“That 25% of staff represented well north of 50% of the institutional knowledge, folks who’d been through two or three censuses. So that’s a huge loss.”

In 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the first Trump administration could not include a question about citizenship on the 2020 census form, but there are new efforts in Congress to add a similar question in 2030.

States with a majority of Democratic voters argued such a question would discourage legal and illegal immigrants from responding and make the population count less accurate.

Rhatigan says there also are efforts underway by Congressional Republicans to limit the Census Bureau’s contact strategies.

“The policy in 2020 was six knocks on the doors. They wanna limit that to two contacts. That would be extremely problematic, and it would almost certainly depress the count in New Mexico more so than in other states.”

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Monday, July 13, 2026 – Tribal solar projects shine on without much federal support

“Navajo Highways”, a children’s show using puppets to teach youth the Diné language, recently won Emmys gold.

KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio caught up with the creator and has more.

After just a single season that included six episodes and a Christmas special, “Navajo Highways” won one regional Emmy award for informational-instructional content and another for best set design.

“I really wanted it for the crew – the crew who believed in me – and I wanted them to feel validated that I wasn’t just some crazy kook that came up with the puppet show, you know.”

Utah-based creator Pete Sands, who films in Moab, says he is still awestruck, even weeks after coming back from the La Jolla ceremony.

“I guess I’ve been out of the artist world, living in my own bubble for so long. Dipping a toe back into it, I was like, ‘Yeah, I kinda like my Utah life, keeping to myself.’ And our culture is still alive.”

The Star Princess in Ketchkan, Alaska, May, 2026. (Courtesy Carnival)

An Alaska cruise ship recently set sail powered by liquid natural gas (LNG), the first cruise vessel in the state to do so.

The Alaska Highway ferry system, which serves as the state’s public transportation network, hopes to follow suit, but operational and funding challenges have created obstacles, as Mark Moran reports.

The Alaska cruise ship industry leaves a sizable carbon footprint with its emissions.

The maiden Alaska voyage of the Star Princess this spring was powered entirely by LNG, which the industry says is “as clean as it gets.”

Harly Penner, president of Seaspan Energy, which fuels giant, clean-burning ships, says using LNG in large vessels reduces potent and toxic emissions, like nitrogen (NOx) and sulfur oxides (SOx).

“Those are the carcinogens that live in our port and most important to the people in those port communities. The NOx, the SOx, and the black carbon are greatly reduced.”

At this point, Alaska Marine Highway still has no ferries operating on natural gas or any other alternative fuel, but they say the fleet will be designed to do so in the future.

The agency is reliant on state funding for any upgrades, which has dwindled in recent years.

Penner says engine, scrubber, and emissions technology on large vessels will continue to evolve, and believes LNG is the most effective way to reduce emissions among large fleets.

Companies must measure the costs of retrofitting ships to run on LNG while balancing the pillars of environmental, social, and economic sustainability.

“If you knock one of those pillars out, you really have a hard time making that sale in the boardroom. And one of those pillars is financial viability. Like, if you’re not financially viable, it’s hard to make a sustainable decision on that.”

Data from the International Maritime Organization estimates that in the next three years, between 1,600-1,700 vessels will be powered completely by LNG.

This introductory video from the ongoing exhibit “Nation to Nation” at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian was named in the White House report.

On the heels of America’s quarter millenial, the White House is questioning the world’s largest museum and its depiction of the U.S. being founded on stolen Indigenous land, as Judith Ruiz-Branch reports.

The nearly 200-hundred page report was quietly published over the holiday weekend.

It criticizes exhibits in the Smithsonian Institution for reinforcing narratives that the U.S. government forcibly pushed Indians from their ancestral lands.

The White House argues these interpretations place too much emphasis on racial injustice while downplaying the nation’s founding ideals and accomplishments, but Native scholars like Dan Lewerenz contend land dispossession and treaty violations are essential parts of the American story.

“I think it’s important to remember history accurately. A part of that is remembering for purposes of the Declaration of Independence, Indians were sort of used as a propaganda tool by the colonists.”

Lewerenz argues the United States has long used American Indians to serve its interests and agendas.

The report was issued as part of President Donald Trump’s effort to reshape how federally supported institutions are presenting American History.

Experts say it sets the stage for further heightened debate over how U.S. history is told and who gets to be included.

Although North Dakota’s history also involves a painful past for Native people, Lewerenz says the state has made strides in repairing past harms and improving relations with Indigenous people.

He says efforts like the Government to Government conference and policies to improve Tribal programs all point to a growing partnership.

“Tribal sovereignty and the ability of tribes and tribal members to govern their own communities and live by their own ways has sometimes been respected and sometimes not. But tribes have to remain hopeful.”

As part of the newly unveiled Theodore Roosevelt Library in Medora, N.D., a medicinal garden marks a renewed dedication to Tribal alliance.

Library trustees say the monument does not ignore Roosevelt’s racist views on Indigenous people, but confronts history honestly with a call to honor and commit to a more vibrant future.

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Friday, July 10, 2026 — New report: Native student discipline disparities persist at New Mexico school district

Tribal fishing access sites along the Columbia River will be getting needed upgrades and repairs, based on the findings of a new federal report, as Isobel Charle reports.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found some infrastructure at 31 fishing access sites along the river – including docks and fish cleaning stations – is breaking down.

Laurie Jordan is with the Columbia River Inter Tribal Fish Commission, which works with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to maintain the sites. She says they are known as jewels of Tribal sovereignty that are still shimmering along the sprawling waterway

“I just can’t stress how fundamental the ability to maintain access to the river and to exercise the fishing right is to the member Tribes of our commission. The treaty rights are a property right. It was taken, and you gotta compensate for that.”

The fishing access locations were built by the federal government after 1930s dam construction flooded traditional fishing areas. Under their treaties, four Columbia River Tribes retain fishing rights.

Jordan says the Tribes look forward to improvements, including restroom repairs, additions, and updates to water systems.

Anna Maria Ortiz is with the GAO. She says the report also looked at why the repairs have been delayed for so long.

“If BIA could be more effective in terms of its internal communications, the way it maintains data, and its funding formula, it would have a better chance at improving the safety and sanitation of these sites.”

Jordan adds with all the steps to secure funding, design the changes, permits and construction, it will likely take a couple years before the repairs and updates are done.

The damaged Hopi headdress (kopatsoki) from the Desert View Watchtower at Grand Canyon National Park. (Courtesy National Park Service)

Grand Canyon National Park rangers are still seeking the public’s help identifying a tourist who damaged a tribal artifact last month while trying to photograph it.

KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio has more on the broken piece and its famed artist.

According to witnesses, a white man – believed to be in his 60s or 70s – fell while standing atop furniture inside the Desert View Watchtower.

Staff rendered first aid to the man, who left before law enforcement was dispatched.

The colorful, hand-carved wooden crown worn during Butterfly Dance ceremonies was fashioned years ago by the late Fred Kabotie.

Kelley Hayes-Gilpin is with the Museum of Northern Arizona.

“If people have heard of one Hopi artist, it’ll be Fred Kabotie.”

Kabotie worked alongside architect Mary Coulter to depict Kiva murals inside the South Rim watchtower.

Meg Kabotie is one of his granddaughters.

“I remember one of the stories. There was like a certain color of blue that she was trying to get. He kept having to go up and down the ladder and it still wasn’t the right color and he finally slashed open the whole tube of paint – just kind of a renaissance man.”

The damaged headdress is being evaluated to see whether repairs can be made.

“It’s hard to see people not caring about beautiful pieces of artwork or artifacts or things that are very sacred and special, and just kind of being dumb tourists.”

The oil painting “Washington the Soldier” by Jacques Auguste Regnier depicts the battle. (Courtesy Library of Congress)

On this day in 1755 at the Battle of the Monongahela, French forces and their Indigenous allies defeated a British army led by Edward Braddock.

Warriors from several Indigenous nations, including members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy on different sides of the conflict, played a major role in the outcome.

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Thursday, July 9, 2026 – Native programs aimed at cultivating responsible tourism

Photo: A loader prepares the Pinyon Plain Mine for uranium ore production on its lowest level more than 1,400 feet underground on Sept. 8, 2023. (Ryan Heinsius / KNAU)

Arizona regulators approved a higher level of arsenic in groundwater under a uranium mine near the Grand Canyon.

As KNAU’s Chris Clements reports, it comes despite firm tribal opposition.

In its decision allowing the higher levels, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality agreed with the owner of the Pinyon Plain Mine that the increase in arsenic is naturally occurring.

That is despite two comments from groundwater scientists urging regulators to require more proof from Energy Fuels Resources, the mine owner.

The scientists wrote that it is likely the mine is contributing to the higher levels, but an executive with Energy Fuels told KNAU in May that the higher arsenic levels are not the result of mining activity or discharge.

The Havasupai Tribe condemned the regulators’ decision and said it would pursue every legal avenue it can to protect water in the Grand Canyon.

A loader prepares the Pinyon Plain Mine for uranium ore production on its lowest level more than 1,400 feet underground on Sept. 8, 2023. (Photo: Ryan Heinsius / KNAU)

More than 200 intertribal youth joined community elders and mentors at the Native Youth Generational Leadership Summit to learn traditional and contemporary skills to foster strength and resiliency. (Photo: Monica Sue Minyard)

This year’s Native Youth Generational Leadership Summit in Port Angeles, Wash. brought young Native people from across the country together to build community, learn about substance use prevention, and practice everyday skills, as Isobel Charle reports.

The summit was hosted by the Lower Elwha Klallam and Spokane Tribes with support from the American Indian Health Commission.

Tia Skerbeck with the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribal Council says the two-and-a-half-day summit included traditional practices that not all Native young people get to experience, like storytelling and talking circles.

“We rely on those teachings and those practices to help carry through the prevention messages that we’re sharing with the youth and helping them develop some skills to become resilient. They’re not just little kids running around. They’re our future leaders.”

Skerbeck adds the youth also shared what issues they would like to see their communities prioritize. She says while the summit was focused on youth, it was multi-generational and included elders who offered guidance and support.

Audrey Gales is a 19-year-old Lower Elwha Klallam community member. Gales’ auntie, Jacqueline Salyers, was killed by police in 2016.

She says learning about issues related to Missing and Murdered Indigenous People and Women while calling for justice for her auntie and all Native victims of violence is close to her heart.

She has been to a number of similar events over the years and encourages other young people to attend.

“Especially if you’re Indigenous and it’s a Native summit, always attend. It’s always worth it. You learn so much, meet so many people.”

She adds another highlight was learning how to make a salmon net out of stinging nettle and celebrating the return of fish populations to the Elwha River after her Tribe led the campaign to remove two dams there.

The Ketchikan Indian Community launched a new community care package initiative for summer visitors and local residents. (Photo: Michael Fanelli / KRBD)

The Ketchikan Indian Community (KIC) has launched a new initiative that combines tourism with community service.

The Community Care Package Initiative invites visitors and local residents to assemble care packages with items such as socks, toiletries, hygiene products, and snacks for people experiencing homelessness in Ketchikan.

According to the tribe, proceeds from the program will support its Permanent Supportive Housing project, which is expected to open in August and provide housing and supportive services for 28 people.

The initiative builds on KIC’s efforts to address homelessness, including operating Ketchikan’s only overnight cold weather shelter for the past two years.

The tribe says it hopes the program encourages visitors to support the local community while visiting Southeast Alaska.

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Wednesday, July 8, 2026 – Trump administration escalates attack on Native American museum narratives

Photo: Deb Haaland signs her new book, “A Voice Like Mine”, during a signing at the Sealaska Heritage Institute clan house Shuká Hít on June 28, 2026. (Mircea Brown / Sealaska Heritage Institute)

Former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) came to Juneau last weekend as a stop on a tour of her new memoir, “A Voice Like Mine”, as KTOO’s Yvonne Krumrey reports.

Haaland was the first Indigenous person to be appointed a cabinet secretary.

The name of the book comes from a campaign slogan she used when she successfully ran for Congress in 2018, Haaland recounted. Her media consultant told her that Congress had never heard a voice like hers and the phrase “a voice like mine” felt apt to Haaland.

Haaland spoke to a crowd at the Sealaska Heritage Institute clan house.

“We’d never had a native woman in Congress. We had to wait 233 years to be represented in the US House of Representatives.”

Haaland is from New Mexico. Her memoir includes many recipes based on traditional Puebloan foods. Haaland said that food has always been a part of her political organizing work.

“When I started organizing in Indian Country, trying to get people registered and out to vote, I would ply them with green chili stew. Of bread, so they would come to our events, and then we’d all, you know, go early vote, or something like that.”

Haaland is currently running for Governor of New Mexico. She said she was inspired by Indigenous advocates who came before her and she hopes there are more to follow.

“This book I dedicated for those who have never given up, we can’t ever give up. You can’t get tired and say, ‘Oh my god, we’ve been fighting this for 10 years. I’m done. I’m just gonna, you know, do something. I’m gonna go watch TV. I don’t know.’ We can’t ever give up, because I don’t think our ancestors ever gave up.”

“A Voice Like Mine” came out in June and is now available at local bookstores.

(Courtesy Department of Finance Canada)

A group of First Nations in Ontario have signed a deal with the Canadian and Ontario governments to take part ownership in a new nuclear reactor project.

As Dan Karpenchuk reports, the chiefs involved called it a historic step forward.

The seven first nations are part of the Williams Treaties First Nations east of Toronto.

The federal government in Ottawa and the Ontario government are providing CA$700 million (about $492.4 million) in loan guarantees to the First Nations. That money will become equity for one of our small modular reactors under construction at the Darlington Nuclear project east of Toronto.

Chief Laurie Hockaday of the Alderville First Nation says the importance of this deal cannot be overstated.

“Economic reconciliation is not achieved simply by inviting First Nations to observe development. It is achieved when first nations have meaningful opportunities to participate, to invest, to lead, and to help shape the future of projects taking place within their territories.”

Darlington is the site for four small modular reactors, which are now under construction at a cost of about CA$21 billion (about $14.78 billion).

The first reactor is expected to be completed by 2030 and, when fully operational, the four will generate about 1,200 megawatts of power, enough for about 1.2 million homes.

Canadian Finance Minister Francois Philippe Champagne says the loan guarantee is among the first, and so far the largest, in the loan guarantee program with First Nations.

“When it comes to nation building projects, Indigenous people are partners and we want that today to be a blue print. And nations across our country are watching what we are achieving today because today’s a great example of us working together to achieve a common goal that generations will look back with pride.”

Ontario’s energy minister says the involvement of First Nations in the project marks an important milestone. And he adds that it is sensible for any government to build alliances and partnerships with First Nations.

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Tuesday, July 7, 2026 — Finding success through the art of contemporary horsemanship

A new mobile app created by a Navajo man is offering travelers in both New Mexico and Arizona an opportunity to learn about historic routes and insight on Native American cultures.

KUNM’s Jeanette DeDios (Jicarilla Apache and Diné) has more.

Whether you are driving from Gallup, N.M. to Flagstaff, Ariz. or Flagstaff to Phoenix, a new app called Tribal Trailz, created by former Navajo educator George R. Joe, serves as your audio tour guide while you are on the road.

“Are you driving over the bridge yet? It is known as Canyon Diablo, and Two Guns is right on the rim of Canyon Diablo. Many years ago, Route 66 entrepreneurs once had a roadside gas station, trading post, even a tiny zoo, where lions and bobcats were behind chicken wire.”

That is one sample of the self-guided tour.

Joe says the app includes information about Navajo and Acoma territories because a lot of tourists on the road are very uninformed about Native Americans.

“The education world hasn’t done a good job of letting Americans know about tribal people, so they have these crazy ideas and misconceptions about us. So, I thought, ‘Here’s my chance to try to correct some of that information about housing, about how we live, about how we make money, things we do.’”

Tribal Trailz is GPS-activated so all drivers need to do is open the app and start a tour. During your drive, the app will detect where you are at and point out different monuments, houses, or landmarks.

“You don’t have to look at your app, you just put it right there on your dashboard. It doesn’t have to be visible, because I don’t show pictures, because I think you know you’re driving. You don’t have time to be looking at pictures and things like that. You just want to hear.”

Joe says the app is meant to be a bridge for curious travelers wanting to know more about Native American communities and the Southwest.

“More like bringing down that barrier, and then inviting them to go eventually visit the tribe.”

Joe is currently working on including more tours in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, N.M.

The F/V Loretta Ann in Sitka Channel in 2023. (Photo: Berett Wilber / KCAW)

The commercial king salmon fishery opened July 1 for trollers in Southeast Alaska.

In the first king opener of the season, trollers can catch just over 81,000 Chinook salmon, roughly 70% of the allocated summer kings, as KCAW’s Katherine Rose reports.

The allocation is set by the Pacific Salmon Commission, under the terms of the Pacific Salmon Treaty between the U.S. and Canada.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game said, based on summer harvest rates in previous years with a similar amount of fish, state fisheries biologists anticipate it will take trollers anywhere from seven to 10 days to catch the 81,000 Chinook.

The fishery typically opens a second time in August for trollers to target the remaining treaty kings.

The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Gabriel Pietrorazio)

The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is urging Tribal Nations to remain vigilant in protecting Native voting rights following a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on mail-in ballots.

The organization issued the statement after the high court upheld a Mississippi law allowing ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if they arrive afterward.

NCAI says the ruling is especially important for many Tribal communities, where mail service delays and long distances can make it difficult for ballots to reach election offices on time.

NCAI joined the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) and the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) in filing a friend-of-the-court brief, arguing that rural and remote Native voters face unique barriers to casting ballots.

While welcoming the decision, the organization says threats to Native voting rights remain and is encouraging Tribal governments and citizens to continue monitoring election policies and preparing to ensure Native voices are heard in future elections.

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Monday, July 6, 2026 — Two Native artists making waves in the arts world

For many Native people, the version of California history taught in school does not tell the whole story.

For Brad Munoa, a citizen of the Pechanga Band of Indians, the inspiration for “People of the West”, a new ten-part docuseries came after learning about a California history presentation at his son’s school.

Munoa says Native American history received only a brief mention, while much of the focus was placed on a version of California history that overlooked Native voices and experiences.

That moment sparked an idea.

“So I wanted to make a series that would reach the youth in a compelling, cinematic way. Dramatic recreations, beautiful animations when we couldn’t depict something in real life. One of the biggest archival libraries of stills and videos of California history that I think exists on the planet. We put that all together in 10 1-hour episodes. I’m telling you, it’s amazing.”

Munoa says the series, which took over two years to create, also touches on his family’s own experiences.

One scene was inspired by the love story of his grandparents.

He says his grandfather was afraid to tell his future wife that he was Native because of the prejudice Native people faced at the time.

Years later, watching actors bring that story to life on screen left him in tears.

“I just started crying and sobbing. I explained that story was from my family history specifically. It was an honor to have them portray it.”

Munoa says the series is not just about the past.

He hopes Native youth see themselves reflected in stories that have often been overlooked and that viewers leave with a deeper understanding of California’s first peoples.

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While the project has generated interest, Munoa says it has not yet been picked up by a streaming service.

He says that is intentional.

“We made the whole thing on spec without preselling it to a studio ahead of time. When you do that, yes, you get funding, but you also get oversight. And the studios get to determine final cut and get to suggest taking things out, adding stuff in. We wanted to tell the story without those handcuffs. So we made the whole thing on spec without preselling it. Now that we have it, we’re trying to find distribution.

“I just want everybody who watches the series to come away with a new profound understanding of history from a native perspective. I’m almost 100% sure that if they just watch with an open mind, it will inform all of their decision making going forward in a good way, so that we can build a better future for our kids.”

Completing the project came with sacrifices. Munoa says work often took him away from his family.

Now that the series is finished, he says he’s looking forward to making up for lost time and being more present with the people who supported him throughout the journey.

“My wife has shouldered a lot of the responsibilities at home in her effort to support me, but she’s been neglected, my kids have been neglected. They call me the dad from Hook as a joke. You know before he goes to Neverland in Hook, he’s consumed with work and on his phone, he’s missing baseball games and stuff. So I want to balance that all back and be there with my kids and wife, and tend to my land on the reservation.”

The ten-part series held its world premiere on June 20 at Hollywood’s famed Chinese Theatre as part of the Dances With Films festival.

Munoa says he hopes audiences leave the theater with a deeper understanding of California’s Native peoples and the stories that helped shape the state.

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Friday, July 3, 2026 — Art exhibitions offer creative interpretations of Native survival and endurance

Many people in small communities on Prince of Wales Island in Alaska rely on hunting for subsistence. And staff at one school district want to make sure they do it safely – by making hunter education a part of the curriculum.

KRBD’s Sydney Dauphinais went to the student’s end of year field test and has this story.

It is a cloudy morning at the Prince of Wales Shooting Club.

Emma Garrison, a ninth grader from Thorne Bay, is trying to keep her gun steady.

“Ohhh my gosh.”

She and eight other students, all armed with rifles and safety gear, line up on yoga mats under a three sided shelter. She has been taking the Hunter Ed class all semester.

Today, she’s putting her studying to the test.

“I was really nervous. Yesterday was the first day I’d ever shot a gun, so.”

There are over 30 students from the Southeast Island School District taking their hunters ed certification field test today. If the students pass, they get Hunter Ed certified.

This was the first year the district incorporated Hunter Education into the curriculum, with a goal to get every student from sixth to twelfth grades certified.

The certification, which is through the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, is required for most Alaskans to legally hunt. And in many smaller Prince of Wales Island communities, hunting is a key part of the lifestyle.

The Southeast Island School district is spread out with under 150 students in seven remote schools across Prince of Wales and Baranof Islands, but all the students at the shooting club today have spent the last semester taking the course.

Ellen Hannan is a retired teacher and a volunteer with Fish and Game. She has been teaching Hunter Ed in Southeast for 25 years.

“Raise your hand, how many people have shot before? Anytime, anywhere, anything?”

Most of the students raise their hands.

Hannan says that is why the class is so important. She knows many of these students are around guns from  a young age and she wants them to be safe.

The number one rule: always treat guns as if they are loaded, to help keep yourself and others safe.

Hannan helps the students hold and load their guns, shooting targets in four positions: laying down, kneeling, sitting, and standing.

“So what you’ve gotta do is get four outta five shots in a 2 inch circle. That means it touches it anywhere.”

Down towards the clubhouse, students are taking a walk through the forest.

It is part of the field test to identify cardboard animals and discern when, how, and if it is ethical to shoot them.

One of the students is Wyatt Farr, an eighth grader from Coffman Cove.  He has been hunting with his family for years.

“It’s fun. I just like, yeah, I like being outdoors, and like actually doing things, instead of like sitting there playing video games.”

Farr likes to hunt deer and grouse – and wants to hunt bears soon. He says his favorite part is enjoying the meat he has processed, but he also likes how calm and quiet it is in the outdoors

The course also includes basic survival skills, wildlife conservation and respect for other hunters. That’s part of what he likes about it.

“So there’s not like just like clueless people going out walking in the woods and like getting hurt and stuff, and it’s also like teaching the generations to come how to like properly do things.”

Every teacher teaches the class a little differently.

Melissa Dougherty, a teacher at Thorne Bay with a background in biology, designed the curriculum so it blends with broader outdoor education. She knows the outdoors are a big part of her students’ lives and she wants them to be aware of their surroundings.

She says killing an animal is a serious thing – and she wants her students to be thoughtful and observant when they are out in nature.

“I think it’s really important to spend time thinking about how you fit into your environment and gaining an appreciation for the world around you.”

At the end of the day, every student passed their hunter’s ed field test and received their signed certificate – which is valid for life.

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