North Slope

A legend of traditional Alaska Native games has died. Big Bob Aiken, known as the ‘The World’s Largest Eskimo’ still held records for the Indian and Eskimo stick pull competitions. He believed deeply in the original purpose of the games.

With a unanimous vote in the House Wednesday, the Alaska Legislature has passed Gov. Bill Walker’s bill to end the state’s partnership with TransCanada — and take a larger role in the effort to build a natural gasline from the North Slope.

Lawmakers now say it’s all but inevitable the legislature will approve the governor’s request to buy out TransCanada and take a larger stake in the Alaska LNG project.

Lawmakers have one hot and messy item on their hands right now: the Alaska LNG project. It’s a giant pipeline the state hopes to build, along with three or four other industry partners, to bring natural gas from the North Slope to market.

During this week’s special session in Juneau, most lawmakers have been focused on whether the state should take a larger stake in the Alaska LNG project, which would build a natural gas pipeline from the North Slope.

This session will focus on one thing: the Alaska LNG project. But if you’re like a lot of Alaskans, you might be a little fuzzy on the details.

Gov. Walker said it’s like that door has been shut in Alaska’s face. “This hits us at our lowest time,” he said.

A new generation is using tattoos to reclaim what it means to be a Native woman in the 21st century.

“We probably only have 20, 30 years to get this data, or it’s gone.”

Obama said focusing on the security of Alaska’s thousand miles of Arctic coastline is a priority.