Alaska Native Government & Policy

“My friends, do not be afraid: Fear is the mind-killer,” Chief Justice Craig Stowers told the legislature.

The Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program has proposed turning the 70-year-old boarding school into an accelerated high school. Some members of the Edgecumbe community aren’t happy about that.

The city thinks Hecla’s Greens Creek mine may be responsible. The mine says its discharges in the area meet state requirements.

The settlement is similar to one reached with the Indian Health Service last year that also found tribes had agreed to contract amounts for tribal services but were then shorted the funds, or in some cases, not awarded any money at all for the signed contracts with the federal government.

Four tribes in Western Alaska are calling on the Association of Village Council Presidents to broaden the focus of a special meeting originally intended to address regional governance, and to set a date for the gathering.

Some subsistence advocates say a decision for Sturgeon could threaten subsistence rights while Native corporations say if the Park Service wins, it could cripple their ability to develop their own lands.