Stay connected to National Native News and KNBA throughout the weekend for our 2024 Native Youth Olympic Games coverage. Join the KNBA news team for the statewide broadcast of “Alaska’s Native Voice: Live from NYO 2024”. Koahnic Broadcast Corporation (KBC) and Native Voice One (NV1) are bringing the energy and personality of NYO to the radio. Tune in live to radio stations across Alaska or stream on KNBA.org Thursday through Saturday at 12:00 p.m. (AKDT). Antonia Gonzales is host and producer of the three one-hour special live programs, “Alaska’s Native Voice: Live from NYO 2024” on Thursda ..read more

The Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska is launching a new program to provide fresh, organic, Alaska-sourced foods to the entire Aleutian community – and to some regional partners. KUCB’s Andy Lusk spoke with tribal staff to learn more. Organizers did a distribution trial run last month. At the event, Unalaskans came to the tribe’s food bank and received bags full of carrots, potatoes, cabbage and beef — all completely free. That produce and meat came from a family farm in Palmer. The tribe is interested in partnering with multiple providers over the course of the program, including local fishermen ..read more

A coalition of tribes in the Northern Plains-Northern Rockies is receiving more than $135 million to bring solar energy to more than a dozen tribal communities in five states. Danielle Kaeding reports the funding is part of $7 billion in federal grants announced by President Joe Biden on Earth Day. The Mandan Hidatsa Arikara (MHA) Nation will work with the Native-led nonprofit Indigenized Energy to manage solar projects. Fred Fox, a councilman with the MHA Nation, says the money will create hundreds of jobs and fund solar installations on 8,500 homes. “It will bring energy security and tremen ..read more

The Kobuk River runs through the Ambler Mining district. (Photo: Berett Wilber / Alaska Public Media) The U.S. Interior Department effectively rejected Alaska’s proposal to build the Ambler Road, a 200-mile industrial road that would have run west from the Dalton Highway through Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve to access copper and zinc deposits in Northwest Alaska. Tribal leaders with the Tanana Chiefs Conference applauded the decision calling it a historic win and the right decision for the protection of land and animals, while leaders in favor of the road expressed outrage, a ..read more

As high school and college students plan for their graduations, some Native students could face resistance for wanting to wear tribal regalia with their caps and gowns. The Mountain West News Bureau’s Kaleb Roedel has more.  For Native communities, an eagle feather is a symbol of wisdom and strength. And given in times of great honor – like a graduation.  But every spring, the Native American Rights Fund hears from students who were not allowed to wear an eagle feather or other tribal regalia. Morgan Saunders is an attorney with the Colorado-based law group. She says parents often b ..read more

In Canada, the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has unveiled its budget for the year with nearly $53 billion in new federal spending. But as Dan Karpenchuk reports, First Nations leaders say the omission of reconciliation in the budget speech was alarming. After criticizing this year’s budget, many First Nations leaders are looking for a renewed commitment from the Trudeau government. They say finance minister Chrystia Freeland failed to talk about reconciliation in her budget speech. Among those who were looking for more is Newfoundland regional Chief Brendan Mitchelll. He was exp ..read more

A coalition of tribes and Western conservationists are working to protect more public lands before the November presidential election. The Mountain West News Bureau’s Kaleb Roedel has more. On Tuesday, the coalition was joined by members of Congress in front of the U.S. Capitol.  They called on the Biden-Harris Administration to expand and designate more national monuments – which are permanently protected lands.  That includes creating the Bahsahwahbee Swamp Cedars National Monument in Nevada, the Dolores Canyons National Monument in Colorado, and several in California – such as th ..read more

On Monday, Apache Stronghold, a coalition of Apache people and their allies, asked all 29 judges on the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to review its case to protect Oak Flat in Arizona from a mining project. In March, the group received a blow in its efforts to protect the site after a panel of 11 judges on the court ruled 6-5 that the federal government can transfer Oak Flat to Resolution Copper. The group is trying to prevent the land transfer saying the copper project violates religious freedom. Attorneys say Monday’s appeal gives the full court one more chance to protect Oak Flat bef ..read more

This is your one-stop shop for all things Arctic Encounter Symposium.   Thursday, April 11, 2024 Monday, April 15, 2024   @nativevoiceoneThe 2024 Arctic Encounter Symposium included the Far North Fashion Show hosted at the Anchorage Museum and featured Alaska Native designers and models from across the state. Check out our complete coverage of the gathering on National Native News: https://www.nativenews.net/special-feature-arctic-encounter-symposium/♬ original sound – Native Voice One Backstage walkthrough at the 2024 @AESymposium Far North Fashion Show hosted at the @Anc ..read more

  In January 2023, a catastrophic fire destroyed the generator and a backup source of power for Newtok’s school. The charred remains are housed inside a metal container behind the main school building. (Photo: Emily Schwing / KYUK) A group of Alaska Native mothers from the village of Newtok reported on deteriorating conditions in their community at the annual Arctic Encounter Symposium in Anchorage last week. As Emily Schwing reports, climate change means the permafrost under the Alaska Native community is deteriorating and causing severe erosion. The village has been trying to relocate ..read more