This story appeared in the April – June 2019 edition of the Mukluk Telegraph. Read more stories from the latest issue here. This May, the 12th annual Youth Environmental Summit (YES) will convene in Kluti-Kaah, Alaska. YES is a day camp held in the Copper River region for youth in kindergarten to eighth grade, where participants learn about climate change, the environmental history of the area, and the importance of environmental stewardship. Gakona Village Council started the Summit in 2008 ...

When the call for nominations came out for IHS Technician of the Year, a large number of employees at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC), thought of the same person at the same time: Jolene “JoJo” Chikigak. Chikigak is a certified pharmacy technician and currently serves as the Pharmacy Compliance Technician for Alaska Native Medical Center (ANMC), the largest IHS hospital in the nation. She is the first technician to fulfill this new role for the organization, and she ...

As ANTHC’s latest sanitation project in Angoon nears completion, critical infrastructure upgrades are beginning to improve quality of life for the whole community. Angoon’s new, custom-built septic tank and outfall pipe are up and running, diverting waste from sensitive areas previously impacted by deficiencies in the old system. Mabel Jack, a community Elder whose yard had suffered wastewater discharges for years, enjoys a clean property. Area birds that formerly fed in contaminated areas are no longer enticed by wastewater spills. ...

For the 12th straight year, the Raven’s Ball, the Healthy Alaska Natives Foundation’s signature event, continued its tradition of distinguished and compelling fundraising. The black-tie gala raised an estimated $448,000 in sponsorships and cash contributions which will go toward improving the unmet health needs of Alaska Native people and the Alaska Tribal Health System. A sellout crowd attended the event at the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage on March 23. Each spring, the Raven’s Ball raises awareness and funding to ...

Following the lead of our people than two decades ago, as the Alaska Native Sobriety Movement at the Alaska Federation of Natives Convention, more Alaskans are celebrating sober living and trying to break down stigmas that might surround sobriety – both for those who are in addiction recovery and those who don’t choose to use drugs or alcohol at all. In Alaska, March has been designated as Sobriety Awareness Month, an opportunity to celebrate living sober, healthy lifestyles and encourage ...