Justice
Alaska lawmakers want to modernize outdated state definition of consent
When Rebecca Farrell discusses healthy relationships with her students, she describes consent as something that is freely given, reversible, informed and enthusiastic. This grouping of words is also known as FRIES. Farrell is a physical science and health teacher at Thunder Mountain High School in Juneau. “If somebody says, ‘Hey, you want to go upstairs?’ […]
Alaska Senate approves bill formally recognizing Native tribes
Alaska’s state government would formally recognize all of Alaska’s 229 federally recognized tribes under legislation passed Friday by the state Senate in a 15-0 vote. If signed into law by Gov. Mike Dunleavy, the measure will be mostly ceremonial. Lawmakers said it nonetheless represents an opportunity to respect Alaska Natives and tribal organizations that have […]
Congress explores creation of truth commission for U.S. Indian Boarding Schools
WASHINGTON — Survivors of a U.S. policy that forced Indigenous children to attend boarding schools where they were abused, or went missing, detailed to members of a U.S. House Natural Resources panel during a Thursday hearing the need for Congress to establish a truth commission dedicated to unveiling the traumas Indigenous children experienced at the […]
Soldotna Planned Parenthood center is closing at the end of May
After more than 30 years in operation, Planned Parenthood’s Soldotna clinic is closing at the end of May. Patients will be referred to the Anchorage clinic or to the organization’s telemedicine services. “In terms of just general care, anything that we can provide over telemedicine, we will. Patients would still need to come into our […]
Interior Department report details the brutality of federal Indian boarding schools
These schools used “militarized” tactics to assimilate Native American children as young as 4-years-old in environments described in the report as fostering, “rampant physical, sexual, and emotional abuse; disease; malnourishment; overcrowding; and lack of health care.”
Entire life prepares Alaska investigator of missing and murdered Indigenous people
When Anne Sears spoke in front of a crowd of more than 100 people on the Alaska State Capitol steps for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People rally on May 5, she wore a red scarf that belonged to her mom. “She passed away a couple of years ago. I think she’d be beyond words […]
House passes bill to eliminate hair discrimination, but deletes workplace protection
A Senate bill that aims to eliminate hair discrimination in the school and workplace passed the House Tuesday, but in a drastically different form. An amendment deleted the portion relating to the workplace. In the bill’s original intent, school boards and employers wouldn’t be allowed to adopt a dress code that: prohibits an individual from […]
Dictionary decides Alaska Supreme Court case
The Alaska Supreme Court said last week that a dictionary definition of “official misconduct” was the key factor in proving the legality of a recall election against Anchorage Assembly Member Meg Zaletel. On Friday, the court released a legal opinion in a two-year-old, now-resolved dispute over a recall campaign seeking to remove Zaletel from office. […]