AGP Executive Report

Indigenous Culture: Anchorage’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebration brought Native artists and vendors together to share traditions, honor ancestors and affirm that “we’re still here.” Childcare: Alaska’s governor candidates are weighing responses to a shortage that leaves an estimated half of families without the care they need; costs average more than $14,000 a year. Fishing and Politics: Bristol Bay commercial fisherman Bill Hill is campaigning for Alaska’s U.S. House seat, making affordability and the concerns of working Alaskans central to his challenge to Rep. Nick Begich. Community History: Filipino American History Month spotlights Filipino contributions to Alaska’s canneries, mines and labor unions, as well as the state’s first Filipino captain of the Alaska Marine Highway. Native Voices: The Alaska Federation of Natives’ 60th convention runs Oct. 22–24 in Anchorage, with forums on subsistence, voting rights and Native youth wellness, alongside arts and dance. Subsistence and Seas: A growing fight over trawling and Alaska pollock is raising concerns about impacts on salmon and Native communities.

Indigenous Traditions: Alaska Pacific University marked Indigenous Peoples Day with Native dance, traditional foods, sports demonstrations and crafts, while local teachers shared skills such as basket weaving with younger generations. Wildlife and Subsistence: A rescued walrus calf found near Point Lay is thriving at the Alaska SeaLife Center. Its rescuers first sought community approval, recognizing the importance of subsistence hunting in local culture. Childcare: Alaska’s governor candidates say they would ease barriers for providers and encourage employer-run care as families face long waitlists and costs averaging more than $14,000 a year. Native Representation: Proposed changes to the 2030 Census could make it harder to count Native Americans, potentially weakening data used to show community needs and support social services. Halong Recovery: One year after the storm displaced more than 1,500 people in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, many still don’t know when they can return home.

Indigenous Heritage: As Indigenous Peoples’ Day is observed Monday, Alaska’s official shift away from Columbus Day—made permanent in 2017—stands in contrast to President Trump’s renewed praise of Columbus. Children & Schools: An Alaska opinion writer says children were largely missing from more than 40 candidate forums, despite the state ranking 47th nationally in child well-being, down seven places from last year. Fisheries & Culture: A fight over pollock trawling is intensifying as nets catch salmon and other marine life; western Alaska’s Chinook decline has brought a seven-year Yukon River fishing ban, disrupting Native families’ fishing traditions and food practices.

Fisheries and Culture: Alaska pollock trawlers catch thousands of Chinook and hundreds of thousands of other salmon each year, intensifying conflict as western Alaska communities face declining runs and a seven-year Yukon River Chinook fishing ban. For Alaska Native families, the loss reaches beyond food and livelihoods to cultural traditions. Children’s Well-Being: An Alaska opinion writer says candidates have largely left children off the campaign agenda. The state ranks 47th nationally for child well-being, down seven places in a year. Housing: Anchorage’s median home value rose 41% from 2019 to 2025, reaching $415,000, leaving many first-time buyers struggling to compete. Cultural Return: A carved Alutiiq halibut hook has returned to Kodiak, with an Illinois museum helping connect its donor with the Alutiiq Museum.

Fishing & Native Communities: Alaska’s pollock trawlers catch an average of about 306,000 salmon a year as bycatch, intensifying debate over industrial fishing’s effects on salmon and Alaska Native communities. Cultural Repatriation: An Alutiiq halibut hook has returned to Kodiak after a Spurlock Museum helped arrange its donation to the Alutiiq Museum, following consultation with the community. Indigenous Storytelling: Two St. Paul Island writers have reimagined Kipling’s “The White Seal” through an Indigenous perspective, challenging its colonial portrayal of Unangan people. Coming Home: About 30 Alaska Native youths buried at boarding schools decades ago are now returning home, a long-awaited homecoming for families and communities. Alaska Traditions: Katmai’s Fat Bear Week crowned Backpack its 2026 champion, drawing more than 2.5 million votes in the annual celebration.

Wildlife & Community: Katmai’s Bear 89, known as Backpack, won Fat Bear Week after more than 2.5 million votes, bringing a popular Alaska tradition back into the spotlight. Indigenous Storytelling: A new book by St. Paul Island writers reimagines Kipling’s “The White Seal” through an Unangan perspective, challenging the original story’s colonial portrayals. Cultural Return: Metlakatla’s Tsimshian community has welcomed home an amhalaayt, or chief’s headdress, after a 20-year effort to reconnect the regalia with its family and community. Fishing & Culture: Alaska pollock trawling is drawing scrutiny over salmon bycatch and its effects on Native communities, as the fishery supplies seafood staples including fish sticks. Education: Starting in fall 2027, University of Alaska students will qualify for in-state tuition rates regardless of where they live. Ketchikan High School students and supporters are meanwhile fundraising and seeking local help to cover activity travel after district funding was cut. Homecoming: About 30 Alaska Native youths buried at former boarding schools are returning home decades later.

Wildlife & Tradition: Katmai’s Bear 89, known as Backpack, won Fat Bear Week with more than 103,000 votes, as the popular contest again drew attention to Alaska’s bears and habitat. Cultural Return: Metlakatla welcomed home the amhalaayt, or chief’s headdress, of Tsimshian leader Sidney Campbell after a 20-year effort led by community members and his descendants. Fishing & Community: Alaska pollock trawling is fueling a growing fight over salmon bycatch, with the debate touching fisheries, Native communities and the fish behind fish sticks and Filet-O-Fish. Schools & Access: Ketchikan High School teams and activities are scrambling to replace district travel funding through fundraising and local support; meanwhile, UAA plans to offer in-state tuition rates to all students starting fall 2027. Arts & Letters: Sitka writers and artist Adrienne Wilber are among the contributors to a new anthology exploring work, land and water across the Cascadia region.

Books & Free Expression: Banned Books Week culminates in today’s “Let Freedom Read” events, including a giveaway tour of challenged titles. The debate resonates in Alaska, where book removals have also drawn concern. Juneau Wildlife & Tourism: A city task force is weighing a cap on whale-watching boats at Statter Harbor, where 78 vessels operated frequently this season around a relatively small number of local humpbacks. Community Support: Juneau nonprofits Haa-Yaitxu Saiani and NAMI Juneau are among Alaska Mental Health Trust grant recipients; Haa-Yaitxu Saiani will use $150,000 to evaluate and sustain culturally grounded support for relatives raising children outside foster care. Alaska Native History: About 30 Alaska Native youths buried at boarding schools decades ago are now returning home, an important step for families and communities confronting that legacy. Alaska Art: Painter Kylie Manning draws on the state’s turbulent seas and dramatic landscapes, layering recognizable figures into sweeping fields of color.

Indigenous History: A century after Alaska Native student Tummassak died at Carlisle Indian Industrial School, her remains have been returned to Shishmaref for burial. Her homecoming is part of a wider effort to bring Alaska Native children who died at boarding schools back to their communities. Food & Culture: A new report on Bering Sea pollock trawling highlights the toll of salmon bycatch on western Alaska Native communities, where salmon fishing sustains food traditions and cultural practices. Alaska Stories: Japanese American incarceration survivor Sam Mihara, 93, brought his family’s wartime story to Alaska, speaking at the Alaska Historical Society’s conference in Homer. Community & Nature: Fairbanks’ Creamer’s Field bird station has wrapped its 35th fall migration season, continuing decades of research and public education. Filipino leaders also gathered for Fairbanks’ first statewide Filipino leadership convening.

History & Memory: Japanese American incarceration survivor Sam Mihara, 93, is sharing his childhood experience in a Wyoming prison camp at the Alaska Historical Society’s conference in Homer, and warning that such injustice could happen again. Indigenous Repatriation: About 30 Alaska Native youths buried at boarding schools are being brought home decades later; separately, Meiji University has returned Indigenous remains to Alaska. Community & Culture: Fairbanks hosted its first statewide Filipino leadership gathering, while an Anchorage event brought the Filipino community together through culture. Education: Anchorage schools superintendent Jharrett Bryantt will leave for a Virginia job in early 2027, setting up a leadership search at a pivotal point in the school year.

Wildlife & Community: A rare orphaned Pacific walrus calf found near Point Lay was rescued through a collaboration involving local residents, a student, biologists and wildlife responders, then taken to the Alaska SeaLife Center for care. Rural Research: UAA researchers are using AI to gather more accurate grocery-price data in remote Alaska, which could help update SNAP benefits; another project applies AI to ski coaching. Indigenous Media: Anchorage-based Koahnic Broadcast Corporation named Charlie Perry general manager of media, a role focused on growing Native and Indigenous journalism, storytelling, language and arts. Homecoming: About 30 Alaska Native youths buried at former boarding schools are returning home decades later. Filipino Voices: Alaska’s Filipino community gathered to celebrate its culture and lift its voice at a statewide leadership convening in Fairbanks.

Indigenous Repatriation: The remains of about 30 Alaska Native youths who died at boarding schools are being returned to their homelands. Three children from Carlisle have already been disinterred, following research by the Alaska Native Heritage Center. Immigration in Anchorage: Two cases—a traffic-stop detention of an asylum seeker and an 18-year-old UAF student’s detention at the airport—raise questions about ICE tactics in the city. Schools: Soldotna parents and teachers are proposing a K–6 charter in their existing school, aiming to preserve its community amid consolidation plans. The proposed curriculum emphasizes science, technology, engineering and art. Arts & Community: Homer’s Pratt Museum hosts its annual “Ritz” fundraiser Saturday, with an Under the Sea theme, local food, auctions and live music. Cultural Connections: Meiji University has returned Indigenous remains to Alaska, while Fairbanks recently hosted its first statewide Filipino leadership convening.

Education: Soldotna parents and teachers are proposing a K–6 charter school in the existing elementary building, aiming to preserve the school community amid consolidation plans and emphasize science, technology and the arts. Arts & Heritage: Homer’s Pratt Museum celebrates its annual “Ritz” fundraiser Oct. 10 with an Under the Sea theme, auctions and live music from the Pushki Pickers. Local Elections: Preliminary results in Fairbanks favored borough incumbents; voters appeared to support moving borough elections to November but reject a measure requiring hand-counted ballots. In Ketchikan, drama and debate coach Frances Klein and Marissa Medford led the school board race. Alaska’s Filipino Community: A cultural gathering lifted Filipino voices, while a statewide leadership convening in Fairbanks brought community leaders together. Indigenous Heritage: Meiji University is returning Indigenous remains held on campus to Alaska, a significant step in reconnecting communities with their ancestors.

Y-K Delta Local Politics: Bethel’s municipal election results are in, with low turnout (under 7%) and council seats likely going to Alicia Miner, Rose “Sugar” Henderson, Joseph Klejka, and Pamela Conrad, while REAA school board results are still coming in across the region. Community & Culture: Fairbanks hosted “Lifting Filipino Voices,” a two-day Filipino-American Heritage Month gathering focused on strengthening community ties and supporting newcomers and youth. Kids & Learning: Fairbanks Children’s Museum fundraising is helping keep the nonprofit running as it plans a move to a bigger home in 2030, with a pirate-themed event and upcoming Trick or Trivia. Voting Access: Rights groups are ramping up help for voters facing barriers like ID rules, mail-in confusion, and long travel to polling places. Alaska Sports & Tradition: Barrow High School’s football program continues to turn heads, proving that North Slope high school football is more than a novelty. Public Safety & Tech: Anchorage-area education tech leadership is in the spotlight as Decatur Schools hires a new chief of safety and technology services. Arctic Security: The 11th Airborne Division activated Installation Reception Companies at JBER to help Soldiers and families adapt to “America’s Arctic.” Wildlife & Food: Bristol Bay sockeye is celebrated with a big nutrition-and-economy push tied to this year’s 30 million fish run.

Wildlife & Art: Qatar Photography Center is hosting a solo exhibition of 43 Alaska Katmai National Park photos by Qatari photographer Khalifa Al Mansouri, spotlighting brown bears through Nov. 4. Local Governance: Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly unanimously approved an ordinance creating a pathway to remove appointed officials “for good cause,” tied to backlash over a race-based comment by a planning commissioner. Mental Health & Youth: An Alaska op-ed urges earlier suicide prevention, citing state data showing 174 Alaska children and teens (ages 10–18) died by suicide from 2016–2025 and that nearly 1 in 4 high school students seriously considered attempting suicide. Elections & Alaska Politics: A report highlights that Democrats see Alaska as a competitive Senate battleground as polling shows Trump approval underwater in many competitive states, while JD Vance and other GOP figures push energy-focused messaging in Alaska’s midterm push. Education Funding: U.S. Education Department announced additional TRIO funding, including new grants for Talent Search and Educational Opportunity Center programs. Arctic Military Readiness: The 11th Airborne Division activated Installation Reception Companies at JBER and Fort Wainwright to help Soldiers and families integrate into “America’s Arctic.”

Education Funding: The U.S. Department of Education announced an extra $39M in TRIO college-access grants, adding nearly $32M for Talent Search and $7M for Educational Opportunity Centers, bringing this year’s total to over $225M. Alaska Politics: In the governor’s race, former AG Treg Taylor says his top priority is regulatory and permitting reform to speed investment and lower costs, while Vice President JD Vance campaigned in Fairbanks urging Alaskans to back Dan Sullivan and reject Mary Peltola. Community & Health: Alaska schools are invited to join Red Ribbon Week’s door-decorating contest, promoting drug-free choices for pre-K through high school. Local Governance: Fairbanks North Star Borough school district officials are weighing two ordinances that would change how much reserve money the district can hold, after a 2018 rule swept millions into a maintenance fund. Culture & Lifestyle: TV naturalist Jeff Corwin’s new series “Jeff Corwin’s Southern Wild” premieres, with a message about protecting places before they’re lost. Sports: Ace Freely, a 55-plus mixed doubles team featuring Alaska-area players, won a Pacific Northwest sectional and is headed to Nationals.