Alaska: Tribe continues to express grave concerns overmanagement of the Sitka Sound Sac Roe Fishery - For many years the Sitka Tribe of Alaska (STA) said they have expressed grave concerns over the management of the Sitka Sound Sac Roe Fishery and its impact on the resource, the ecosystem and the subsistence harvest. The Sitka Tribe of Alaska (STA) said this year’s dismal return of herring to spawn in the Sound proves their concerns were well founded.

Alaska: Feds to hold tribal meeting in Ketchikan - Representatives from 10 federal agencies will converge on Ketchikan this Friday to meet with tribal officials from Southern Southeast Alaska. Larry Yerich is a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Alaska. He says leadership from federal agencies will meet with elected leaders from Alaska tribal governments in hopes of furthering collaboration between the federal government and the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian tribes.

Alaska: Tribes say Violence Against Women Act could harm their people - Alaska Natives are lining up in opposition to Lower 48 tribes over the congressional reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. Lower 48 tribes are pushing hard in favor of the bill because it gives tribal courts jurisdiction on reservations to prosecute non-Indians who attack Indian women. But in Alaska, where few Natives live on a reservation, tribes say it actually would take away their power to intervene in domestic violence.

Alaska: Amendment lets Alaska tribes keep restraining-order powers - The U.S. Senate passed the Violence Against Women reauthorization act Thursday with a last-minute amendment that lets Alaska tribes continue to issue domestic violence protective orders but excludes them from powers given to Lower 48 tribes to criminally prosecute offenders.

Alaska: Subsistence hunters invited to participate in herring roe harvest - In a recent release, the Sitka Tribe of Alaska stated it would like to extend an invitation to all Alaskan resident subsistence harvesters in Southeast to participate in the subsistence harvest of herring eggs in the Sitka area.

Alaska: Sitka Tribe, Sealaska reach deal on sacred sites - The Sitka Tribe of Alaska has reached a deal to manage sacred sites near Sitka. Five of the sites are already owned by Sealaska Corporation. And the deal for tribal management is one of a series of agreements signed or in negotiation throughout Southeast Alaska.

Alaska: Sitka Tribe’s ads protest herring harvest - Last year, the commercial fleet pulled about 19,400 tons of herring from Sitka Sound. This year, that number is around 29,000 tons. Fish & Game says, in essence, the increase in the harvest level is setting the bar back where it should have been...But the Sitka Tribe of Alaska disagrees, and it has taken to newspapers throughout Southeast Alaska to say so.

Sitka: Dream Weaver: Internationally Renowned Artist Teri Rofkar’s Incredible Textile Masterpieces - Teri Rofkar (Tlingit of the Raven Clan from the Snail House) of the Sitka Tribe of Alaska sees patterns and shapes emerge from wool and roots. Using cedar, spruce tree roots, ferns, and mountain goat wool she collects in the woods, and along the shoreline of her Northwest coast home, the internationally renowned artist has been weaving exquisite baskets and textiles for over 25 years. Her robes are made with traditional Sitka freehand weaving techniques that date back over 6,000 years. Descending from a family of weavers she is inspired by "a deep connection to my ancestors."

Alaska: Fish board OKs some Sitka herring changes - Alaska’s Board of Fisheries on Tuesday voted to close part of Sitka Sound to commercial herring harvests. But it wasn’t as much as some wanted. The board faced a number of proposals to lower catch levels, limit commercial fishing areas, or both. The Sitka Tribe of Alaska and some others wanted further protections for subsistence harvests of herring and their roe.

Alaska Native: Fish board OKs some Sitka herring changes - Alaska’s Board of Fisheries on Tuesday voted to close part of Sitka Sound to commercial herring harvests. But it wasn’t as much as some wanted. The board faced a number of proposals to lower catch levels, limit commercial fishing areas, or both. The Sitka Tribe of Alaska and some others wanted further protections for subsistence harvests of herring and their roe.

Alaska Native: Ethel Lund Village Health Occupations program applications due in March - Few people get to see real emergency room doctors in action, be with operating room staff during surgery or even watch a dentist performing a root canal. Alaska Native and American Indian high school students from Southeast Alaska can experience these and other opportunities when they participate in the Ethel Lund Village Health Occupations Program (VHOP).

Sitka: Tribe names officers, approves GM contract - Dale Williams will serve as vice chairman of the Sitka Tribe of Alaska. The Tribe selected its new officers at a meeting Thursday. He’s joined by Stephanie Edenshaw who will serve as treasurer, and Rachel Moreno, the secretary. The job of chairman, held by Woody Widmark, is an elected position. Widmark has a year left in his three-year term. The Tribal Council also approved a contract for its new general manager, Ted Wright.

Sitka: Tribe hires Wright as general manager - The interim general manager at the Sitka Tribe of Alaska can settle into his office. The Tribal Council hired Ted Wright as the full-time general manager at a meeting last night.Before his return to Sitka, Wright was managing the Lummi Indian Business Council in Bellingham, Washington. About 10 years ago, he also served as general manager of the Douglas Indian Association in Juneau, when the organization was rebuilding. He’s also worked as a consultant to other tribal organizations.

Alaska: Museum gets totem pole newly carved in ancient wood - This week, in the Potomac Atrium of the Smithsonian’s Museum of the American Indian, the renowned 59-year-old Tsimshian totem carver and his son, David R. Boxley, 30, are re-creating the magical story in a 22-foot-long, 2,500-pound pole. And in this season of Congressional gridlock and political bitterness, the Boxleys hope the old Northwest fable of gratitude and benevolence may be a public tonic when the pole is raised in the museum a few blocks from the Capitol. But mainly the huge totem — prone for now as the artists finish it — is a message from the carvers, and the museum, that their culture has survived, despite a century of crushing obstacles. Related Story: Kingston carver's totem pole will debut at Smithsonian

Alaska: Teaching above the Arctic Circle makes Port Townsend woman humble - Coping with extreme cold and swallowing seal innards are some of the things that Katie Campbell, a 2006 Port Townsend High School graduate, has learned to take in stride in her first year of teaching special education in Kivalina, Alaska, a coastal village on a barrier reef 127 miles above the Arctic Circle. She’s also learned that Inupiat people speak with their faces — raising the eyebrows means yes, scrunching up the face means no. The villagers do everything as a community, Campbell said, with the two churches, Episcopal and nondenominational Christian, providing social outlets in addition to the school.

Alaska: Mixing traditional and modern art, Larry Ahvakana builds reputation - Inupiaq artist Larry Ahvakana has spent more than four decades building a reputation as a dynamic and profound artist. His unique sculptures, glass panels, masks and other pieces are held in private and public collections around world. Though Ahvakana now lives in Suquamish, Wash., with wife Donna – also an Alaska Native – he said his art will always be deeply intertwined with the traditions of his Arctic heritage.

Tsimshian: Tiny NW tribe to have totem pole installed at Smithsonian - Among the stately cedars of the Kitsap Peninsula, David Boxley is carving a niche for his people. Boxley is a member of the Tsimshian tribe, located on a 10-mile-long island near Ketchikan, Alaska. He is a world reknowned wood carver -- and former Ballard High School teacher. Boxley's reputation has now earned his latest work, a 22-foot tall totem, a place at the National Museum of the American Indian at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. Related Stories: Tsimshian: Local artist carves piece of American Indian history; Tsimshian: Story of the Tsimshian Totem Pole