Alaska

A rising awareness about sustainability • Alaska Beacon

Published

2 years ago

April 25, 2024

A rising awareness about sustainability • Alaska Beacon

As Indigenous youth, we work continuously to strengthen our roots in the values that have shaped our ancestral heritage and continue to guide our collective journey.

Over the past decade, with the rising awareness of global humanitarian crises and environmental disasters, investors and companies have become more sensitive to the impacts of their decisions on society and the environment. This perception has led to a growing demand for incorporating Indigenous values into sustainable investment practices. Tlingit and Anishinaabe cultures, rich with traditions and wisdom passed down through generations since time immemorial, hold valuable insights into what we believe to be sustainable living and harmonious coexistence with the environment.

It is important to recognize that each Indigenous community is unique, with distinct values, traditions, and priorities.

As members of Tlingit and Anishinaabe communities, we can only speak to our own perspectives and experiences. We believe that the Tlingit concepts of haa aaní, haa shuká, haa latseen, and wooch.yax and the Anishinaabeg Seventh Generation and Seven Grandfather teachings, as well as the concept of mino bimaadiziwin, hold universal significance and can serve as guiding principles for sustainable investment practices across diverse global communities. As representatives of a generation whose experiences have been strongly affected by accelerating developments in technology and climate change, we believe the time is now to center Indigenous values in investment strategies.

The Tlingit concept, Haa aaní, “our world,” encapsulates our collective identity and culture. It emphasizes the interdependence between human beings and the natural world, urging us to care for the land, waters, and the air we breathe so we can pass on this wealth to future generations.

This concept is also reflected in the Anishinaabeg teaching mino bimaadiziwin, “living a good life,” where we share a love with all other living things and live in deep relationships. These principles directly align with the core tenet of sustainable investment: long-term stewardship of resources. Embracing haa aaní and mino bimaadiziwin fosters a deeper respect for the environment within investment practices, promoting initiatives that prioritize environmental protections and sustainable development.

Haa shuká, “our story,” underscores our collective identity, transcending generations, and affirming the sanctity of ancestral, cultural, and sacred sites. This value emphasizes the importance of preserving our cultural heritage and passing it down to future generations. In the context of sustainable investment, honoring Indigenous heritage involves respecting cultural sites and ensuring that investment decisions contribute to the well-being of current and future generations. For the Anishinaabe, this manifests through the Seventh Generation Principle where one must consider the impacts that one’s words, work, and actions may have on the next seven generations. By incorporating this value into investment practices, we can create opportunities that generate social and financial benefits for all communities.

The Tlingit principle of Haa latseen, “inner strength,” speaks to the resilience and adaptability inherent in our collective identity. This value underscores the importance of education, leadership development, and healthy communities in nurturing sustainable growth. Integrating haa latseen means prioritizing and supporting education and training initiatives to develop the leaders of tomorrow, who will foster strong families and communities that are capable of facing economic and environmental challenges. Haa latseen means building inclusive and resilient economies through investment initiatives that hold Indigenous power and safeguard Indigenous Peoples’ self-determination.

Finally, the Anishinaabeg Seven Grandfather teachings of Aakde’ewin“courage.” Debwewin “truth.” Mnaadendiwin “respect,” Zaagidewin“love,”Dbadendiziwin “humility,” Nbwaakawin “knowledge,” and Kaazhaadiziwin“kindness” are practices that guide our relations with all other living beings.

Similarly, the Tlingit principle, wooch.yax, affirms the “spiritual and social balance” that forms the foundation of our collective identity. These values underscore the importance of collaboration and partnership in achieving shared goals. In the context of sustainable investment, building partnerships with Indigenous communities directly impacted by investment strategies is essential to ensure investment decisions respect their values, priorities, and aspirations.

These principles align with Indigenous Peoples’ Free, Prior and informed Consent which safeguards all the rights of Indigenous Peoples. Free Prior and Informed Consent is an expression of self-determination, it guarantees participation and decisioning-making in projects where there are impacts, allows for equitable benefits-sharing, and ensures community values and priorities are wholly integrated in project design. Investment strategies that integrate the protocols defined by Indigenous Peoples pave the way for more rights-centered, early and ongoing engagement.

Through collaboration, which is a cornerstone of Free Prior and Informed Consent, we can create balance between the investors, companies, and communities. This is not about meeting quotas or ticking boxes; it is about fundamentally reshaping our relationship with the land and with each other. This requires honoring the interconnectedness of all life, recognizing the inherent value of diverse cultures, and embracing a future where prosperity is measured not just in financial terms, but in the well-being of our communities and the health of our ecosystems.

By embracing the Tlingit principles of haa aaní, haa shuká, haa latseen, and wooch.yax and the Anishinaabeg Seventh Generation and Seven Grandfather teachings, as well as mino bimaadiziwin, we can create a more equitable, resilient, and sustainable world — one where Indigenous voices are not just heard, but respected; where Indigenous knowledge and perspectives are not just acknowledged, but integrated into the very fabric of society.

Isabelle Gibson, Ojibway, is Positive Energy Intern at First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC). Kevin O’Neal-Smith, Tlingit, is an Impact Strategist at Adasina Social Capital. They planned to participate in Our Collective Advantage: Indigenous Consent, a major North American leadership conference presented by FNMPC on April 22-23 in Toronto.

This article was originally published by ICT, an independent, nonprofit, multimedia news enterprise. ICT covers Indigenous peoples.

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Alaska

Sand Point teen found 3 days after going missing in lake

Published

10 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Sand Point teen found 3 days after going missing in lake

SAND POINT, Alaska (KTUU) – A teenage boy who was last seen Monday when the canoe he was in tipped over has been found by a dive team in a lake near Sand Point, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Alaska’s News Source confirmed with the person, who is close to the search efforts, that the dive team found 15-year-old Kaipo Kaminanga deceased Thursday in Red Cove Lake, located a short drive from the town of Sand Point on the Aleutian Island chain.

Kaminanga was last seen canoeing with three other friends on Monday when the boat tipped over.

A search and rescue operation ensued shortly after.

Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team posted on Facebook Thursday night that they were able to “locate and recover” Kaminanga at around 5 p.m. Thursday.

“We are glad we could bring closure to his family, friends and community,” the post said.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated when more details become available.

See a spelling or grammar error? Report it to web@ktuu.com

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Alaska

Opinion: Homework for Alaska: Sales tax or income tax?

Published

22 hours ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Opinion: Homework for Alaska: Sales tax or income tax?

iStock / Getty Images

This is a tax tutorial for gubernatorial candidates, for legislators who will report to work next year and for the Alaska public.

Think of it as homework, with more than eight months to complete the assignment that is not due until the November election. The homework is intended to inform, not settle the debate over a state sales tax or state income tax — or neither, which is the preferred option for many Alaskans.

But for those Alaskans willing to consider a tax as a personal responsibility to help fund schools, roads, public safety, child care, state troopers, prisons, foster care and everything else necessary for healthy and productive lives, someday they will need to decide on a state income tax or a state sales tax after they accept the checkbook reality that oil and Permanent Fund earnings are not enough.

This homework assignment is intended to get people thinking with facts, not emotions. Electing the right candidates will be the first test.

Alaskans have until the next election because nothing will change this year. It will take a new political alignment led by a reality-based governor to organize support in the Legislature and among the public.

But next year, maybe, with the right elected leadership, Alaskans can debate a state sales tax or personal income tax. Plus, of course, corporate taxes and oil production taxes, but those are for another school day.

One of the biggest arguments in favor of a state sales tax is that visitors would pay it. Yes, they would, but not as much as many Alaskans think.

Air travel is exempt from sales taxes. So are cruise ship tickets. That’s federal law, which means much of what tourists spend on their Alaska vacation is beyond the reach of a state sales tax.

Cutting further into potential revenues, state and federal law exempts flightseeing tours from sales tax, which is a particularly costly exemption when you think about how much visitors spend on airplane and helicopter tours.

That leaves sales tax supporters collecting from tourists on T-shirts, gifts for grandchildren, artwork, postcards, hotels, Airbnb, car rentals and restaurant meals. Still a substantial take for taxes, but far short of total tourism spending.

An argument against a state sales tax is that more than 100 cities and boroughs already depend on local sales taxes to pay for schools and other public services. Try to imagine what a state tax piled on top of a local tax would do to kill shopping in Homer, already at 7.85%, or Kodiak, Wrangell and Cordova, all at 7%, and all the other municipalities.

Supporters of an income tax say it would share the responsibility burden with nonresidents who earn income in Alaska and then return home to spend their money.

Almost one in four workers in Alaska in 2024 were nonresidents, as reported by the state Department of Labor in January. That doesn’t include federal employees, active-duty military or self-employed people.

Nonresidents earned roughly $3.8 billion, or about 17% of every dollar covered in the report.

However, many of those nonresident workers are lower-wage and seasonal, employed in the seafood processing and tourism industries, unlikely to pay much in income taxes. But a tax could be structured so that they pay something, which is fair.

Meanwhile, higher-wage workers in oil and gas, mining, construction and airlines (freight and passenger service) would pay taxes on their income earned in Alaska, which also is fair.

It comes down to what would direct more of the tax burden to nonresidents: a tax on income or on visitor spending. Wages or wasabi-crusted salmon dinners.

Larry Persily is a longtime Alaska journalist, with breaks for federal, state and municipal public policy work in Alaska and Washington, D.C. He lives in Anchorage and is publisher of the Wrangell Sentinel weekly newspaper.

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Alaska

Nome brothers summit Mt. Kilimanjaro, carry Alaska flag to third major peak

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Nome brothers summit Mt. Kilimanjaro, carry Alaska flag to third major peak

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Two brothers from Nome recently stood at the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, planting an Alaska flag at 19,000 feet above the African plains.

The Hoogendorns completed the seven-day climb — five and a half days up and a day and a half down — trekking through rainforest, desert, and alpine terrain before reaching snow near the summit. The climb marks their third of the world’s seven summits.

Night hike to the top

The brothers began their final summit push at midnight, hiking through the night to reach the top by dawn.

“It was almost like a dream,” Oliver said. “Because we hiked through the night. We started the summit hike at midnight when you’re supposed to be sleeping. So, it was kind of like, not mind boggling, but disorienting. Because you’re hiking all night, but then you get to the top and you can finally see. It’s totally different from what you’d expect.”

At the summit, temperatures hovered around 10 degrees — a familiar range for the Nome brothers. Their guides repeatedly urged them to put on jackets, but the brothers declined.

“We got to the crater, and it was dark out and then it started getting brighter out,” Wilson said. “And then you could slowly see the crater like illuminating and it’s huge. It’s like 3 miles across or something. Like you could fly a plane down on the crater and be circles if you want to. Really dramatic view.”

A team of 17 for two climbers

Unlike their previous expeditions, the brothers were supported by a crew of 17 — including porters, a cook, guides, a summit assistant, and a tent setup crew.

The experience deviated from their earlier climbs, where they carried their own food, melted snow for water, and navigated routes independently.

“I felt spoiled,” Wilson said. “I was like, man, the next mountain’s gonna be kind of hard after being spoiled.”

Alaska flag on every summit

Oliver carried the same full-size Alaska flag on all three of his major summits, including in South America and Denali in North America, despite the added weight in his pack.

“I take it everywhere these days,” Oliver said. “It’s always cool to bring it out. And then people ask, you know, ‘where’s that flag from?’ Say Alaska.”

When asked about his motivation for the expeditions, Wilson said “I guess to like inspire other people. Because it seems like a lot of people think they can’t do something, but if you just try it, you probably won’t do good the first time, but second time you’ll do better. Because you just got to try it out. Believe in yourself.”

Background and next goals

The Hoogendorns won the reality competition series “Race to Survive: Alaska” in 2023. In 2019, they were the first to climb Mount McKinley and ski down that season. Oliver also started a biking trip from the tip of South America to Prudhoe Bay with hopes of still completing it.

Kilimanjaro is their third summit. The brothers said they hope to eventually complete all seven summits, with Mount Vinson in Antarctica among the peaks they are considering next… all while taking Alaska with them every step of the way.

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