Alaska
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service releases draft of its first Alaska Native relations policy aimed at increasing trust
Nov. 13—Crystal Leonetti
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has launched a draft of its first Alaska Native relations coverage, which the company says is an effort to tell workers who haven’t beforehand labored with Alaska Native communities and domesticate belief with Indigenous teams.
Fish and Wildlife already has a broader Native American relations coverage. However the draft Alaska Native relations coverage, which was launched Nov. 3, outlines key Alaska-specific concerns together with subsistence wants and distinctive federal insurance policies just like the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. The coverage is meant to information the company’s workers as they implement Alaska-related guidelines and rules.
Crystal Leonetti, who led work on the brand new coverage because the company’s Alaska Native affairs specialist, mentioned she hopes the first-of-its-kind doc is broadly used throughout the Fish and Wildlife Service.
“I would like it to be on individuals’s desks every single day and to make use of it like a reference handbook,” Leonetti mentioned of the coverage. “I believe this one is precedent-setting. I do not suppose there’s the rest prefer it.”
Leonetti, who’s Yup’ik and the primary Indigenous lady to work as a Native American liaison within the company, collaborated with 12 representatives from Alaska Native tribes, companies and organizations in addition to different members of Fish and Wildlife to draft the coverage.
Work on the Alaska Native relations coverage began in 2016. After dealing with delays beneath the Trump administration, talks resumed in 2021 and the writing staff weighed suggestions from across the state throughout session conferences and listening periods. The draft was launched earlier this month, and the general public can weigh in throughout a 30-day remark interval that ends Dec. 5.
Leonetti mentioned the company’s work has lengthy spurred tensions with Alaska Native individuals, pointing to frustrations about Fish and Wildlife’s fishing, looking and land administration rules which have traditionally uncared for Indigenous communities’ subsistence wants.
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“So most of the issues that Indigenous individuals believed have been proper and have been moral methods of referring to the land have been unlawful within the eyes of the federal government,” Leonetti mentioned.
In keeping with Leonetti, many company workers come from the Decrease 48 and haven’t beforehand labored with Alaska Native teams. She mentioned that inexperience has been a historic barrier to cultivating optimistic relationships with Indigenous communities.
“They do not know what they do not know,” Leonetti mentioned of the company’s workers. “And selections will be made which have a mistake that basically is dangerous to Indigenous people who they do not even understand is inflicting hurt.”
Sarah Obed, one of many coverage writers and senior vice chairman for exterior affairs with Doyon Ltd., mentioned that understanding the state’s panorama of Alaska Native companies, organizations and tribes is essential for federal workers to work successfully with Alaska Native people and teams.
“You need to perceive what is going on to make you a profitable worker when you are going to be working with Alaska Native organizations? This (coverage) will actually assist educate and inform you about how one can have a considerate strategy,” Obed mentioned.
The company requires weeklong Alaska Native relations coaching for Fish and Wildlife Service workers in Alaska. The Fish and Wildlife Service additionally formally apologized in 2018 for imposing rules within the Nineteen Sixties and Nineteen Seventies that prevented Alaska Natives from harvesting migratory birds and eggs.
“There’s a sure degree of mistrust between tribes within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, so that they have been constantly engaged on that,” mentioned Patty Schwalenberg, one other coverage author and the chief director of the Alaska Migratory Hen Co-Administration Council.
Jaeleen Kookesh, a coverage author and the vice chairman for coverage and authorized affairs of Sealaska, mentioned the doc may immediate some pushback from teams looking for higher enter on Fish and Wildlife initiatives. Nonetheless, she has heard from many Alaska Natives who spoke extremely of the coverage, calling it “one of many higher insurance policies they’ve seen from a federal company.”
“That gave me confidence within the success of the coverage going ahead because it goes via public remark,” Kookesh mentioned.
Reporter Riley Rogerson is a full-time reporter for the ADN primarily based in Washington, D.C. Her place is supported by Report for America, which is working to fill gaps in reporting throughout America and to put a brand new technology of journalists in neighborhood information organizations across the nation. Report for America, funded by each non-public and public donors, covers as much as 50% of a reporter’s wage. It is as much as Anchorage Day by day Information to seek out the opposite half, via local people donors, benefactors, grants or different fundraising actions.
If you want to make a private, tax-deductible contribution to her place, you may make a one-time donation or a recurring month-to-month donation through adn.com/RFA. You can too donate by verify, payable to “The GroundTruth Undertaking.” Ship it to Report for America/Anchorage Day by day Information, c/o The GroundTruth Undertaking, 10 Visitor Road, Boston, MA 02135. Please put Anchorage Day by day Information/Report for America within the verify memo line.
Alaska
Flight attendant sacked for twerking on the job: ‘What’s wrong with a little twerk before work’
They deemed the stunt not-safe-for-twerk.
An Alaska Airlines flight attendant who was sacked for twerking on camera has created a GoFundMe to support her while she seeks a new berth.
The crewmember, named Nelle Diala, had filmed the viral booty-shaking TikTok video on the plane while waiting two hours for the captain to arrive, A View From the Wing reported.
She captioned the clip, which also blew up on Instagram, “ghetto bih till i D-I-E, don’t let the uniform fool you.”
Diala was reportedly doing a victory dance to celebrate the end of her new hire probationary period.
Unfortunately, her jubilation was short-lived as Alaska Airlines nipped her employment in the bum just six months into her contract.
The fanny-wagging flight attendant feels that she didn’t do anything wrong.
Diala has since reposted the twerking clip with the new caption: “Can’t even be yourself anymore, without the world being so sensitive. What’s wrong with a little twerk before work, people act like they never did that before.”
The new footage was hashtagged #discriminationisreal.
The disgraced stewardess even set up a GoFundMe page to help support the so-called “wrongfully fired” flight attendant until she can land a new flight attendant gig.
“I never thought a single moment would cost me everything,” wrote the ex-crewmember. “Losing my job was devastating.”
She claimed that the gig had allowed her to meet new people and see the world, among other perks.
While air hostessing was ostensibly a “dream job,” Diala admitted that she used the income to help fund her “blossoming lingerie and dessert businesses,” which she runs under the Instagram handles @cakezncake (which doesn’t appear to have any content?) and @figure8.lingerie.
As of Wednesday morning, the crowdfunding campaign has raised just $182 of its $12,000 goal.
Diala was ripped online for twerking on the job as well as her subsequent GoFundMe efforts.
“You don’t respect the uniform, you don’t respect your job then,” declared one critic on the popular aviation-focused Instagram page The Crew Lounge. “Terms and Conditions apply.”
“‘Support for wrongly fired flight attendant??’” mocked another. “Her GoFund title says it all. She still thinks she was wrongly fired. Girl you weren’t wrongly fired. Go apply for a new job and probably stop twerking in your uniform.”
“The fact that you don’t respect your job is one thing but doing it while in uniform and at work speaks volumes,” scoffed a third. “You’re the brand ambassador and it’s not a good look.”
Alaska
As Alaska sees a spike in Flu cases — another virus is on the rise in the U.S.
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTUU) – Alaska has recently seen a rise in both influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, better known as RSV. Amidst the spike in both illnesses, norovirus has also been on the rise in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says it’s highly contagious and hand sanitizers don’t work well against it.
Current data for Alaska shows 449 influenza cases and 262 RSV cases for the week of Jan. 4. Influenza predominantly impacts the Kenai area, the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, and the Northwest regions of the state. RSV is also seeing significant activity in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and Anchorage.
Both are respiratory viruses that are treatable, but norovirus — which behaves like the stomach flu according to the CDC — is seeing a surge at the national level. It “causes acute gastroenteritis, an inflammation of the stomach or intestines,” as stated on the CDC webpage.
This virus is spread through close contact with infected people and surfaces, particularly food.
“Basically any place that people aggregate in close quarters, they’re going to be especially at risk,” said Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent.
Preventing infection is possible but does require diligence. Just using hand sanitizer “does not work well against norovirus,” according to the CDC. Instead, the CDC advises washing your hands with soap and hot water for at least 20 seconds. When preparing food or cleaning fabrics — the virus “can survive temperatures as high as 145°F,” as stated by the CDC.
According to Dr. Gupta, its proteins make it difficult to kill, leaving many cleaning methods ineffective. To ensure a given product can kill the virus, he advises checking the label to see if it claims it can kill norovirus. Gupta said you can also make your own “by mixing bleach with water, 3/4 of a cup of bleach per gallon of water.”
For fabrics, it’s best to clean with water temperatures set to hot or steam cleaning at 175°F for five minutes.
As for foods, it’s best to throw out any items that might have norovirus. As a protective measure, it’s best to cook oysters and shellfish to a temperature greater than 145°F.
Based on Alaska Department of Health data, reported COVID-19 cases are significantly lower than this time last year.
See a spelling or grammatical error? Report it to web@ktuu.com
Copyright 2025 KTVF. All rights reserved.
Alaska
Sky Watch Alaska: planets align plus the aurora forecast
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – This is a great time of year to do some star gazing. If you have clear skies in your part of Alaska, take the time to check out the night — and morning — sky.
After sunset, look toward the southwest. Saturn and Venus are snuggled up together (of course, they are more than 800 million miles apart) in the evening sky. They set at about 9:40 p.m. in Southcentral.
Before 9:40 p.m., you can see four planets with the naked eye — Saturn, Venus, Jupiter and Mars. Jupiter and Mars stick around through the morning. Mars is very close to the moon right now.
The Aurora forecast is fairly weak for the next few weeks. That’s not to say there won’t be the occasional burst but overall, solar activity is expected to be fairly low until the beginning of February.
If you get great pictures of the planets, the sky, or the aurora, don’t forget to send them to Alaska’s News Source.
See a spelling or grammar error? Report it to web@ktuu.com
Copyright 2025 KTUU. All rights reserved.
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