Alaska

US Navy officially apologizes for bombarding a native Alaskan community in 1882

Published

1 year ago

October 28, 2024

US Navy officially apologizes for bombarding a native Alaskan community in 1882

The U.S. Navy made an official apology this week for the bombardment and near destruction of a native Alaskan village 142 years ago.

Speaking Saturday in Angoon, Alaska, located about 100 miles south of the state capital of Juneau in the Tongass National Forest, Rear Adm. Mark Sucato, commander of Navy Region Northwest issued the apology on the 142nd anniversary of the attack, which happened on Oct. 26, 1882 and killed six children while leaving the village’s surviving residents without food or shelter amid a harsh winter.

“The Navy recognizes the pain and suffering inflicted upon the Tlingit people, and we acknowledge these wrongful actions resulted in the loss of life, the loss of resources, the loss of culture, and created and inflicted intergenerational trauma on these clans,” Sucato said at the ceremony, which was livestreamed by the Sealaska Heritage Institute. “The Navy takes the significance of this action very, very seriously and knows an apology is long overdue.”

An accident that led to a tragedy

While many details of what caused the destruction at Angoon have been lost to time over the years, what is known is that it began with the accidental death of a Tlingit shaman, who was killed aboard a whaling ship by an exploding harpoon gun.

According to the Naval Heritage and History Command, accounts from the time say members of the Tlingit tribe forced the whaling ship to shore and took multiple hostages from the crew, along with demanding a ransom of 200 blankets, prompting the call for help by local officials from the Navy.

When the Navy arrived at Angoon, they proceeded to destroy the village − burning canoes, food stores, and homes − leaving six children dead and the survivors stranded, entirely dispossessed.

The village received a $90,000 settlement in 1973, and in 1982 the Navy sent a letter to the Kootznoowoo Heritage Foundation acknowledging their role in the affair and writing that, “The destruction of Angoon should never have happened, and it was an unfortunate event in our history.”

The village, however, had long sought an official acknowledgement and apology for the event.

“Thank you, Angoon, for keeping our culture so and so strong,” said Rosita Worl, president of the Sealaska Heritage Institute, at the ceremony.

Latest acknowledgement

Last month, the Navy conducted a similar apology, for the burning and bombardment of the Tlingit village of Kake in 1869, according to Alaska Public Media.

On Oct. 25, President Joe Biden became the first U.S. president to officially apologize for the abuses committed at Native American boarding schools for more than a century.

Max Hauptman is a Trending Reporter for USA TODAY. He can be reached at MHauptman@gannett.com

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Alaska

Rounding to the nearest nickel for cash purchases proposed by Alaska lawmaker

Published

8 hours ago

January 27, 2026

Press Room

Rounding to the nearest nickel for cash purchases proposed by Alaska lawmaker

HB 281 mirrors legislation in other states due to shortage of pennies resulting from Trump administration’s halt in production

A cash register drawer at Rainbow Foods on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Independent)

Suzanne Cohen says she hasn’t had trouble coming up with enough pennies when making cash purchases. But since the copper coins are no longer being minted she doesn’t object if future purchases are rounded off to the nearest nickel.

“If they’ve gotten rid of it it seems like it’s only a matter of time, so this is probably the right thing to do eventually,” she said during the noon hour on Monday at Rainbow Foods.

A hour earlier and a block away at the Alaska State Capitol, a bill was introduced rounding cash purchases to the nearest five-cent sum by Rep. Dan Saddler, R-Eagle River. House Bill 281 is similar to legislation introduced in other states following the Trump administration’s decision last year to stop making new pennies.

“After the U.S. Treasury decided last fall to stop minting pennies, they’re disappearing from circulation faster than they expected,” Saddler stated in an email to the Juneau Independent on Monday. “As pennies get more scarce, we should make sure businesses can’t round transactions up or down to their advantage. My HB 281 simply sets consistent, fair standards for how cash transactions should be rounded to the nearest nickel, to protect Alaska consumers and businesses.”

Practically applied, it means a shopper handing $2 to a cashier would get no change back from a $1.98 purchase, but a nickel back from a $1.97 purchase.

“If the total ends in one cent, two cents, six cents, or seven cents, the total is rounded down to the nearest amount divisible by five cents; (2) if the total ends in three cents, four cents, eight cents, or nine cents, the total is rounded up to the nearest amount divisible by five cents,” the text of HB 281 states.

Dyoni Smith, a section manager at Rainbow Foods who was working at one of the registers on Monday, said there hasn’t been a noticeable shortage of pennies yet either at the store or for the cash purchases she still makes regularly.

“We have a few people who actually pay to the penny with cash,” she said. “And then we have some, like one guy who comes in and he’ll pay cash, and he’ll put the remainder in the donation jar. And then another guy who comes in and sometimes he’ll pay to the penny — sometimes he’ll get change out of the change jar. So there’s quite a few people who I see who use cash.”

President Donald Trump last February ordered the U.S. Treasury Department to stop minting new pennies — something long discussed by other policymakers since the coins cost more to make than they are worth. The U.S. Mint reported that a penny cost about 3.7 cents to make in fiscal 2024, up from 3.1 cents the previous year.

Among the factors to be considered in states implementing rounding laws are possible legal challenges, impacts to retailers and what happened when Canada stopped distributing its penny in 2012, according to a policy summary by the National Conference of State Legislatures. But generally the organization states such laws are worth supporting.

“While states may approach this issue differently due to their own unique circumstances, there is a growing consensus among retailers, economists, and other stakeholders, recognizing symmetrical rounding, (up or down) to the nearest nickel, as the fairest method to all parties when applying to cash transaction,” the policy summary notes.

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.

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Alaska

TSA is now accepting Alaska Mobile IDs at select airports

Published

20 hours ago

January 26, 2026

Press Room

TSA is now accepting Alaska Mobile IDs at select airports

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – The Transportation Security Administration has begun accepting Alaska Mobile ID’s at security checkpoints in the Anchorage and Juneau airports. The digital ID’s, which were introduced in the state about a year ago, are just starting to catch on, according to Lauren Whiteside, Division Operations Manager for the Alaskan DMV.

Whiteside said the Division has been working closely with partners for months to prepare Alaska’s Mobile IDs for use at TSA checkpoints in both airports.

“This is a really modernized movement that we are really excited to be a part of,” Whiteside said.

The IDs are obtained through an app that can be downloaded for free. The DMV website has links to the app stores as well as other information on how to obtain a mobile ID.

Whiteside said there are lots of advantages to having your state approved identification on your phone. At the airport, she said, it’s convenience.

“You know sometimes you have your kids with you, sometimes you are balancing carry-on luggage, and if you can do all of your check-ins just using your phone, that’s really appealing to people.”

But Whiteside said the main appeal is privacy. No information can be shared from a mobile ID without the user’s consent, and people can select how much information they wish to share depending on the circumstances.

“I can opt to send everything, which you would likely always want to do with law enforcement, but you have all these options on what you choose to send and what you don’t choose to send,” she said.

Whiteside said it’s important to remember that mobile IDs don’t replace physical IDs, instead, they’re considered a companion to a regular ID and people will need to carry both in case a physical ID is requested.

Although TSA acceptance is limited to just the Anchorage and Juneau airports, Whiteside said she fully expects the program will expand to other airports and other industries.

“As time goes on it’s going to become more and more common, so we recommend anyone who wants to have it- it is not a requirement -but anyone who wants it, we encourage you to go ahead and download,” she said.

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Alaska

Knik 200, Kuskokwim 300 crown 2026 champions

Published

1 day ago

January 26, 2026

Press Room

Knik 200, Kuskokwim 300 crown 2026 champions

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – As the run-up to the 2026 Iditarod continues, two of Alaska’s most prestigious sled dog races saw their winners cross the finish lines Sunday.

The 2026 Knik 200 went to Eddie Burke Jr., who also won the race in 2023. The former Iditarod Rookie of the Year finished in 20 hours, 18 minutes and 51 seconds, nearly a full hour faster than his closest competition.

Meanwhile, out in western Alaska, 2019 Iditarod winner Pete Kaiser continued his dominance in the Kuskokwim 300 with his 10th career win at the event. The victory breaks a tie with Jeff King for the most Kuskokwim 300 wins in a career.

The two races do not normally fall on the same weekend, but the Knik 200 had been postponed three weeks due to poor trail conditions.

You can find full results for both the Knik 200 and Kuskokwim 300 here.

The 2026 running of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race begins on March 8, one day after the ceremonial start.

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