Alaska News Nightly: Friday, April 24, 2026

Summary

Alaska News Nightly - Friday, April 24, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode of Alaska News Nightly covers a range of pressing issues facing the state, from the debate over a new state pension system and the record fundraising in Alaska's U.S. Senate race, to ongoing recovery efforts after a devastating typhoon, a major drug bust on St. Lawrence Island, pedestrian safety concerns in Anchorage, an inside look at the upcoming cruise ship season in Juneau, recycling innovations in Unalaska, and a significant cultural event in Petersburg—the launching and blessing of the community’s first traditional canoe in a century.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Alaska U.S. Senate Race Fundraising (00:40–02:41)

• Record Campaign Contributions:
  • Mary Peltola leads fundraising, raising nearly $8 million in the first quarter, compared to incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan’s $1 million.
  • Both campaigns received more than 80% of funds from out-of-state donors.
  • Peltola received more Alaskan donations by dollar amount ($500,000 vs. $135,000), but these made up a smaller percentage of her total funds (13%) compared to Sullivan's (17%).
  • PAC money comprises a bigger share for Sullivan (24%) than Peltola (6%).
  • Sullivan’s campaign has $7 million cash on hand to Peltola’s $6 million.
  • Liz Ruskin notes independent groups are expected to outspend both campaigns:

    “If his 2020 race is any guide, independent groups unaffiliated with the candidates campaigns will spend the most on this race.” – Liz Ruskin ([02:35])

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2. State Pension Reform Debate (02:41–06:51)

• Legislative Movement:
  • Senate is close to voting on a bill to reinstate defined benefit pensions for public employees, a top priority for bipartisan lawmakers.
  • The bill would require increased local government contributions.
• Arguments For:
  • Rep. Chuck Kopp and others argue a pension system would improve staff retention, reduce costly overtime, and address compliance problems with federal and state regulations.
  • Kopp:

    "Right now the state of Alaska is paying in excess of $200 million a year in overtime and premium pay... because we're that short staffed." – Eric Stone relaying Kopp ([03:04], [04:36])

• Concerns Raised:
  • Skepticism from some lawmakers and local officials about the affordability and risk of future underfunding; Senate Finance Committee members note past mistakes with pension funding.
  • Sen. Bert Stedman:

    "There are increased costs. If you want more benefits, it costs more." ([05:28])

  • Local administrator John Leach (Sitka):

    "This bill is an unfunded mandate dressed up as a workforce benefit and Sitka cannot absorb it." ([05:53])

• Proponents Counter:
  • Sen. Kathy Giesel claims the new plan is designed to be stable—

    "The actuary has identified that it would take a significant black swan event… for this particular pension to fall below 90% funding." ([06:32])

• Next Steps:
  • The bill is expected to hit Senate floor shortly; Governor Dunleavy’s position remains publically unannounced.

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3. Western Alaska Evacuees Adjust to Temporary Housing (06:59–08:18)

• Background:
  • Evacuees displaced by Typhoon Ha Long last fall have transitioned from hotels into FEMA-funded temporary housing in Anchorage.
• Conditions Improved:
  • Greater independence, privacy, and community life reported among evacuees.
  • Jeremy Zedeck (state emergency response):

    “They're cooking their own foods. They have more privacy, more room within the units.” ([07:21])

  • Ongoing assistance for paperwork and recovery services promised.

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4. Notable Briefs

Child Drowns in Good News Bay (08:49)

• A 3-year-old boy died after falling through ice; significant community search followed.

Drug Bust on St. Lawrence Island (09:07)

• Michelle Pungawi sentenced to 10 years for trafficking over 7,000 fentanyl pills—enough “to potentially kill the entire village population eight times over.”

Anchorage Pedestrian Fatalities (10:49–11:49)

• Nearly 100 pedestrian deaths in the past decade; factors include speed, darkness, substance use.
• Graham Downey (Mayor’s Office):

  “Someone is much more likely to die above 45 miles an hour than they are below 45 miles an hour.” ([11:35])

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5. Juneau Cruise Ship Season & Overtourism Management (12:40–16:40)

• Season Outlook:
  • 1.69 million visitors expected, with two new cruise lines; Ketchikan close to surpassing Juneau in visitor numbers.
  • First year of a passenger cap (16,000/day, 12,000 on Saturdays).
• Resident Impact:
  • Alex Pierce (Juneau visitor industry director):

    "Honestly, I hope people don't really feel it… But other than that, really the hope is predictability, stability, trying to create a sense of kind of normalcy…” ([15:02])

• Improvements & Construction:
  • Mendenhall Glacier open 7 days a week.
  • Marine Park under major renovation, food vendors temporarily relocated.

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6. Recycling Innovation on Unalaska (17:12–19:40)

• Local Recycling Program Grows:
  • The Kowalungan tribe’s recycling program collects glass, plastic, aluminum, cardboard.
  • Glass is repurposed on-island for sandbags and road traction due to high shipping costs.
  • John Gustafson, manager:

    “…bottles with food residue don't make the cut. Food residue and recycling can contaminate entire batches…” ([18:34])

  • Plans to expand capacity and become a regional recycling hub.

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7. Cultural Revival: Petersburg's First Canoe in 100 Years (19:40–25:18)

• Historic Event:
  • Community celebrates the blessing and launch of “Keat Yauk,” the first killer whale canoe in living memory.
  • Will Ware (tribal member & speaker):

    “This is a pretty important historical moment for us, and we're just glad that you're here to honor it with us.” ([20:29])

• Significance:
  • The canoe is designed to be inclusive of all, not restricted to a specific clan.
  • Traditional song, food, and ceremony mark the event; paddlers express emotional connections to ancestral traditions.
  • Billy Ware (paddler):

    "Coming in here, it really felt like we were bringing the culture back alive in Petersburg. And it just warms my heart. It really does." ([23:28])

  • Victoria Moore (paddler):

    "It's exciting to be a part of it…to honor our ancestors. I mean, for me, it's a personal journey too." ([24:34])

• Future Plans:
  • Canoe will join others, paddling to Juneau for the Celebration festival in June.

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Notable Quotes

• “Right now, the state of Alaska is paying in excess of $200 million a year in overtime because we're that short staffed.” – Eric Stone relaying state data ([00:06], repeated emphasis at [04:36])
• “If you want more benefits, it costs more. You want less, it costs less. Somebody has to pay the costs.” – Senator Burt Stedman ([05:28])
• “They're cooking their own foods. They have more privacy, more room within the units.” – Jeremy Zedeck, on evacuee living conditions ([07:21])
• “Someone is much more likely to die above 45 miles an hour than they are below 45 miles an hour.” – Graham Downey, Anchorage Mayor’s Office ([11:35])
• “Honestly, I hope people don’t really feel it, that it just kind of feels normal and steady.” – Alex Pierce, on visitor cap in Juneau ([15:02])
• “It just warms my heart… it really felt like we were bringing the culture back alive in Petersburg.” – Billy Ware, canoe paddler ([23:28])

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Senate Race Fundraising Analysis: 00:40–02:41
• Pension Reform Debate: 02:41–06:51
• Western Alaska Evacuees: 06:59–08:18
• Anchorage Pedestrian Safety: 10:49–11:49
• Juneau Cruise Ship Season: 12:40–16:40
• Unalaska Recycling Program: 17:12–19:40
• Petersburg Canoe Blessing: 19:40–25:18

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This episode provides a comprehensive look at ongoing political, economic, and cultural developments shaping Alaska in spring 2026, blending policy debates and legislative action with local community resilience and indigenous cultural revival.

Transcript

[Eric Stone]

Right now, the state of Alaska is paying in excess of $200 million a year in overtime because we're that short staffed.

[Casey Grove]

The Alaska Senate prepares to vote on establishing a new state pension system. From Alaska Public Media, this is statewide news on Alaska News nightly for Friday, April 24th. Good evening. I'm Casey Grove. Also tonight, evacuees from western Alaska settle into temporary housing six months after arriving in Anchorage.

[Jeremy Zedeck]

They're cooking their own foods. They have more privacy, more room within the unit.

[Casey Grove]

Those stories and more tonight on Alaska News Nightly. Tens of millions of dollars will likely be spent on Alaska's U.S. senate race, and challenger Mary Peltola took in the lion's share of it during the first three months of this year. As previously reported, her campaign collected nearly $8 million in contributions for the quarter. Senator Dan Sullivan raised just over $1 million over the same period. But as Alaska Public Media Washington correspondent Liz Ruskin reports, there's a lot more information tucked into the voluminous documents the campaigns filed with the Federal Election Commission.

[Liz Ruskin]

Both candidates received more than 80% of their money from outside the state in dollars and in number of individual donors. Post Peltola got more from Alaskans, her in state contributions come to more than $500,000. Alaskans contributed $135,000 to Sullivan for the quarter. But in terms of percentages, Alaska contributions make up a greater share of Sullivan's quarterly total. About 17% of his individual contributions came from Alaskans, while 13% of hers did. Peltola raised more money in all categories, and that includes money from political action committees. But PAC money is only 6% of her total, while it's 24% of his. There's a lot more to the story. Sullivan has been campaigning for reelection since his last election in 2020. He raised $5 million for his campaign last year, so Peltola isn't that far ahead of him. Also, he has more cash on hand. 7 million do to her 6 million. And if his 2020 race is any guide, independent groups unaffiliated with the candidates campaigns will spend the most on this race. Reporting from Washington, I'm Liz Ruskin.

[Casey Grove]

A bill that would reinstate a pension system for state and local government employees is on the verge of a state Senate vote, which would send it to Governor Mike Dunleavy's desk. It's a major priority for leaders of the bipartisan coalitions controlling the state House and Senate. But the Senate's version of the bill requires local governments to pitch in more. And as Alaska Public Media's Eric Stone reports. Some say they can't afford to.

[Chuck Kopp]

For Representative Chuck Kopp, the Anchorage Republican

[Narrator/Reporter (possibly Eric Stone continuing)]

and former police officer who's led the most recent push to reinstate a pension

[Chuck Kopp]

system for state and local government employees, there are plenty of reasons to return

[Narrator/Reporter (possibly Eric Stone continuing)]

to a defined benefit retirement plan.

[Chuck Kopp]

Look no further, he says, than the

[Narrator/Reporter (possibly Eric Stone continuing)]

recently released statewide single audit, which for the second year in a row identified 80 plus issues with state officials compliance with federal and state law and regulations.

[Chuck Kopp]

In part because Alaska just can't hang

[Narrator/Reporter (possibly Eric Stone continuing)]

on to knowledgeable staff.

[Eric Stone]

We're getting, you know, tens of millions of dollars in fines or we're not submitting requests for reimbursement. One grant we were owed over $290 million. That's a lot of money in our operating budget today. The staff didn't know to submit the request for reimbursement.

[Chuck Kopp]

Kopp also points to overtime and other

[Narrator/Reporter (possibly Eric Stone continuing)]

types of so called premium pay. Those have come in tens of millions over budget as the state struggles, like many Alaska employers to attract and retain qual.

[Chuck Kopp]

And there's some evidence a pension system could help. Economists have told legislators that a pension system is especially valuable for retaining the

[Narrator/Reporter (possibly Eric Stone continuing)]

mid and late career government employees who hold invaluable institutional knowledge like you know, that you should submit for reimbursement.

[Chuck Kopp]

Efforts to reinstate a pension system have come in fits and starts since the

[Narrator/Reporter (possibly Eric Stone continuing)]

state closed its pension system to new employees two decades ago.

[Chuck Kopp]

The biggest roadblock has always been the

[Narrator/Reporter (possibly Eric Stone continuing)]

cost and fundamentally that's a hard thing to project because it depends on a lot of variables.

[Chuck Kopp]

But the most recent estimate is the new pension system would cost an average of nearly 90 million a year for

[Narrator/Reporter (possibly Eric Stone continuing)]

the first 13 years.

[Chuck Kopp]

And Kopp says that would basically pay for itself.

[Eric Stone]

Right now the state of Alaska is paying in excess of $200 million a year in overtime and premium pay. That's call out pay to cover shift vacancies and people just not being there to do the job, filling critical line positions because we're that short staffed.

[Chuck Kopp]

But budgeters in the Senate Finance Committee say they're concerned the plan could wind up underfunded. The state actuaries analysis shows costs ramping

[Narrator/Reporter (possibly Eric Stone continuing)]

up as time goes and Alaska is

[Chuck Kopp]

still paying off billions in unfunded liabilities

[Narrator/Reporter (possibly Eric Stone continuing)]

created when the state got bad actuarial advice in the early 2000s, which led it to close the pension program.

[Chuck Kopp]

So before shipping the pension bill off to the Senate floor on Friday, senators

[Narrator/Reporter (possibly Eric Stone continuing)]

added a few tweaks, including one that increases the amount that non state employers like local governments and housing authorities have to contribute to the plan here's Senator

[Chuck Kopp]

Burt Steadman, a Sitka Republican who's long

[Narrator/Reporter (possibly Eric Stone continuing)]

been skeptical of returning to a pension system.

[Senator Burt Steadman]

There are increased costs. If you want more benefits, it costs more. You want less, it costs less. Somebody has to pay the costs. And the state of Alaska is responsible for the state employees, but we're not responsible for the non state employees.

[Chuck Kopp]

Many local governments, though, say they can't

[Narrator/Reporter (possibly Eric Stone continuing)]

afford to pay more. A bevy of local officials told senators the plan wasn't workable.

[Chuck Kopp]

Here's the city administrator for Stedman's home community of Sitka, John Leach.

[Jeremy Zedeck]

This bill is an unfunded mandate dressed up as a workforce benefit and Sitka cannot absorb it. And I suspect many of my colleagues across the state cannot either.

[Chuck Kopp]

The bill that advanced from committee gives cities and other non state employers the

[Narrator/Reporter (possibly Eric Stone continuing)]

choice to join the new pension system or stick with the existing defined contribution system, which could come with complications of its own.

[Chuck Kopp]

But Kopp and other pension advocates like Anchorage Republican Senator Kathy Giesel, say there's

[Narrator/Reporter (possibly Eric Stone continuing)]

no reason to push more costs onto local government.

[Chuck Kopp]

Giesel says the newly reformulated pension plan included In House Bill 78 begins fully funded, has mechanisms to adjust contributions up and down to keep it funded and that there's little risk overall of underfunding.

[Senator Kathy Giesel]

The actuary has identified that it would take a significant black swan event of three years of no returns for this this particular pension to fall below 90% funding.

[Narrator/Reporter (possibly Eric Stone continuing)]

The bill is expected to hit the Senate floor in the coming days.

[Chuck Kopp]

If it passes, it would go back to the House for a concurrence vote

[Narrator/Reporter (possibly Eric Stone continuing)]

which would send the bill to the governor. Governor Mike Dunleavy has not said publicly whether he'll sign or veto it. Reporting in Juneau, I'm Eric Stone.

[Casey Grove]

Six months after arriving in Anchorage, evacuees from western Alaska have moved from hotels into temporary housing. Hundreds of people have been unable to return to their homes after ex typhoon ha long devastated villages in October of last year. Jeremy Zedeck, a spokesperson for the state's emergency response, says it gives people a chance to return to a slightly more normal way of life.

[Jeremy Zedeck]

They're cooking their own ste foods. They have more privacy, more room within the units. They also have places where they can host celebrations for their family members or have people come over and visit and not just be in kind of one hotel room.

[Casey Grove]

As of April 17, more than 150 households have moved into temporary housing in and around Anchorage. Evacuees stayed in five hotels around Anchorage through the winter. They received meals from various assistance teams and on site staff. Helped them register for disaster relief and connected them to assistance programs. Zedig says the state will continue to help people with paperwork and bureaucratic hurdles.

[Jeremy Zedeck]

We're working with every applicant on a case by case basis to make sure that they're not kind of lost in the shuffle and they don't get so frustrated that they just lose interest in pursuing this assistance that they're eligible for.

[Casey Grove]

The temporary housing is funded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or fema. Zedeck says the state and FEMA are working together to identify ways to rebuild in western Alaska so that those who want to return home can do so as soon as possible. Still to come on Alaska News Nightly, a tribe in Petersburg welcomes the community's first canoe in more than a century.

[Will Ware]

This is a pretty important historical moment for us, and we're just glad that you're here to honor it with us.

[Casey Grove]

That's ahead. Stay with us. A young boy has died in Good News Bay after falling through ice. Alaska State troopers received a report late Thursday night from the Kuskokwim Delta community that a three year old child had fallen through ice near a culvert in the village. According to a trooper statement, family and community members searched extensively for the child, using an excavator to break the ice around the culvert. After an hour and a half search, the child was found deceased. The boy's next of kin have been notified. A Savunga woman has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for her role in a drug trafficking case. Federal investigators say 51 year old Michelle Pungawi tried to receive thousands of fentanyl pills at a PO Box on St. Lawrence island in the Bering Sea. Investigators first identified a suspicious package addressed to Pangowi in December 2022. With a search warrant, law enforcement opened the parcel and found more than 3,000 pills containing illicit fentanyl, a powerful opioid painkiller. A few weeks later, investigators intercepted another package addressed to Pungawi at the same P.O. box. A second search warrant found more than 4,000 additional fentanyl pills. Pangawi eventually entered a plea agreement with federal prosecutors. The authorities said in a press release that the 7,000 fentanyl pills were enough to potentially kill the entire village population eight times over, end quote. Prosecutors said text messages showed Pangawi was in contact with an inmate in California who was the alleged leader of a major drug trafficking organization. More than 60 people have been charged in connection with that broader investigation. There have been nearly 100 pedestrian fatalities in Anchorage in the last 10 years that's according to a recent bulletin from the state's Section of epidemiology. In 2025, 15 pedestrians were killed by vehicles, the same number as in 2024. Both years marked the city's highest pedestrian death toll in more than a decade. Graham Downey is with the Anchorage Mayor's Office. He says the number of pedestrian fatalities in Anchorage is unacceptable.

[Jeremy Zedeck]

So when it comes to people dying on our roads or people being injured on our roads, there are a number of factors and, you know, safety is everyone's responsibility.

[Casey Grove]

Data show that deaths are influenced by both environmental factors, like the amount of daylight, and behavioral factors like erratic driving. The report shows that pedestrian fatalities were concentrated in three areas in east downtown, Midtown and along C Street. Downey says those areas have higher speed limits.

[Graham Downey]

Someone is much more likely to die above 45 miles an hour than they are below 45 miles an hour. So when we have roads that are designed for those higher speeds, there's just going to be more energy involved in the collision and someone is more likely to die.

[Casey Grove]

Pedestrian fatalities are most common in the shoulder seasons during twilight, Downey says. That's because people are still getting used to driving in lower light after long hours of daylight in the summer. Another factor is substance use. Anchorage municipal traffic records show drivers involved in pedestrian deaths often were driving under the influence of alcohol or other substances. About one third of drivers fled the scene, making it more difficult to determine what factors led to the accident. So far this year, three people have been killed by vehicles in Anchorage. The kickoff of the 2026 cruise ship tourism season is just around the corner in Juneau. The first ship, the Ms. Eurodam, arrives Monday afternoon. KTOO's Clarice Larson sat down with the city's visitor industry director, Alex Pierce, to learn more about what's in store this season and what residents should expect.

[Clarice Larson]

So first off, tell me about this year's tourism season and what can residents expect?

[Alex Pierce]

So kind of same as usual. We have 1.69 million visitors, which is up a little bit from last year, but not an amount that I really expect people to notice too much. We have a new cruise line calling every week. MSC Cruises, which is a European company, will be in Alaska for the first time and they'll have a ship in Juneau every week. We also have Virgin Cruise Line coming. They only have a couple of calls, but also a brand new cruise line to the region. I think the kind of big surprise shift that doesn't necessarily affect Juno because we have limits and caps, is that the rest of the region is kind of filling up and getting busier. Ketchikan is almost as busy as Juneau this year. There were some rumors early on that they were actually going to have more people than Juneau, but they have slightly less than we do, which is still a real first. So bit of a. Bit of a shift for southeast Alaska, but Juneau is kind of staying the same, which is our goal. Right.

[Clarice Larson]

And so this is actually the first year that we're going to see that, that agreed upon passenger cap. Can you explain to people who might not know about the cap what it is and what's going to actually be going into place this year?

[Alex Pierce]

Yeah, for sure. So we have daily passenger cap of 16,000 people with 12,000 on Saturday, and that's down from our maximum peak days. We're about 21,000 passengers. That those weren't typical. They were a couple times a year. But that 16,000 number facilitates five ships with kind of one to two larger ships and requires an even distribution of people throughout the port. So hopefully the goal is that we're able to kind of adjust to operating under those parameters. And the tour operators have a sense of predictability. The city has a sense of predictability. We kind of have a steady volume that we can work towards improving our ability to manage that volume.

[Clarice Larson]

And do you think residents will feel that? How big of an impact do you think this might be?

[Alex Pierce]

Honestly, I hope people don't really feel it, that it just kind of feels normal and steady. We are going to not see the crazy, crazy busy Tuesdays in the same way that we used to those 20,000 passenger days. But other than that, really the hope is predictability, stability, trying to create a sense of kind of normalcy with the level of tourism that we have. Perfect.

[Clarice Larson]

And is there anything else that you think residents should know ahead of the season that's about to kick off?

[Alex Pierce]

I think something that's really exciting is that the Mendenhall Glacier is staffed this year. They'll be open seven days a week. They were not last year. And they're open from, I believe it's 9 to 6, which is a slight reduction in hours from full capacity, but a major, major change from last year. And we're really excited about that, really excited about the ability to continue to have our marquee attraction open and available to visitors. And big shout out to everybody involved at the glacier last year. The situation was tenuous all year and we all worked together and made it work. The other thing is we're doing major construction, we're rebuilding Marine Park. And so the food vendors are moving down near the Elizabeth Paradovic mural in the short term. And the new park is going to be great. I'm really excited about it. And construction will continue throughout the summer. Perfect.

[Clarice Larson]

Well, thank you so much for coming on, chatting with me.

[Alex Pierce]

Yeah.

[Casey Grove]

That was Juneau's visitor industry director Alex PIERCE Speaking with KTOO's Clarice Larsen about the cruise ship tourism season kicking off on Monday. Wednesday was Earth Day and the day before Unalaskans got a chance to learn about the island's only recycling program. Most of what the Kowalungan tribe of Unalaska collects gets shipped out, but not the glass. KUCB's Sophia Stuart Rossi has more on how used glass bottles could be put to use on island over and over again.

[Sophia Stuart Rossi]

Thank you all for joining.

[Shenoy Anderson]

Joining us today, I'm Shenoy Anderson is standing in a conference room walking community members through a PowerPoint presentation about recycling. From quote bin to beyond.

[Alex Pierce]

And recycling is the process of gathering and processing materials to create new products.

[Shenoy Anderson]

Anderson is the environmental director for the tribe. The tribe started their recycling program in 2024 collecting glass, number one, plastic, aluminum and cardboard. It's Unalaska's only recycling program. Most of the recyclables get shipped out in containers to the Tacoma area through a partnership with the barge company Matson. But glass is heavy and takes up too much space. So rather than see it go to waste, the tribe recycles it in house.

[John Gustafson]

I gotta take off all the plastic and, you know, the metal off the bottles. That takes up most of the time.

[Shenoy Anderson]

That's John Gustafson. He's the tribe's recycling and facilities manager. He sorts the glass and runs the crusher machine, processing bottles into material used for sandbags and winter road traction for the island. That's cheaper than sending it out of town. When sorting glass, Gustafson has one hard bottles with food residue don't make the cut. Food residue and recycling can contaminate entire batches of material and can cause costly

[John Gustafson]

damage to equipment like spaghetti sauce, alfredo, stuff like that. People don't think to rinse it first.

[Shenoy Anderson]

As of now, the Tribe has about 6,000 pounds of crushed glass stored. That's roughly two years worth. But Gustafson says there's room to grow in the future.

[John Gustafson]

It's just me and can only handle so much at a time. But eventually we want to upgrade all of our equipment and everything and we'll spread the news to the whole community. It'll be even busier, Anderson says The

[Shenoy Anderson]

tribe hopes to have the new equipment ready within the year and potentially recycle the glass into other materials for art, construction and landscaping. She says once it's up and running, they plan to collect recyclable glass. Beyond Unalaska, our goal is to be a hub. For now, community members can drop off recyclables at the cowling and tribe's office on Broadway in the valley in Unalaska. I'm Sophia Stewart Rossi.

[Casey Grove]

Petersburg's local tribe unveiled and blessed its new killer whale canoe last weekend. And as KFSK's Olivia Rose reports, over a hundred people gathered to see the community's first canoe in a century.

[Olivia Rose]

The traditional blessing of a new canoe is happening at Sandy Beach, a place with petroglyphs and wooden remains from fish traps a few thousand years old, evidential ties to slinkit history. 11 polers just paddled this canoe for its first time on the water, arriving at the beach for the ceremony. While the canoe is blessed with sage and cedar, tribal members wearing regalia are dancing and drumming near its long bow, honoring it with the local tribe as the killer whale canoe is brought to life.

[Will Ware]

This is a momentous day.

[Olivia Rose]

Will Wearce speaks to the large gathering over a microphone.

[Will Ware]

If you don't know, this is the first time we've had one of our canoes brought out of Petersburg in anybody's kind of memory that we know of. And so this is a pretty important historical moment for us, and we're just glad that you're here to honor it with us.

[Olivia Rose]

The white fiberglass canoe is nearly 40ft long. It has red and black chilkat faces painted down its center and a large formline killer whale design on both ends.

[Will Ware]

And so the name of this canoe is Kit Yau Khet Yawk. Kit Yaup Yault literally translates out into canoe. Keat is the killer whale. And so, Petersburg, we have our first Tlingit canoe in well over a hundred years, and it is now and forever known as Kit Yauk, if you could say it out loud, to help bring it to life. Keat Yault. Keat Yauk.

[Olivia Rose]

Traditional canoes like this one typically belong to a single clan, but Petersburg's local tribe decided to have this canoe designed to include everyone.

[Will Ware]

It has a crest that doesn't belong to any one particular clan, but is relatively generic, yet unique to Sitka, to Petersburg. And so for that, we're very grateful.

[Olivia Rose]

A few traditional customs happen for this canoe's blessing. Bread is tossed in the sea as a symbolic gesture, honoring and thanking the killer Whales. Ware asks the killer whales as guardians to. To keep this canoe and its polar safe when they paddle it to Juneau for the celebration festival this summer. Then we're invites everyone to sing a couple songs of the Dukloidee, a Tlingit clan in southeast Alaska. With a killer whale crest. Several of the canoe's polars come forward and dance, arms moving in a rowing motion, knees bent and lined up in front of the sh.

[Will Ware]

Shish. Thank you for joining us.

[Olivia Rose]

After a number of songs, dances and speeches, the ceremony is followed by food and fellowship. People get a closer look at the canoe and mingle over cups of boiled fish soup. Billy Ware is the eldest of Ware's sons. He was a polar at the front of the canoe.

[Billy Ware]

It's just amazing to see this canoe in Petersburg for the first time in 100 years and to do with our family and everybody. It's just amazing.

[Olivia Rose]

And I mean, there's a huge turnout here today too. What was it like coming into this cove, into sandy beach and seeing all these people waiting for you?

[Billy Ware]

Oh, man, it was. It gave you goosebumps. As soon as you came around that corner, you could see like there's. There's been a village here for who knows how long, maybe thousands of years. Until recently, it, you know, it diminished. But coming in here, it really felt like we were bringing the culture back alive in Petersburg. And it just warms my heart. It really does.

[Olivia Rose]

At the end of May, a group of several canoes from around southeast Alaska will meet in Petersburg to paddle together to Juneau, camping and visiting villages along the way. It's a tradition known as journey. While the local tribe says that launching the canoe journey from Petersburg is another significant milestone for the community, the killer whale canoe needs about a dozen polars to paddle it to Juneau. Victoria Moore and her son Alex are two of just several pollers signed up so far.

[Victoria Moore]

I'm Victoria Moore. My colleague name is Gooch Pha. And I'm so excited to be on this journey.

[Olivia Rose]

She says it was fun to be paddling out on the water to sandy beach, building camaraderie and sharing stories with the group. She also says it felt natural and emotional.

[Victoria Moore]

For me, it's still emotional. It's like, wow, just to be a part of something that hasn't been done in so long, you know, so it's exciting to be a part of it, you know, to honor our ancestors. I mean, for me, it's. It's a personal journey too. So to bring this back and to be able to make this journey that's going to come up, going to celebration and be a part of that. It's going to be Incredible.

[Olivia Rose]

Celebration starts June 3rd at the end of the day, and after enjoying some soup, dozens of people help carry the canoe out from the beach and load it up on its trailer. Reporting in Petersburg, I'm Olivia Rose.

[Casey Grove]

Petersburg Indian association is accepting donations and applications for anyone interested in joining the canoe journey as pullers. More information can be found on PIA's website, piatribal.org. And that's all for this edition of Alaska News Nightly. If you missed any of tonight's stories, we're [e-mail] and wherever you get your podcasts. We had reports tonight from Liz Ruskin in Washington, D.C. eric Stone and Clarice Larson in Juneau, Hannah Flor in Anchorage, Samantha Watson in Bethel, Ben Townsend in Nome, Sophia Stuart Rossi in Unalaska and Olivia Rose in Petersburg. If you want to send us a news tip, question or comment, email us at newsalaskapublic. Org. Our audio engineer is Crystal Hyde. Kirsten Dobroth is our producer. And I'm Casey Grove. Have a great weekend.

[Senator Burt Steadman]

This is statewide news on Alaska Public Media.