Alaska News Nightly: Friday, May 22, 2026

Summary

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Alaska News Nightly: Friday, May 22, 2026

Podcast: Alaska News Nightly – Alaska Public Media
Date: May 23, 2026
Host: Casey Grove

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Episode Overview

This episode delivers comprehensive statewide coverage, focusing on the balance of economic development and environmental stewardship in Alaska. Key stories include the push to expedite oil and gas permitting in the Arctic, a bold data center proposal for the North Slope, booming cruise tourism developments in Ketchikan, a special Alaska Native high school graduation after a devastating storm, and reflections on war and homecoming for Alaska’s veterans.

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Key Stories & Insights

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Arctic Oil and Gas Permitting: Efficiency vs. Environment

• Background:
  The Alaska Oil and Gas Association (AOGA) urges the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to streamline permitting for development in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A). The BLM is beginning rulemaking after a record lease sale.
• AOGA's Proposal:
  • Motivation: Eliminate redundant bureaucracy, provide certainty and consistency for development, but ensure “strong environmental stewardship.”
    • Quote: “Our goal here is to create greater certainty and consistency for what we view as routine development activities in the petroleum reserve, but continuing along strong environmental stewardship when we do it.”
      — Steve Wychowski, AOGA President [01:36]
  • Mechanism: One large environmental impact study, umbrella permits for routine projects, faster turnaround (60 days). Other permits (state, Corps of Engineers) still required.
• Environmental Concerns:
  • Critics like The Wilderness Society argue that a “cookie cutter” approach ignores unique surface, cultural, and subsistence values.
    • Quote: “We’re moving development into places where it’s never been before, into places with really important surface and cultural and subsistence values. And they deserve to be evaluated on their own merits, not with a cookie cutter approach.”
      — Ann Jackson, The Wilderness Society [03:41]
  • Cumulative Impacts: Potential harm to caribou migration and ecological systems.
    • Quote: “If you have one drill pad, you know a caribou can just go around that. If you have 10 drill pads...that makes a much bigger impact.”
      — Ann Jackson [04:01]
• Public Process:
  • BLM launches a public scoping period until July 6 for input on the environmental statement. [04:17]

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North Slope Data Center Proposal: Ambition Meets Alaskan Reality

• The Pitch:
  Alaska-rooted startup Stack Energy proposes a $500 million AI and cloud computing data center near the Dalton Highway, leveraging unused North Slope natural gas for self-generated electricity.
• Logistical & Competitive Advantages:
  • Access to abundant, underutilized natural gas.
  • Cooler climate cuts down cooling water use by up to 90% versus lower-48 facilities.
    • Quote: “On the North Slope...you have a below-freezing average temperature over the course of the year...that’s like a major comparative advantage.”
      — Nat Herz, Northern Journal Reporter [05:07]
• Skepticism & Hurdles:
  • Never attempted at this scale in Alaska; investor trust is uncertain.
    • Quote: “You bring it to investors and ... there’s no basis that this works and hasn’t been done before, so we might not trust it.”
      — Nat Herz [06:48]
  • Questions remain on broadband/latency, turbine supply chain (potential 7-year wait), actual funding, and future user demand.
• Who’s Behind It?
  • CEO Sparrow Mahoney, with Alaska roots and a background in startups and crypto. The company has recruited key figures from Alaska’s resource and business sectors, including ex-state officials.
    • Quote: “You’ve seen them kind of staff up with some people who have some significant experience, which is...at least one indication that they’re sort of a serious, credible company. But...it’s another thing to raise the hundreds of millions of dollars that you need to actually build a project like this.”
      — Nat Herz [08:22]

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Ketchikan’s Tourism Boom: Reimagining the Cruise Ship Experience

• Tourism Surge:
  Record 1.6 million cruise ship passengers expected; new businesses rise to meet demand, especially in Ward Cove—a redeveloped mill zone now a cruise terminal.
• Business & Community Response:
  • Expanding attractions—Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show debuts a second venue in Ward Cove, zipline park, brewery/distillery/winery planned, and elevated dining experiences such as “Fireside Feast.”
    • Quote: “It’s not timber, it’s not oil, it’s not gold. The only thing we’re selling is memories.”
      — Rob Scheer, owner, Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show [11:44]
  • Dining ventures inspired by Alaska’s bonfire culture, plus push for more local economic benefit and less pressure on downtown.
    • Quote: “I feel bad for all of them having to be bused into town when we have this beautiful space here...I think it’s the beginning of something really, really cool.”
      — Justin Haggard, General Manager, Fireside Feast [14:00]
• Long-term Vision:
  Future plans include a boardwalk, jewelry store, and lodging expansion. [14:19]

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Alaska Veterans: Honoring Sacrifice and Healing Old Wounds

• Story:
  Vietnam War veteran George Lindoff of Hoonah finally receives a heartfelt, communal welcome home nearly 55 years after his service, after being denied such honor in 1971.
  • Quote: “First time we landed in San Francisco, they were cussing at us, spitting at us, carrying signs, seeing baby killers.”
    — Norval Nelson, friend and fellow veteran [15:13]
• Recent Recognition:
  • Participated in a Last Frontier Honor Flight to D.C.; plan disrupted by a mild stroke, but in Juneau, a niece and community pull together a moving, traditional homecoming.
    • Quote: “He didn’t get the welcome home when he came back from Vietnam, so giving him something he deserves.”
      — Shannon Bible, niece [16:53]
  • Gathering included family, community, Alaska National Guard, and Native dancers—drumming, singing, and deep emotion.
    • Quote: “I’m real happy that he’s getting some recognition. You know, he’s real bashful, but I’m glad to see this.”
      — Norval Nelson [18:21]

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Anchorage Graduation: Resilience After the Storm

• Context:
  Seven students, displaced by a devastating coastal storm, graduate in Anchorage—melding village traditions with city setting for a healing, memorable ceremony.
• Emotional & Cultural Depth:
  • Survival & Community:
    • Quote: “I know we want to graduate back home, but we’re not. Just be happy that we are able to walk tonight as one, as survivors.”
      — Dungik IKU Hak, coach [21:57]
  • Rose Ceremony:
    • Students honor five people who supported them on their journey—a village tradition maintained in Anchorage.
      • Quote: “I am going to give my first two roses to my parents because they helped me get here.”
        — Jason Dan Lewis, graduate [23:58]
  • Resilience & Roots:
    • Quote: “Never forget where you come from, the communities that raised you, and the strength that you carry within you.”
      — Jamie Galvin, Director of Indigenous Education [24:58]
  • Ceremony served as both graduation and symbolic homecoming for those forced from their villages.

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Brief Headlines

• Juneau’s Gold Belt Tram Closure:
  After an accident injuring two employees, the opening is delayed until fully certified safe.
  • Quote: “We anticipate opening this year. This is not a lost season, but we want to make sure that again, safety is the priority, the only priority.”
    — Macieu Pierre, Gold Belt CEO [19:49]
• Seasonal Staffing:
  Goldbelt aims to retain as many seasonal employees as possible during the closure. [20:06]

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “They deserve to be evaluated on their own merits, not with a cookie cutter approach.”
  — Ann Jackson, Wilderness Society [00:06, 03:41]
• “On the North Slope...that’s a major comparative advantage where they’d be using what they expect to be 90% less water than a facility in the Lower 48.”
  — Nat Herz, Northern Journal [05:07]
• “The only thing we’re selling is memories and they can take it and it doesn’t...we don’t have to cut down a tree for a memory.”
  — Rob Scheer, Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show [11:44]
• “You were not raised. Go on be killed.”
  — Norval Nelson, Reflecting on Vietnam [15:53]
• “Keep loving a person next to you today. Show your love to that person, and you saw the love coming out from each person, young and old alike.”
  — Dungik IKU Hak, coach [23:22]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:06 — Environmental permitting debate in Arctic
• 04:30 — North Slope data center proposal and challenges
• 09:52 — Ketchikan cruise tourism boom, new development
• 14:40 — Alaska veterans’ DC honor flight and homecoming
• 19:28 — Gold Belt tram closure in Juneau
• 21:08 — Anchorage graduation for storm-displaced Alaska Native students

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Tone & Style

The episode combines rigorous, investigative reporting with authentic voices from Alaskan communities. Stories are grounded in place—whether the Arctic, small villages, or Alaska’s urban centers—and highlight both the hard realities and deep resilience found across the state.

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Transcript

[Ann Jackson]

We're moving development into places where it's never been before, and they deserve to be evaluated on their own merits, not with a cookie cutter approach.

[Casey Grove]

Environmental groups fight a plan to ease oil and gas permitting in the Arctic. From Alaska Public Media, this is statewide news on Alaska News nightly for Friday, May 22nd. Good evening. I'm Casey Grove. Also tonight, a startup proposes building a massive data center on the North Slope, leading to many questions.

[Nat Herz]

One is that this has never been done in Alaska on this scale and certainly not on the North Slope.

[Casey Grove]

Those stories and more tonight on Alaska News Nightly. Alaska's oil and gas lobby wants to expedite development in the National Petroleum Reserve. Alaska Just days after the Alaska Oil and Gas association petitioned the government for a new, faster permitting process, the Bureau of Land Management obliged, announcing it intends to write a new rule for the reserve. Drilling opponents call it a corporate giveaway. Alaska Public Media Washington correspondent Liz Ruskin reports.

[Liz Ruskin]

The idea is to avoid bureaucratic redundancy because in a blockbuster lease sale in March, nine companies won leases on nearly 200 tracks in the petroleum reserve on the North Slope. Rather than have each company apply to the BLM for permits for each production site, the industry is asking that the agency make a rule granting permits as long as certain conditions are met.

[Steve Wychowski]

Our goal here is to create greater certainty and consistency for what we view as routine development activities in the petroleum reserve, but continuing along strong environmental stewardship when we do it.

[Liz Ruskin]

Steve Wychowski is president of the Alaska Oil and Gas Association, a trade group that proposed the process. He says the BLM BLM could do one big environmental impact study covering the basic things that make up a production site.

[Steve Wychowski]

So limited amount of gravel, roads, development pads, drilling pads that could be looked at, studied with potential to be codified in the rules. So we could go right to BLM and get a permit.

[Liz Ruskin]

The request comes at a time when permitting reform has become a national cause. Producers of fossil and renewable energy alike are pushing Congress to make some changes because the laws that slow oil drilling also delay transmission lines in solar farms. But one person's red tape is another's meaningful environmental protection. While Congress mulls a compromise, the Alaska oil industry is proposing a special process for the npra. As EOGA proposes it, a company would apply for a permit in the reserve specifying how many wells it wants, the size and locations of the gravel pads, and other construction. If the BLM decides it meet the definition of a production site as described in the rule, the permit would be granted within 60 days. Wachowski points out it would only apply to BLM permits. Development near waterways would still require permits from the Corps of Engineers, he says. And then there's state and North Slope borough permits.

[Steve Wychowski]

So there still is a whole host of other permits and opportunities for public input.

[Liz Ruskin]

Environmental advocates in the North Slope community of New Exit call it a gift to industry. Matt Jackson of the Wilderness Society says the approach wrongly assumes that one part of the NPR is the same as any other.

[Ann Jackson]

We're moving development into places where it's never been before, into places with really important surface and cultural and subsistence values, and they deserve to be evaluated on their own merits, not with a cookie cutter approach.

[Liz Ruskin]

Ann Jackson says the umbrella permitting concept doesn't take into account the cumulative effects of multiple projects.

[Ann Jackson]

If you have one drill pad, you know a caribou can just go around that. If you have 10 drill pads on a line stretching out for miles and miles with pipelines and roads and power lines, that makes a much bigger impact to the caribou moving to where they need to go.

[Liz Ruskin]

The BLM has kicked off a public scoping period for an environmental impact statement that would precede the rule it's under until July 6th. Reporting from Washington, I'm Liz Ruskin.

[Casey Grove]

A startup with Alaska roots wants to build a massive data center on the North Slope closer to natural gas supplies it would use to generate the enormous amount of electricity the center needs. Stack Energy's proposed $500 million data center with a footprint of more than a square mile would support artificial intelligence and cloud computing, according to recent reporting by the Northern Journal. So far, the idea exists only on paper, but the company has secured the state's preliminary approval to lease land off the Dalton Highway. And according to Northern Journal reporter Nat Herz, Stack Energy has suggested it would be able to avoid some issues that data centers in the lower 48 have faced.

[Nat Herz]

There's a pretty significant backlash against AI and specifically the sort of data center construction and the environmental impacts and resource use. Significant demand on water, on power, especially like I think there's a big problem in the lower 48 where basically the demand for electricity is spiking because of the build out of these facilities in a way that's like raising electricity prices for people across the country on the North Slope. There is a huge supply of natural gas right now that's not being used. This facility would not be connected to the rest of Alaska's grid. They would basically be like self generating power off of this abundant resource on the North Slope, presumably at a fairly competitive price because right now there's no Additional sort of demand for this natural gas that they'd be competing with. And then again, there's sort of abundant land. And then another one of the arguments that the state and the company are making is that a lot of the sort of energy and resource demand for these facilities in the lower 48 is from cooling. And on the North Slope, you know, you have a below freezing average temperature over the course of the year, I believe. And so they're saying that's like a major comparative advantage where they'd be using what they expect to be 90% less water than a facility in the Lower 48.

[Casey Grove]

A lot of the hurdles, I would imagine, have to do with this plan being on the North Slope and kind of far away from the other, you know, centers of industry in the state.

[Nat Herz]

Yeah, I mean, I think there are a number of big question marks. And one is that this has never been done in Alaska on the scale and certainly not on the North Slope. And so I think you can bring in engineers and people doing kind of pencil pushing and calculations and planning and say, like, we have this concept, it's compelling in all these ways. And then I think you bring it to investors and, or the like, AI companies and say, okay, you know, time to invest. And they're like, there's no basis that this works and hasn't been done before, so we might not trust it. I think that's like a sort of big overarching question here of is there sort of trust that this would work and is there real interest in doing it? And I think we don't know. The company sponsoring this project has not really been forthcoming about like whether they have sort of customers or investors lined up for this product. And then, yeah, I mean, I think there are also some questions about does the bandwidth and the connectivity from the North Slope, are there issues with what they call latency and sort of the lag time? But yeah, and then there's some other questions around, like the turbines that are used to generate power from natural gas. Like there's, there's a big backlog for those turbines right now just because there's a major increase in natural gas power generation and demand. And so in some cases they're saying like as much as seven years. And so, you know, can this company get those natural gas turbines? Like, those are some obvious questions as well.

[Casey Grove]

Let's talk about the company. It's Stack Energy. Who is Stack Energy?

[Nat Herz]

I don't think a lot is known about the ownership necessarily, but the woman in charge, Sparrow Mahoney, she grew up in Alaska and has had, I think some involvement in sort of startup type businesses and in cryptocurrency specifically. She was involved in the Iditarod's push into cryptocurrency a few years ago. And then more interestingly, in the past year or so, they brought on some people who are like veterans of Alaska's energy and sort of business world. So you've got a former state Natural resources commissioner, John Boyle, who's working for the company, Jim Shine who is an attorney who used to be a special assistant at the Department of Natural Resources. And these are presumably folks that are familiar with the needs of navigating the land use and permitting process that this company has to go through. So you've seen them kind of staff up with some people who have some significant experience, which is, you know, I think at least one indication that they're sort of a serious credible company. But then I think on the flip side of that, again, it's one thing to be paying a handful of people even competitive six figure salaries and it's another thing to raise the hundreds of millions of dollars that you need to actually build a project like this.

[Casey Grove]

So that was Northern Journal reporter Nat Herz. You can find his full story about a proposal to build a data center on the north [e-mail]. Still to come on Alaska News Nightly, seven students who survived the devastating fall storm in western Alaska celebrate high school graduation.

[Dungik IKU Hak]

I know we want to graduate back home, but we're not. Just be happy that we are able to walk tonight.

[Casey Grove]

That's ahead. Stay with us. Ketchikan expects to see the most cruise ship passengers ever this summer, over 1.6 million. In response to the industry's boom, local developers are building attractions, restaurants and breweries in Ward Cove, a new docking site for cruise ships north of Town. As KRBD's Hunter Morrison reports, the project aims to maximize tourism dollars while alleviating congestion downtown.

[Shannon Bible]

You're going to be cheering on usa.

[Joe Williams]

Donning extra tough boots, brown Carhartt overalls and a plaid flannel shirt, Joe Williams greets a family who just stepped off the Norwegian Bliss cruise ship. Williams, also known by his stage name Lasagna Jo, is the emcee of the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show, a campy contest where teams of lumberjacks compete in various chopping games with axes and chainsaws. The rodeo style show in downtown Ketchikan draws in thousands of cruise ship passes passengers each year. But today, Lasagna Jo and the rest of the lumberjack Crew aren't downtown. They're seven miles north in Ward Cove for the inaugural production at a second, larger venue. It comes after cruise ships began docking in Ward Cove about five years ago.

[Rob Scheer]

And it's the one industry in Alaska that we don't have to extract something to sell out into the world.

[Joe Williams]

That's Rob Scheer, president and owner of the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show. He says tourism stimulates the local economy by generating revenue and creating jobs.

[Rob Scheer]

You know, it's not timber, it's not oil, it's not gold. The only thing we're selling is memories and they can take it and it doesn't, you know, we don't have to cut down a tree for a memory.

[Joe Williams]

The two berth terminal at Ward Cove, which sits at the site of Ketchikan's former pulp mill, will see about 130 cruise ship stops this summer, about 20% of the total. And for the first time, passengers won't have to bus to downtown Ketchikan to catch a show or grab a meal. That's because several new businesses are opening this summer in Ward Cove to ease overcrowding downtown and cater to passengers. Joe Duca is with Alaska Port Innovations, which is developing part of Ward Cove. He says the new businesses breathe life into the old mill and bring a taste of downtown Ketchikan to Ward Cove.

[Steve Wychowski]

I was asked to get involved, seeing

[Macieu Pierre]

some of the horrible reviews of the

[Steve Wychowski]

port because nobody wanted to be there. And so that was really what spurred a lot of this in developing that area.

[Joe Williams]

On a bluff that overlooks the Tongass Narrows, workers are busy putting the final touches on Fireside Feast. That's an outdoor dining experience with covered canopies and open fire cooking set to open this summer here in Alaska.

[Justin Haggard]

You know, we do the beach bonfires all the time. It's my favorite thing.

[Joe Williams]

That's general manager Justin Haggard. He enjoys the camaraderie and food associated with Alaska bonfires and wanted to offer that experience to people who are only in the state for a short time.

[Justin Haggard]

We've been here developing for the past month or so, like up here every single day and we get bald eagles flying over, you know, when the whales are through that you'll be able to see them perfectly from here. It's just a cool spot, man.

[Joe Williams]

Haggard says he's wanted to develop a culinary experience like this for years and finally found the right space to do it about a year ago. He says visitors can expect to dine on smoked salmon chowder, wild game and more. Haggard and his wife own Alaska Spud in downtown Ketchikan. He says the city is lacking food options and wants to provide an alternative for visitors, especially those whose first taste of the island is in Ward Cove.

[Justin Haggard]

Yeah, I feel bad for all of them having to be bused into town when we have this beautiful space here that just needs a little love and development. And we're in the process of that right now. And I really want to bring, you know, more money to Ward Cove to this area. You know, I think it's the beginning of something really, really cool.

[Joe Williams]

Also in the works at Ward Cove is a zipline adventure park set to open this summer and a combination brewery, distillery, winery. Duca, who's helping to revitalize the area, says other future developments may include a boardwalk, a jewelry store and lodging. Reporting in Ketchikan, I'm Hunter Morrison.

[Casey Grove]

A group of Alaska veterans traveled to Washington, D.C. last month to visit memorials built in their honor. The trip was also an opportunity to reflect on what it meant to come home from America's past wars. For Alaska native Vietnam War veteran George Lindoff from Hoonah, a proper homecoming came decades after his service. KTOO's Lisa Fu has more.

[Lisa Fu]

When George Lindoff returned to the US in 1971 after fighting for his country in Vietnam, he was not met with the warm welcome. Instead, there were anti war protesters.

[Norval Nelson]

First time we landed in San Francisco, they were cussing at us, spitting at us, carrying signs, seeing baby killers.

[Lisa Fu]

And there weren't just protesters at the San Francisco airport. Police were there, too.

[Norval Nelson]

In California, the police were looking at us like we were going to attack them. Protesters.

[Lisa Fu]

Lindof may have physically left Vietnam and the war, but the war never left him. Lindof's brother, James Lindof, who died in 2024, was also drafted and sent to Vietnam. The war had a lasting impact on both of them.

[Norval Nelson]

You tried to forget what happened over there. You were not raised. Go on be killed.

[Lisa Fu]

More than half a century after he returned from Vietnam, Lindof had the opportunity to revisit that chapter in his life, this time with the goal of healing. In April, Lindof joined a group of veterans from all over the state, and they went to DC through an organization called Last Frontier Honor Flight. The volunteer nonprofit sends veterans to the nation's capital to visit monuments and memorials built in their honor at no cost to the veterans. While in D.C. though Lindof had a mild stroke and had to be hospitalized. He missed most of the trip as well as the big welcome home in Anchorage that's an important part of the Honor Flight trip to give the veterans the welcome home they never received. So Lindof's niece, Shannon Bible, made sure he still got one.

[Shannon Bible]

He's my uncle, my mom's brother. She would have done this if she was here. He didn't get the welcome home when he came back from Vietnam, so giving him something he deserves.

[Lisa Fu]

Bible organized something in Juneau, where Lindof flew to before continuing on to Hoonah. She didn't have a lot of time to prepare.

[Shannon Bible]

I put a post on Facebook that I wanted to pull something like this off, and it was amazing how fast everything on such a short notice. With the power of having Hoonah people here in Juneau, we were able to pull this together.

[Lisa Fu]

About 40 people gather outside the security doors on the second floor of the Juneau airport. Family is there, community members, friends, members of the Alaska National Guard, even local police officers. His grandniece is there with her dance group. They start playing as Lindof appears through the security doors. A Last Frontier Honor Flight volunteer pushes Lindof in his wheelchair, accompanied by his son in law who went on the trip. Lindof's right foot immediately starts tapping to the singing and drumming. His fingers braided together on his lap, he looks content. The crowd applauds. After the drumming and singing ends, people go up to Lindof to shake his hand, welcome him home and say thank you. The scene is emotional.

[Norval Nelson]

I'm real happy that he's getting some recognition. You know, he's real bashful, but I'm glad to see this.

[Lisa Fu]

Yeah, that's longtime friend Norval Nelson. He knew Lindof and others from Hoonah who fought in Vietnam before they left and after they came home.

[Norval Nelson]

It was pretty, pretty hard on all of them, you know, that went over there, and they were in the front lines because they knew how to hunt and track.

[Lisa Fu]

Nelson says when Lindof returned from war, he was quieter, less talkative and more jumpy. After the crowd disperses, Lindof and a handful of others move to the departure area for his flight to Hoonah. There, Lindof says he was surprised that so many people showed up. He knew some people would be there, but he didn't expect the drumming and singing, the big production, the type of welcome home many think a decorated veteran like him deserves. In Juneau, I'm Lisa Fu.

[Casey Grove]

The popular Gold Belt tram in downtown Juneau will remain closed as it undergoes repairs and inspections. According to Gold Belt CEO Macieu Pierre, the tram has been closed since late April after a tram car came to an abrupt halt at its bottom terminal. The incident injured two employees. The tram was scheduled to reopen Sunday, but Pierre says that's no longer the case.

[Macieu Pierre]

There is no date set to open until we are certified safe to operate. We don't know when that date will be. We anticipate opening this year. This is not a lost season, but we want to make sure that again, safety is the priority, the only priority.

[Casey Grove]

Pierre declined to discuss the status of the injured employees or go into detail about what caused the incident, but he says Goldbelt is working with multiple entities to do inspections and repairs to avoid problems in the future. The closure comes nearly a month into the 2026 cruise ship season. The tram is a popular visitor attraction that brings hundreds of thousands of riders up and down Mount Roberts each year. Pierre says. While the tram is not running, Goldbelt has reopened its terminal, which has a coffee shop and gift section. He says Goldbelt is working to retain as many seasonal employees as it can during the closure. Well, there probably hasn't ever been a high school graduation ceremony in Anchorage like this one. Yes, there was pomp and circumstance at the Alaska Native Heritage center on Monday night, but it was a marriage of village and city life that came about not by choice but because of a storm last year that ravaged coastal communities in western Alaska. For the families who were forced to leave, it's been a healing journey. And as KNBA's Rhonda McBride tells us, the graduation of seven students marks an important milestone along the way.

[Dungik IKU Hak]

That was some storm that we went

[Rhonda McBride]

through, a storm that Dungik IKU Hak says was still very much a presence in this room.

[Dungik IKU Hak]

It was exciting, scary, but I don't want to go through it again.

[Rhonda McBride]

The graduates know Tangek by his nickname, Don. He was their coach and counselor even before they were evacuated to Anchorage. Like his students, he still feels the trauma of that night in Gwygillingoc, when floodwaters lifted his home off its foundation and carried it away.

[Dungik IKU Hak]

Our house went really fast, and when the wind gusts our house would turn around one, two and a half spins.

[Rhonda McBride]

Dunn hovered over the students as they donned their caps and gowns, whispering words of encouragement.

[Dungik IKU Hak]

I know we want to graduate back home, but we're not just be happy that we are able to walk tonight as one, as survivors.

[Rhonda McBride]

If you closed your eyes, you could almost imagine that you were back in the village with the sound of small kids and babies in the backdrop picture, people crowded into a small school gym, balloons and banners covering all the walls so different from the elegance of the Alaska Native Heritage Center. As the graduates made their way to the stage, they heard the same scratchy recording that would have been played back home. And although she was 500 miles away from Kipnock, a wave of emotions rolled over Sophie Paul, waiting for the moment to watch her son Misa walk down the aisle.

[Shannon Bible]

Several times he wanted to say, mom, I want to be dying. No, miss, I want to see you graduate. You can pull through. And here he is going to graduate, representing Kipnik.

[Rhonda McBride]

Dunn says the love that filled the room surrounded everyone.

[Dungik IKU Hak]

There's this saying that's been passed on. Keep loving a person next to you today. Show your love to that person, and you saw the love coming out from each person, young and old alike.

[Rhonda McBride]

Dunn made sure that the rose ceremony, a tradition from Kipnock and Gwigilingock, would be incorporated into the Anchorage graduation, when each student is given five roses to hand out, one to each of the five people who have helped them on their journey.

[Jason Dan Lewis]

I am going to give my first two roses to my parents because they helped me get here.

[Rhonda McBride]

Jason Dan Lewis gave the remaining three roses to other family members. He says they all helped to motivate him finish high school. After the storm, he went to east high, which has 2,000 students, 10 times the size of his school in Gwigalingok.

[Jason Dan Lewis]

I want people to know that there are a lot of students who came a long way, especially all the way from the villages and adapting to the se. I want them to know that they did an awesome job adapting to the

[Jamie Galvin]

changes to our graduates. I hope you carry the same courage, strength, and resilience into the next chapter of your lives that brought you to this moment today.

[Rhonda McBride]

Jamie Galvin, the director of Indigenous education for the Anchorage School District, helped to shape the ceremony, one meant to reach beyond handing out diplomas, but also remind the graduates of their roots back home.

[Jamie Galvin]

Never forget where you come from, the communities that raised you, and the strength that you carry within you. You will now turn your tassel from the right side to the left side. And this now symbolizes that you guys are all graduates. Congratulations.

[Rhonda McBride]

A ceremony that was more than a graduation, but a homecoming. In anchorage, I'm Rhonda McBride,

[Casey Grove]

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. hunter Morrison in Katchikan, Lisa Fu and Clarice Larsen and juno and Rhonda McBride in Anchorage. Our audio engineer is Crystal Hyde. Annie Feit produced tonight's show. And I'm Casey Grove. Have a great weekend. This is statewide news on Alaska Public Media.