At the Alaska State Fair this year, visitors to the Native Gathering Place near the Yellow Gate may notice one cabin that looks a little different from the rest. Bright neon colors, glowing berries, … more

Sixteen.Five, an eclectic folk band with jazzy vibes, featuring sisters Amy Helkenn, Rebekah Donahue, and Rebekah’s husband Joe Donahue, will be headlining the Kenny Lake Fair on Aug. 21-22. … more

Although this is a tough read, remember this is the actual account of the author.  I finished this days ago and I still can’t shake the weight of what the reality of slavery is. It’s brave, … more

This time of summer, it is common to see a family of 'ełdyaani (spruce grouse). Chicks hatch in mid-June, able to walk almost right away. They follow their mother through the undergrowth in search of insects that make up most of their diet when they are young. By the time they are one week old, they can make short flights into lower branches of trees. The hen raises her chicks on her own, brooding the chicks at night and in cool weather until they are three to five weeks old. more

I carry your name like a quiet flame, Hunter soft, steady, never gone. In the hush between heartbeats, in the places the light leans gentle, I still find you. You had a way of seeing the world … more

The fairy slipper orchid (Calypso bulbosa) is a beautiful, pink wildflower of the boreal forest, blooming briefly each spring. Each plant produces a single leaf in autumn that overwinters under the snow, then sends up a single flower in spring if conditions are good. The elaborate lip petal is spotted and fringed with small yellow hair-like projections that mimic pollen-laden anthers, and the flower produces a sweet scent. The calypso orchid offers no actual reward to visiting bumblebees and relies on newly emerged, naive queen bumblebees that have not yet learned to avoid it. Bumblebees can learn to recognize and avoid the deception, so the orchid depends on a fresh crop of inexperienced queens each spring. In Ahtna: tuut'aan' means flower. more

I read and enjoyed Memoirs of a Gay Shah: My Story of Family, Fame and Becoming a King by Reza Farnhan.  I laughed a lot.  I cried, had some angry moments and I totally enjoyed this … more

Tolsona Quilters had scheduled their twice yearly retreat for April.  But tragedy struck and it almost didn’t happen. The retreat is regularly held at Tolsona Lake Lodge, 10 miles west of … more

The Glennallen High School theatre students presented their spring play, My Cousin Lino , on May 7, 8, and 11 at the GHS auditorium. In this comedy, two siblings, Jonathan (Nicholas Patrick) and … more

Don’t miss Glennallen High School’s spring play, “My Cousin Lino,” May 7, 8, and 11. Two young adult siblings in the 1920s, Katherine and Jonathan Prescott, are relying on their Italian … more

T'aghes lats'iigi, balsam poplar buds, are swelling on sunny hillsides and river bars. Their resinous, amber-colored scales release a sharp, balsamic fragrance that carries on the air. Like, k'ay' (willow), male and female flowers appear on separate trees. The dangling catkins emerge just before or alongside the first leaves. The female catkins have reddish fringe-like pistils that eventually form fruits and release fluffy seeds in late June. Many people and insects collect the resin from t'aghes lats'iigi for its antimicrobial properties. In Ahtna: T'ahes lats'iigi, pronounced taw-wess lots-see-gee, balsam poplar buds, Populus balsamifera more

Folksinger and songwriter Jackson Emmer is headed to the Chilkat Valley this weekend as part of a tour of Alaska communities that starts in Seward on Thursday. He sat down with the Chilkat … more

Sylvia Nelson, an eleventh grader from Kenny Lake School, won first place at the Alaska School Activities Association (ASAA) State competition, for her drawing, "Resilience." more

K'ay', willows, are among the most important flowering plants in early spring. Male and female catkins appear on separate trees before the leaves begin to unfurl. The male catkins are the showier of the two, dense with stamens tipped in bright yellow anthers that release pollen, while the female catkins bear small, forked stigmas ready to receive it. For the first bumblebee queens emerging from hibernation, a willow in flower is a welcome food source, offering both protein-rich pollen and nectar at a time when almost nothing else is blooming. In Ahtna: k'ay', pronounced kie, willow, Salix spp. more

In spring and winter, sometimes I'll see tsa' (beaver) teeth marks on trees. The tsa' makes good use of the snow while it lasts, hauling logs and branches that would be impossible to move over bare ground. T'aghes (balsam poplar or cottonwood) is a favorite target in the Copper River valley. The wide, pale scars of their chiseled incisor marks on trunks are easy to spot in spring, some stumps whittled to a neat point, others simply stripped of bark at browsing height, a record of industrious work that continued all through the cold months. In Ahtna: tsa', pronounced chaw, beaver, Castor canadensis t'aghes, pronounced taw-wess, Balsam poplar, Populus balsamifera more

Have you been wondering what the dipper birds were eating all winter at -40 degrees? I was delighted to see hundreds of these ggux, pronounced "goo", crawling in the snow along our river trail the other day. Less than 1 cm long, these black, winged insects are probably newly emerged adult small winter stoneflies, part of the family Capniidae, and the stonefly order. Snowflies are adapted to cold weather and even hibernate during the summer heat. The adults emerge from the water in late winter and walk around on the snow to mate. Because of their cold tolerance, they are an important food source for many fish and other animals in winter. In Ahtna: ggux, pronounced goo, generic word for bug, insect, or worm. more

Easter is just around the corner, warmer (we hope?) weather is coming, and celebrations will go on through the spring.  With that comes the time for cooking and spending time with family … more