Tag: Alaska Native

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	Feb. 11, 2026
Contact: Hannah Bissett	Hannahbissett41@gmail.com
(907) 521-4330	https://alaskanativemedia.org/radio-show/

New NATIVE Voices podcast/radio show launches

Conversations on culture, community, and issues shaping Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — On Feb. 16, Alaska Native Media Group (ANMG) and partner Alaska Teen Media Institute will release four one-hour radio/podcast episodes free to public radio and other stations, as well as online. Stations may broadcast and rebroadcast the episodes in any order and at any time that best fits their schedules. Listeners can find the podcasts at alaskanativemedia.org/radio-show/.

NATIVE Voices features Alaska Native community leaders in conversation about lived experiences and issues that are often misrepresented or left unanswered in public discourse, including subsistence, tribal sovereignty, and Native corporations.

The first four episodes are hosted by Hannah Bissett (Dena’ina Athabascan) and produced by longtime Alaska reporters Joaqlin Estus (Tlingit) and Rhonda McBride. The Alaska Teen Media Institute recorded and edited all the episodes.

Episode titles (full descriptions below):

• Episode 1 – ABCs of Native organizations
• Episode 2 – Tribal Sovereignty in Alaska
• Episode 3 – The Soul of Subsistence, part one, from the Uncle’s perspective
• Episode 4 – The Soul of Subsistence, part two, from the Auntie’s perspective

Bissett is a four-time Alaska Broadcasters Association Goldie Award winner and a graduate student in public policy at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Estus and McBride produced two episodes apiece and were inducted into the Alaska Women’s Hall of Fame for their work in journalism. McBride is a news producer at KNBA, and Estus is a retired ICT (Indian Country Today) and public radio reporter. Bissett and Estus also serve on the Alaska Native Media Group board.

The effort has been led by Irene Rowan (Tlingit), a longtime advocate for ANCSA and a founding member of ANMG, who said, “I’m so happy that we did this. It’s been a dream of mine for years.” She worked closely with Hallie Bissett (Dena’ina Athabascan), a former CIRI board member, owner of HB Strategies, and chair of the NATIVE Voices advisory group. Produced on Dena’ina land in Anchorage, NATIVE Voices grew out of discussions by that group, which represents the major Native cultures of Alaska. The project was funded in 2025.

For its first four episodes, NATIVE Voices was funded by a grant from The CIRI Foundation. ANMG is now seeking additional funding and partnerships to continue production on new topics and episodes.

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Alaska Native Media Group’s purpose is to promote and advance Alaska Natives in the media. It offers a number of ways to get involved, including attending a meeting or an event, becoming a member, making a donation or joining our email group. Visit https://alaskanativemedia.org/membership/ to become a member.

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Program descriptions

Episode 1  — ABCs of Native Organizations (59:00)

• Focus: How Alaska Native corporations, tribes, and nonprofits shape daily life and relationships in our communities. 
• Guests: Nicole Borromeo (Upper Kuskokwim Athabascan), president, ANCSA Regional Association; Gerad Godfrey (Alutiiq), president, 3G Strategies; and Michelle Demmert, J.D. (Tlingit), assistant professor, University of Alaska Fairbanks.
• Cultural through-line: Governance and membership decisions (who belongs, how we share, and how we relate across families and communities) are cultural acts. The episode explores how Alaska’s unique non-reservation framework carries forward cultural priorities—education, Elders’ care, and community well-being—through Native-led institutions.

Episode 2 — Tribal Sovereignty in Alaska (59:00)

• Focus: Tribal sovereignty and the context for the Chin’an Gaming Hall in Chugiak. 
• Guests: Aaron Leggett (Dena’ina Athabascan), president, Native Village of Eklutna; and Harriet Brouillette (Tlingit), tribal administrator, Chilkoot Indian Association. 
• Cultural through-line: Sovereignty is lived culture—expressed through stewardship of land and water, responsibilities to people and place, and decision-making reflecting community values. Discussion includes the role of Native allotments and how development choices are guided by cultural responsibilities and protocols.

Episode 3 — The Soul of Subsistence, Part One: Uncle’s perspective (58:30)

• Focus: Subsistence expresses fundamental Alaska Native values including spirituality, community, generosity, respect, and love. 
• Guests: Roy Ashenfelter (Iñupiaq), longtime subsistence hunter-fisher and 2022 winner of the Alaska Federation of Natives Katie John Hunter-Fisher Award, Bering Straits Native Corporation board member; and Aassanaaq (Ossie) Kairaiuak (Yup’ik), artist, storyteller, composer and musician with the “Inuit soul music” group Pamyua. 
• Cultural through-line: While the word subsistence carries the connotation of people eking out a bare living off the land, the Native practice in Alaska nourishes the spirituality of Alaska Native people. Guests describe what it takes to be a respected subsistence provider: someone who is humble, respectful, generous, and highly skilled.

Episode 4  — The Soul of Subsistence, Part Two: Auntie’s perspective (58:30)

• Focus: Subsistence is so much more than food on the table, as it fosters health, well-being, and strengthens traditional values. 
• Guests: Anna Sattler (Yup’ik), former community liaison, Alaska Village Electric Cooperative, current host of TV coverage of AFN convention, producer of a cooking show about Native subsistence foods, “Anna’s Alaska: Off the Eaten Path”; Maija Katak Lukin (Iñupiaq), former Native relations program manager for the National Park Service’s Alaska region, past mayor of Kotzebue; and Donna Sauraq Erickson (Iñupiaq), Unalakleet manager for Bering Air, cultural leader, and artist. 
• Cultural through-line: Guests describe the knowledge and skill it takes to produce food, art and clothing drawn from nature, as well as the joy, sense of belonging, and feeling of plenty that comes with sharing food with extended family and community members.

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