Indigenous Peoples Day is on Monday. It was created as a state holiday through legislation signed into law in 2017 by former Governor Walker in a ceremony held during Utqiaġvik’s annual Nalukataq whaling festival. It replaces Columbus Day, and it is a small step toward atonement for the colonialism of our American and Alaskan history. On this Indigenous Peoples Day, …
Just Transition is growing the future of sustainable practices
Folks may have heard about Just Transition in the news, but what is it exactly?
Leg With Louie: Building Alaska Better – April 2
After the intellectual, moral, racial, political, and physical trauma of 2020, this year is starting to look OK, like a new day and not a false dawn. The monumental federal investments proposed by the Biden-Harris Administration in Pittsburgh on Wednesday are smart and just and envision a modern America we might be OK sending our kids off into. The Thrive …
Our economy won’t recover without child care reform
Economy means management of home. But the short-sighted efforts to “reopen the economy” reveal a fundamental misunderstanding of what a whole, healthy and functioning economy looks like, and a complete disregard for the foundation of home: our families. Our economic production is dependent upon child care, yet our economic model has neglected to put our home and families at the …
Just Transition Summit hopes to share ideas about moving away from single resource economies
A summit next month in Fairbanks hopes to build collaboration and strategies that address the challenges of relying on oil-and-gas development. Organizers hope that the Just Transition Summit – January 8-10, 2020 – provides a space for “Indigenous and non-Indigenous collaboration to build critical thinking around economic and social transition.” “Just Transition is an exciting concept … about building a …
We can’t go back to ‘normal’
We find ourselves in a major transition, a time the like of which most of us have never known. The uncertainty of this moment has filled us with varying levels of fear and anxiety. Collectively we are facing a pandemic, a collapsing stock market, dropping oil prices and the continuing impacts of increasing climate change. Every one of us has …
A First Step in Building a Healthy Economy for all: Alaska’s First Just Transition Summit
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 13, 2020 FAIRBANKS, AK: January 8-10. Local community organizations Native Movement, Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition (FCAC), Native Peoples Action, Gwich’in Steering Committee, The Alaska Center, Alaska Public Interest Research Group (AKPIRG) and Alaska Community Action on Toxics came together to create an open space for community dialogue and planning. Over the past 30 years, Alaska has …