Articles written by Riley Rogerson
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Rep. Peltola's husband dies in plane crash in Southwest Alaska
Alaska U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola’s husband, Eugene “Buzzy” Peltola Jr., died after a plane he was flying crashed Sept. 12 in Southwest Alaska. Peltola, 57, was the former regional director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs for Alaska, serving from...
Ketchikan business owner sentenced to 2 years for selling fake Native art
A Washington state resident was sentenced last week to two years in federal prison for selling fake Alaska Native artwork in Ketchikan. Cristobal “Cris” Magno Rodrigo, 59, pleaded guilty in April to one federal count of conspiracy and another...
Alaska's congressional delegation tries again with 'landless' legislation
WASHINGTON — More than 50 years after the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act passed Congress, proposed legislation again seeks to resolve claims with so-called “landless” Alaska Natives from five Southeast Alaska communities that were left...
Navy will name ship after late Metlakatla veteran Sol Atkinson
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy is naming a ship after decorated Alaska Native veteran Solomon “Sol” Atkinson, of Metlakatla. Atkinson, who died in 2019, was one of the first Navy SEALs. He was deployed to Korea and completed three tours in...
Murkowski says of Trump indictment: Former president 'played a key role' in riot
After Donald Trump was indicted on four criminal charges, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski said the former president “played a key role in instigating” the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Murkowski is an outspoken Trump critic and was one of...
U.S. Senate committee advances bill to investigate history of Indian boarding schools
WASHINGTON — The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs has advanced a bill to establish a federal “truth and healing” commission to examine Indian boarding school policies. The bill is part of an effort to reckon with the United States’ history...
Alaska senators among those urging museums to return Indigenous remains
WASHINGTON — Alaska Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan were among a bipartisan group of 13 senators who jointly signed letters to five U.S. museums and universities, urging them to repatriate Indigenous remains in their collections. The letters...
Tlingit totem pole dedicated in Murkowski's D.C. office
WASHINGTON - Tlingit leaders dedicated a storied totem pole in Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski's office on Feb. 28. The 10-foot tall, 900-pound totem pole, which is on loan from the Sealaska Heritage Insti...
Murkowski testifies in support of Equal Rights Amendment for women
WASHINGTON — Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski testified in support of the Equal Rights Amendment at a Senate hearing this week, opposite a fellow Republican senator who opposes it. The Equal Rights Amendment, which was proposed in Congress in...
Peltola says Congress wastes time bickering rather than solving problems
WASHINGTON — Alaska Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola has lamented “partisan bickering” on Capitol Hill during the first weeks of the new Congress. “One of the things that has not necessarily surprised me but disappointed me is how little actual...
Federal spending bill includes multiple provisions for Alaska
WASHINGTON — The $1.7 trillion federal spending package includes hundreds of millions of dollars in appropriations for projects specific to Alaska and enacts legislation that will directly affect the state. “There is literally no part of our stat...
Villages will receive $50 million in federal aid toward relocation
WASHINGTON — Two Alaska Native villages will receive $25 million each from the federal government to help fund their ongoing efforts to relocate to safer ground. The funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law will go to Newtok and Napakiak in...
Alaska among top recipients of federal infrastructure spending
WASHINGTON — A year after Congress passed the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, Alaska has been allotted over $2.6 billion, making the state one of the top recipients per capita in the country. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs...
Alaska Native veterans attend dedication of new memorial in Washington
WASHINGTON — William Smith, of Valdez, an Alaska Native veteran who served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, joined hundreds of veterans from around the country in Washington, D.C., last Friday to attend the dedication ceremony for the...
Interior Department removes derogatory name from 26 places in Alaska
Twenty-six places in Alaska received a new name Sept. 8 as part of the Interior Department’s initiative to remove a derogatory word for Indigenous women — a change that affects more than 650 sites and geographic features across the country. Of...
Murkowski part of bipartisan group in support of abortion access
WASHINGTON — Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski on Aug. 1 joined a bipartisan coalition to introduce a bill that would protect abortion and contraception access. The measure faces an uncertain future in a Senate that failed to pass a broader measure...
