The Molly Hootch case, which ultimately dismantled a discriminatory education system for rural Alaska Native students, was first filed in Anchorage on August 1, 1972.
Want to see the flight paths of migrating swans as they come and go from Alaska? Or the seasonal meanderings of Pacific walruses in the Chukchi Sea? Now you can via USGS’ new Tagged Animal Movement Explorer (TAME). The online tool animates the migratory routes of hundreds of marine mammals, seabirds, and others that are carrying satellite transmitters.
The Alaska Baseball League is celebrating its 50th year. The league’s five teams, all from the Anchorage and Kenai Peninsula areas, play an annual season that begins in June and wraps up with a post-season “Top of the World” tournament in early August. The collegiate league uses equipment that meets Minor League specifications, and its players are unpaid so they can maintain NCAA eligibility.
Happenings Around Alaska in July and August
If you or your loved-ones take an Alaskan adventure this summer – big or small – consider bringing along these phone numbers.
Above: The Dakhká Khwaán Dancers. Photo courtesy Simon Ager The Dakhká Khwáan Dancers from Whitehorse, Yukon, are the lead dance group at this month’s Celebration in Juneau, the region’s largest Alaska Native gathering. It’s the first time in the event’s 42-year history that the lead dancers hail from outside of southeast Alaska. “We are the first Interior Tlingit group to be given the honor,” says Marilyn Jensen-Yadułtin, the founder and leader of the group since 2007. “We are very humbled, honored, and excited.” As lead dancers, they will sing and drum as dozens of groups file onstage during Celebration’s opening and closing events. Jensen-Yadułtin says it takes “tremendous endurance,” as each performance requires three hours of non-stop singing and dancing. The group has practiced for months and will debut new regalia, songs, and masks. First formed in Carcross, Yukon, the Dakhká Khwáan Dancers have grown from six to 30 members…
Not everyone likes eulachon, so loaded with oils they are nicknamed candlefish, but this Alaskan family does, and they load up every spring.
Fisheries experts are concerned about invasive European green crabs spreading in Alaska, especially during this year’s El Nino climate pattern. Research shows the crabs can expand their range during El Nino years, which often bring warmer Pacific Northwest ocean temperatures.
From May 10-12, Valdez welcomes pilots and their planes to celebrate aviation culture. The annual event features ven- dors, seminars, an air show, and a short-distance take-off/ landing competition. This comes on the tail of the May 4-5 Great Alaska Aviation Gathering in Palmer, the state’s largest aviation meet-up. valdezflyin.com.
A skier pulls a backflip into a pond at the Alyeska Slush Cup. Courtesy Ralph Kristopher, Alyeska Resort SALMON CULTURE EXHIBITION Celebrates connections between salmon and Alaska Native peoples and honors salmon as a resource that has nourished communities physically and spiritually for thousands of years. At the Anchorage Museum through September 2024. Visit: anchoragemuseum.org/exhibits/salmon-culture. ALASKA HUMMINGBIRD FESTIVAL Annual event begins April 5 with a juried art show and reception at the Southeast Discovery Center in Ketchikan. Exhibits, bird walks, talks, and more continue through April 27 to welcome the annual return of rufous hummingbirds. Contact Tongass National Forest: 907-228-6220. ALYESKA SPRING CARNIVAL April 19-21 at the Alyeska Ski Resort in Girdwood. Food trucks, live music, a costume contest, a tug-of-war into a frigid pond, and the always popular slush cup ski competition, where costumed skiers launch over a jump and attempt to ski across a pond. Visit: alyeskaresort.com. NATIVE…