The Tundra Drums - CAUYAT - "The Beat of the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta"

The 2011 Japanese tsunami isn’t over. Not by a long shot. The dramatic events we witnessed in March 2011 didn’t end when the waters receded. In fact, when the Tsunami washed ashore in Japan, it...

Alaskans dodged the bullet of moving revenues from our treasury to the bonus checks of Big Oil’s lawyers and lobbyists this year, but you had better believe they will be back. The Alaska Oil and...

I was sitting in my favorite greasy spoon the other day between a couple of old-timers I know who were complaining about the phrase “War on Women.” They had seen a story on Fox News about the Apri...

The real history of education in Alaska began with the Organic Act of 1884 which directed the Secretary of the Interior to provide for education of children in Alaska without regard to race. This...

A few of years ago, I read an article in “Newsweek” that I thought interesting. The Centers for Disease Control had been noticing a rise in cases of Hepatitis C among middle-aged Americans....

After 244 years, the Encyclopedia Britannica will cease publication. When I learned this, I decided to scrap my draft column for this paper and write a remembrance of what had become the gold standard...

The Owner State and Governor Parnell’s oil tax roll-back Note: This article jointly appears in the February 2012 Alaskans United newsletter On Feb. 9, the “Moore Up North” television program hos...

Ring the Bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack in everything That’s how the light gets in — Leonard Cohen, “Anthem” Alaskans seem frozen in place. After a...

One of the terms we often hear lately is “agenda.” This politician has an “agenda” or that group has an “agenda.” Mostly we mere mortals are left to speculate what an “agenda” might be...

No sooner will Alaskans get the New Year’s party confetti swept up, then we will have to turn our attention to Juneau and the start of the legislative session. And just like the swallows return to...

The holiday season always reminds me of my mother who passed away before my children were born which remains one of the great regrets of my life. Our mother was a short, sturdy Ojibwa woman from Lac...

Governor Parnell must abandon his plan to cut oil revenues and give as much as $2 billion a year back to the oil companies. The failure by the so-called Congressional Super Committee to produce an...

The recent “epic storm” that ripped through Northwestern Alaska underscored many things. The strength and resilience of coastal communities was demonstrated as well as the relentless power of...

One of my earliest memories involves snow; more precisely, me falling out of a window of our house and landing into a bank of snow. I was a little over three. My folks had guests over. I was supposed...

Søren Kierkegaard and Jonas Salk; one was a man of faith, the other was a man of science. Both cared deeply about the relationship of the individual to society. Both influenced my intellectual...

Halloween is an excellent time to consider our children since so much about the holiday involves them. Things that frightened and amused us as children somehow manage to have currency with today’s...

Waqaa, Aang, laXüshuh and hello. I began attending AFN conventions in the 1970s. It is the week when Alaska comes alive for so many. And truthfully, despite the arduous planning and the hard work...

Humans are creatures of Nature. The same force that creates the salt marsh and the arctic biome also creates us. Call it ‘God’ if you wish, but the rendering forces of water and earth that gave...

“The education and empowerment of women throughout the world cannot fail to result in a more caring, tolerant, just and peaceful life for all.” ­­—Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace Prize...

“Sweet are the uses of adversity; “Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, “Wears yet a precious Jewel in his head: “And this our life exempt from public haunt “Finds tongues in trees,...

Tuesday’s announcement that the State of Alaska will distribute $1,174 in individual dividends to every man, woman and child in Alaska is a good time to reflect on where that dividend comes from...

Alaskans may find themselves growing their houses in the future. Yep, with advances in nanotechnology—that is the science of super-small devices (“nano” refers to 10 to the -9th meter, cell...

That great philosopher, Wayne Gretzky, once said of hockey: “The game isn’t played where the puck IS; it’s played where the puck is GOING to be…” This seems to be a fair statement for all...

Waqaa, Aang, laXiishuh and Hello. My name is Elstun W. Lauesen and I will be writing a weekly column about rural Alaska with emphasis on community and economic development. I promise you that my...