In Alaska, the second Monday of October is designated to recognize the state’s Indigenous people and their cultures. The Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage was one of several sites around the state that hosted events to commemorate the day.
APU’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebration combined festivities, food and education. There were dances, demonstrations of traditional Native sports, a buffet featuring salmon and reindeer stews, and educational booths hosted by artists and activists.
Phillip Blanchett, the musician and artist who emceed the event, took time to speak about the flood and storm damages in Western Alaska’s Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, his home region.
He asked the audience to think about the people who were missing or otherwise suffering from the remnants of Typhoon Halong, which lashed the region and caused record flooding and hurricane-force winds.
Blanchett, who is Yup’ik, was in his hometown of Bethel over the weekend. His band, Pamyua, played a benefit concert for the local public media station, KYUK, on Saturday night, just before the storm hit. He saw the water rising just before he was able to fly to Anchorage, he said.
Local people prepared the best they could, but it’s difficult to combat such a powerful natural disaster, he said. “In the Bush, everybody knows when a storm’s coming and what to do,” he said. However, “this storm was not a normal storm.”
Other speakers at the event, including APU President Janelle Vanasse, also expressed concerns about Western Alaska storm victims.
Alaska, which has the nation’s highest percentageof Indigenous residents, became one of the first states to officially recognize Indigenous People’s Day when then-Gov. Bill Walker signed a proclamation in 2015.
While state offices were not closed in observance, Anchorage municipal offices were, thanks to a 2023 ordinance making Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Juneteenth official holidays.
Among the other sites holding Indigenous Peoples’ Day events was the University of Alaska Fairbanks.