Friday, May 22, 2026

Photo: Alex Osif is a former coal miner who worked at the Kayenta and Black Mesa mines. (Chris Clements / KNAU) A congressional watchdog office found some miners with black lung disease face barriers in getting federal payments for their disabilities. As KNAU’s Chris Clements reports, that rings true to a former coal miner and advocate on the Navajo Nation. Alex Osif (Navajo, Hopi, and Pima) was a coal miner at the Black Mesa and Kayenta mines. He says the coal companies that are on the hook for paying miners’ benefits can slow the process down by not providing employment histories. “That’s the kinda complications I’m having, proving that the miner did work at a mine for so many years.” The lengthy process of applying for benefits is one issue identified by the US. Government Accountability Office in a new report. It also found many coal miners have trouble using the health benefits they are entitled to, like when they need money for transportation to doctors’ appointments. “The program needs to view these operators and continue to make sure that they stand up to their promise to the miner.” To help with that issue, the report says the feds need to keep track of the medical coverage coal companies give disabled miners. Tracy Day has been missing since February 14, 2019. (Courtesy Juneau Police Department) The daughter of missing Juneau, Alaska woman Tracy Day wants people to know who her mother was beyond an MMIW rallying cry. It has been seven years since Day disappeared, and the family is still searching for answers. KTOO’s Yvonne Krumrey has more. Kaelyn Schnieder says her mom was always finding new adventures for the family to go on. The house she grew up in in Sitka, Alaska was spotless and Day was taking night classes to be a nurse. Her struggles with mental health came later. “But I feel like, when she went missing, everybody was like, ‘Oh, she’s living in St Vincent. And like, she’s a mentally ill addict.’ It was just not the way I wanted people to see her, because my mom was a wonderful parent, and she wasn’t always sick.” Schneider says when she was a young child, she was the victim of child sex abuse by her friend’s father. After Day found out what had happened, she blamed herself for trusting the family. Schneider believes it triggered Day’s mental health issues. “It changed her brain chemistry, you know. So that’s, like, the best way I could explain it.” Schneider thinks that changed the trajectory of her mother’s life. Day struggled with mental illness and substance abuse, but Schneider wants people to know her mom the way she remembers her, as a dignified, even glamorous woman. “She was kind of like a diva. Like back in the day, she always had her hair done, lipstick done, nails, everything. She was always dressed so beautifully.” She was also a devoted parent and she was fun. “When she wasn’t at work, we were never bored. We would go ride our bike and we would get curly fries with cheese and milkshakes, and then we would go to the duck pond and feed the ducks. And, like, she was a good, like, playful parent.” Schneider says that even through Dayʼs later mental health crises, she always stuck around and checked in with her family. “She would not take off. She’s the opposite. She’s like, the parent that annoys you, because they’re showing up so much.” Schneider’s son was born after Day went missing. He is five years old now and she is finding herself having to explain the absence. “My son, he’s at that age where he’s starting to question, like, ‘what happened to grandma?’ And like, ‘Why is she not in your life?’ And you know, like, he always asks — it’s so horrible — He always asks, like, ‘Are you gonna disappear?’ And like, as a mom, that is just horrible. You know that knowing that my son, like, has that thought in his head, because he knows it’s a possibility.” So Schneider says, for him and for her newborn son, she will keep looking for the truth of what happened to her mom. “I really want to keep searching and talking about her case, not only for me, but also for my sons. I want them to know that people are still interested and care.”   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today. Download our NV1 Android or iOs App for breaking news alerts. Check out today’s Native America Calling episode Friday, May 22, 2026 — A conversation with Native wellness advocates Chelsea Luger and Thosh Collins