Monday, March 23, 2026

The Iñupiat community of Kaktovik in northern Alaska is known as the polar bear capital of the U.S. Hundreds of tourists used to flock to the village of about 250 people to see bears. But several years ago, the tours were halted because of opposition from residents. The Alaska Desk’s Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA has more on what happened to the tours, and what the tribe is doing to revive them. “There is polar bear ground right there.” Nathan Gordon Jr. is driving his truck on the spit right outside of Kaktovik. He is mayor and leads the town’s polar bear patrol program. Under his back seat, he has a shotgun, and in his console, shotgun rounds and cracker shells. Mayor Nathan Gordon Jr. looks at one of the rounds for deterring bears on March 3, 2026. (Photo: Alena Naiden) Kaktovik sits on Barter Island on the Beaufort Sea coast. In late summer and fall, up to 80 polar bears come on land – a trend that has been increasing as the sea ice diminishes. That brought the need for patrol – and created opportunities for polar bear viewing. “There was booming during the fall time.” But in 2020, the pandemic put a pause on visitation. Then the federal government halted the tours. Gordon says Kaktovik leaders have been working to revive them. “Let’s get this place back to making money, and it’ll be great for everybody.” Ketil Reitan started the company Kaktovik Tours in 2010. By 2019, he and his two children took several hundred tourists a season. “We were able to make a year’s income in about six weeks.” The number of tourists soared from about 50 in 2010 to over 1,000. Tourism grew so quickly, residents were worried it was interfering with subsistence practices. NoraJane Burns says that visitors would book out seats on small flights and limit the amount of freight that was coming in. “Especially when we have elders that go out for medical … and then when they try to come back, the flights would be booked.” NoraJane Burns outside of her home in Kaktovik, Alaska on March 3, 2026. (Photo: Alena Naiden) The COVID-19 pandemic shut down the tours. A year later, the U.S. Department of Interior issued an order to pause commercial polar bear viewing permits. Since then, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been collaborating with the city and village of Kaktovik, as well as Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation. They have been working on a management plan for polar bear viewing. Gordon says that this time around, he wants the community to develop infrastructure for tourists and focus more on educating them. But who will run the tours? Burns is busy with her job at Kaktovik Public Works Department and Reitan sold his boats and moved to Nome, but they both hope the younger generation will take over polar bear tours, if and when they are back. (Courtesy Maȟpíya Lúta) A South Dakota high schooler is receiving one of the nation’s highest honors for citizens by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. SDPB’s Jackson Dircks reports. Cody Two Bulls (Oglala Sioux) came up with an idea four years ago at baseball practice. His teammates told him they did not have backpacks and school supplies. Two Bulls began trying to find donations to help his teammates, but soon realized there were a lot of people needing the resources. “I started like, ‘What if instead of helping out just specifically my teammates or my family, what if I did it for everyone?’ So then, like a flower it started blossoming. And then new people started reaching out to me, and I put it out there on the internet. Next thing you know, I’m getting like a bunch of donations to help as much as I can on the reservation.” That idea has led to thousands of meals, backpacks, holiday gifts, and essential items reaching kids and families in need on the Pine Ridge Reservtion. Two Bulls created what is called Baseball and Backpacks. People donate items on Walmart and Amazon shopping lists, and those get sent to Two Bulls’ house. He gathers the items, things like notebooks and toiletries, into backpacks for students. The giveaway is done at a baseball field, where simultaneously Two Bulls holds a baseball clinic that teaches kids the fundamentals of the sport. There are four of these different drives, though some look different, like a Christmas toy drive and Easter drive. He does this on top of being a multisport athlete at Maȟpíya Lúta. Two Bulls is one of five individuals named a 2026 Citizen Honors Award recipient. He’s receiving the Service Act Award – which honors Americans who “consistently place others before themselves through a focused initiative of volunteer service.” Two Bulls calls it humbling and honoring to be recognized. “The fact that I’m just a smalltown kid from South Dakota, it’s mindblowing. It’s crazy to me how just by helping others, I was able to get recognized for that,” Two Bulls said. “So, even today for example, when I started telling all my teachers and we shared it to school, it’s a whole new feeling. It’s like, ‘Wow!’” Two Bulls will be honored March 25 in Washington D.C.   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 Monday, March 23, 2026 – Stakes are high in the Line 5 oil pipeline legal fight