Wednesday, May 27, 2026

Photo: Kim Etsitty aboard the 223-footlong research vessel, Nautilus, in 2024. (Ocean Exploration Trust) This summer, a Navajo high school teacher will sail the high seas on back-to-back research expeditions around the globe. KJZZ’s Gabriel Pietrorazio has details. Born in Chinle, Ariz., Kim Etsitty spends much of her year teaching science at Navajo Pine High School in New Mexico. That is, until summer recess, but Etsitty won’t be taking a break this year. “I’ll just be tired.” Because, starting in June, Etsitty will hop aboard the research vessel, Nautilus, with the nonprofit Ocean Exploration Trust. She will livestream her journey mapping the seafloor from Hawaii to Guam. Then in July, Etsitty is heading toward the Arctic with National Geographic where she will explore polar caps. Despite being at sea only a handful of times, Etsitty shares why the Diné have ties to it. “A lot of times we wear these jewelry, coral or abalone shell, and we don’t really talk about where it came from, so I was able to like tie in a lot of stories about why Navajo people wear coral and this ancient ocean that once was here, but now it’s dry land.” And she’ll set foot on Navajoland again – before the new school year begins. Iḷisaġvik College’s current campus on the northern side of Utqiaġvik, Alaska. (Photo: Ravenna Koenig / Alaska’s Energy Desk) A tribal college on the North Slope bought a piece of land last month to build a new campus. College officials announced the purchase last week. The Alaska Desk’s Alena Naiden from our flagship station KNBA has more. Iḷisaġvik College has been planning a new campus for nearly ten years. This month, the officials announced a land purchase to build it on. Justina Wilhelm is the college’s president. She says the campus will sit on a 15-acre site in Utqiaġvik, Alaska near the hospital. “So this has been a long standing vision for the college, and … I’m very very excited that we have this prime location that will be a central gathering place for our people.” Illisagvik is Alaska’s only tribal college. It offers hands-on educational programs in such areas as Iñupiaq studies, allied health, construction and education. And it serves about a thousand students, in person in Utqiagvik, and remotely on the North Slope and across the state. Right now, those programs are housed in buildings that were never meant to be a college. Wilhelm says the main building is a 70-year-old naval base two and a half miles out of town. Overall, the programs are spread out between 13 different facilities. “So we’re very excited to have this new campus to be under one roof, to all be together.” Last month, the college bought a piece of land for the new campus from Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation, the Alaska Native Village Corporation for Utqiaġvik. Wilhelm says the next step is completing environmental assessments and updating the design approved in 2018. The construction will start with administrative offices, family housing and workforce development garages. Down the road, the plan is to have more housing and a big wellness gym, she says. Wilhelm says the new campus is designed to include open spaces that inspire conversations and collaboration. One vision is a glass wall between the main entrance and cafeteria, overlooking the construction trades and community outreach classrooms. Wilhelm said the idea is that students at lunch can also observe some of the cultural and workforce programs available at the college. “As a tribal college with our language values and traditions, it’s so vital that we’re here to provide the spaces and provide the classes to allow for our traditions to carry on. … I’m very excited that when people come there, they’re going to want to be a part of there. I hope they don’t want to leave.” College officials did not share the exact timeline for the construction. They said work is ongoing to secure funding for the next steps. The college also recently opened a new campus in St. Paul, Alaska.   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 Wednesday, May 27, 2026 — Oil drilling vs cultural preservation at Chaco Canyon