Posted by Eric Stone | Dec 22, 2020
Totem poles stand outside Ketchikan Indian Community’s clinic and office building at 2960 Tongass Avenue. (KRBD file photo)
Tribal leaders in Ketchikan say they have “no confidence” in the school district’s top administrator. Ketchikan’s superintendent of schools is facing allegations she’s mistreated Alaska Native faculty.
A letter to Ketchikan’s school board from all but one elected member of the Ketchikan Indian Community Tribal Council stops short of calling for Ketchikan Superintendent Beth Lougee to be fired.
But the letter’s message is clear: “trust has been severed” between her and Ketchikan’s Alaska Native community. The tribal council says it’s aware of “numerous instances” of disrespect towards Alaska Native staff and parents — and wants things to change.