In this issue, our feature highlights a Makah artist who preserves the stories of his ancestors and their reciprocal relationship to whales. We also follow two female botanists as they raft down the Grand Canyon in an attempt to make the first recorded, botanical survey of the region. Elsewhere, a FEMA contractor’s incompetence in translating Alaska Native languages shows systemic problems. In a Colorado coal town, the discovery of a 74 million-year-old fossil brings a new kind of tourism. A team of epidemiologists in Washington prepares for climate change. In Wyoming, off-rez hunting is under scrutiny. Is the Behren’s silverspot butterfly valuable enough to save? Climate change refugia can shelter wildlife if the planet doesn’t warm too much. And finally, we check in with Debra Magpie Earling on her new novel, learn about the importance of good ice for hunting in coastal Alaska and think on the meaning of ‘new animism.’
Hannah Rosie
Mike Avella Jr. remembers petitioning alongside his father – the state government veteran Michael Avella – when he was only 10 years old. The father and son duo still work together, now at Dickinson & Avella, a strategic governmental relations firm focusing on the state Capitol. As a government affairs associate, Avella Jr. represents the interests of a multitude of clients ranging from large corporations to advocacy coalitions.
“We represent so many different people,” the younger Avella says. “I don t think there s a sector that we don t touch. One minute I could be working on technology, the next one on voting rights, then criminal justice reform, and then helping out the Mets safely reopen.”
After seeing the historic underrepresentation of minority students in student government, several student organizations were created to support and promote minority students running for Student Senate.
La Familia and RepresentAsian were created to increase the representation of minorities in student leadership positions on Texas A&Mâs campus by giving them a network and platform to increase their chances of success. They hope to ensure A&Mâs Student Senate accurately represents the universityâs growing diversity in order to advocate for university policies that benefit the entire student body.
External Affairs Associate for La Familia Alexia Hernandez said the purpose of the La Familia initiative under the Hispanic Presidentsâ Council is to increase the representation of Hispanic and Latinx senators in A&Mâs Student Senate through coordinated campaigning.