East Anchorage Matters with Rep. Andrew Gray
Alaska State Representative Andrew Gray offers a weekly broadcast aimed at his constituents in the UMED district of Anchorage. The goal is to share important news from the Capitol, but also to offer frank conversations with Alaskans of interest, including many who work in the legislature.
East Anchorage Matters with Rep. Andrew Gray
Former House Rep Ivan Ivan (D-Akiak) on Yupiit language, subsistence, & Politics; Jena Crafton, Chair of Governor's Council on Disabilities & Special Education
Jena Crafton is the chair of the Governors Council on Disabilities and Special Education. She has been a vocal advocate for people with disabilities since she was young as Crafton has developmental disabilities herself. We discuss her childhood including how she learned about her own disabilities and what she most wants the community at large to understand about people with disabilities.
Former Alaska State House Representative Ivan Ivan of Akiak in the YK Delta replaced Lyman Hoffman in the state house when Hoffman was first elected to the state senate. Ivan served for a total of 6 years between 1991 and 1998. In 1996 Mary Peltola (Mary Sattler at the time) ran against him when she was just 24 but lost. She tried again in 1998 and defeated him. We discuss Ivan’s childhood in Akiak living a subsistence lifestyle, his decision as a Democrat to caucus with Republicans, and the importance of preserving the Yupiit language.
