I live and write on Lingít Aaní, and gratefully acknowledge the past, present and future caretakers of this beautiful place, the Jilkaat Kwaan and Jilkoot Kwaan.

So this morning Chip is reading all the news on the President’s visit to Alaska. “He’s having a blast,” Chip said. Then he said, in a tone any Alaskan will recognize, especially on a sunny September morning like this: “He’s going to get back to Washington and say ‘screw this, I’m heading back to Alaska.’ ”