A hearing will take place Monday that could shed more light on whether two men are banished from a community at the heart of Interior Alaska.
The hearing is in connection with this year’s deadly shootings of two Alaska State Troopers in Tanana.
The effort to remove Arvin Kangas is on hold while he remains in jail on charges related to the troopers’ deaths. Kangas is said to have a history of problems in the community, along with William Walsh. Both are believed to have promoted the “Athabascan Nation” to Kangas’ son, which considers Alaska law enforcement to be a violation of Alaska Native sovereignty.
The banishment hearing for Walsh will take place during the week of Sept. 29. Two visiting judges from nearby villages will oversee the proceedings, according to the Tanana Tribal Council. The tribal council could not find enough of its own judges because it’s currently subsistence fishing season.
Meanwhile, Nathanial Kangas remains held without bond in the Fairbanks Correctional Center for allegedly killing Sgt. Scott Johnson and trooper Gabe Rich. He is scheduled to go on trial Oct. 6 in Nenana.