Jill Fratis, Interim Host
Jill Fratis (Unangax̂ from St. Paul Island) is the interim host of National Native News and a reporter with KNBA in Anchorage, Alaska. She has spent the past several years covering stories across Alaska and Indigenous communities nationwide, with a focus on issues impacting Tribal Nations, including public safety, culture, and community resilience.
Fratis has contributed to both National Native News and Native America Calling, and has been recognized with multiple awards from the Indigenous Journalists Association, the Alaska Press Club, and the Alaska Broadcasters Association. Her work reflects a deep commitment to accurate, compassionate storytelling and amplifying Indigenous voices.
Originally from Alaska, Fratis is passionate about telling stories that inform, connect, and uplift communities across Indian Country.
Art Hughes, executive producer, is a veteran radio and multimedia journalist with extensive experience in public and community-based organizations as well as commercial media. Before joining Koahnic Broadcast Corporation in 2015, he worked as a web editor, maintaining the online presence and social media strategy for three Minneapolis-based publications at Dolan Media. Before that, Art was news director for an online and radio startup venture, BringMeTheNews.com. During his tenure the number of employees more than tripled and the online and on air reach grew exponentially at a time when many news organizations were contracting. For more than a dozen years, Art worked as a reporter and producer at Minnesota Public Radio covering everything from city meetings to natural disasters to immigrant communities.
