Hardware

Juneau health vending machine blends lifesaving, cultural care

Image: Adobe stock

July 23, 2026

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The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska has opened a vending machine offering free health and healing supplies in downtown Juneau, according to a KTOO News report.

Located at the tribe's Edward K. Thomas Building, the machine is available from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and has been operating for about a month.

The machine stocks overdose-reversal kits, HIV tests, condoms and drug-disposal supplies. It also offers culturally significant wellness products, including Hudson Bay tea, also known as Labrador tea, harvested by tribal citizens. Organizers said familiar cultural practices can strengthen identity and help people cope with trauma.

The tribe also plans to add beading kits, giving users an opportunity to make traditional art and practice mindfulness. The project was developed with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, which helped open a similar machine in Ketchikan and is working with the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium on another location in Juneau's Mendenhall Valley.