ENGAGED PUBLIC – Sitkans fill the Assembly meeting room at Harrigan Centennial Hall Tuesday night for a meeting that included adopting a memorandum of understanding with the Friends of the Animal Shelter group. Phil Burdick, Sitka School Board president, foreground, chews on a pen as he types on his laptop during the meeting. The Assembly passed a resolution 6-0 to be sent to the Legislature in support of a bill sponsored by Sitka’s Rep. Rebecca Himschoot increasing funding for education through a raise in the Base Student Allocation. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
By SHANNON HAUGLAND Sentinel Staff Writer The Assembly unanimously approved a memorandum of [ ... ]
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T’ai Chi ChihSet Saturday T’ai Chi Chih Practice will be held 10 a.m. Saturday, March 1, at [ ... ]
By GARLAND KENNEDY Sentinel Staff Writer The president’s nationwide project to thin the ranks of [ ... ]
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Daily Sitka Sentinel
Capt. Cook Statue Faces Comedown in Anchorage
ANCHORAGE (AP) — Some Alaska residents have questioned whether a statue of a British explorer in downtown Anchorage should be removed as monuments to historical figures are being dismantled across the country.
The statue is of Captain James Cook, who came to Alaska in 1778 in what is now known as Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet while searching for the Northwest Passage as an explorer for the British government, the Anchorage Daily News reported.
Cook and his crew were the first Europeans to set foot in the region and were credited with discovering land that was already inhabited by Indigenous people.
The statue located at downtown’s Resolution Park was a gift from oil company British Petroleum to the city as part of the American Bicentennial Celebration in 1976 and is a replica of one in Anchorage’s sister city of Whitby, England.
Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz said Wednesday that he would like to modify the monument, agreeing with the Anchorage Sister Cities Commission, which suggested engaging with the community to decide how to modify the monument to also reflect the history of Alaska Natives.
“The Commission recognizes that the statue alone excludes the history of the indigenous people in what is now Anchorage,” the commission said in a letter Monday. “Rather than remove the statue, the Commission feels this situation can be instrumental as an opportunity to support a positive dialogue between us and our Sister City Whitby, as well as continued conversation and education among Anchorage’s diverse population.”
Some residents have continued to call for the statue’s removal, saying it may not be securely attached to its base. Others have asked Berkowitz and Police Chief Justin Doll to guard the statue to protect it from being demolished.
“To me, taking down the statue is a missed opportunity. In an ideal world, the statue would have never gone up,” said Aaron Leggett, Native Village of Eklutna president, Anchorage Museum curator and commission member. “We want to see more information there, we want to be acknowledged there, but we don’t necessarily want to see the statue taken down.”
He added: “Taking down the statue won’t change the name of the hotel across the street, or the Cook Inlet.”
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20 YEARS AGO
February 2005
The Assembly Tuesday voted to send out a request for proposal for construction of a deepwater dock at Sawmill Cove Industrial Park. “This is a private dock, to be funded with private dollars,” explained Bob Loiselle, a member of the Sawmill Cove Industrial Park board of directors. “This is not something the city has to fund.”
50 YEARS AGO
February 1975
Mrs. Joyce Haavig has been named chairman of the 1975 Heart Fund Drive. ... Mrs. Haavig, wife of Superintendent of Schools Neland Haavig, will be assisted by Mrs. Marian Harang.
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