LUTHERAN QUILTERS – Members of the Quilts for Comfort Group stand between pews draped with some of the 205 quilts they made, in the Sitka Lutheran Church Tuesday. The group made the quilts for five local non-profits and one in Anchorage. The remaining quilts are sent to Lutheran World Relief which distributes them to places around the world in need, such as Ukraine, as part of Personal Care Kits. Pictured are, from left, Helen Cunningham, Kathleen Brandt,Vicki Swanson, Paulla Hardy, Kim Hunter, Linda Swanson and Sue Fleming. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
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Daily Sitka Sentinel
Native History, Culture Themes for Conference
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The “Sharing Our Knowledge” conference of Tlingit tribes and clans opens Friday with hundreds from around the region, state and nation, and a few scholars from Russia, expected to attend.
The theme this year is “Our History, We Are Healing Ourselves.”
A 3-D scanner is used on a Tlingit hat in 2012. The "Sharing Our Knowledge" conference will have several people from the Smithsonian this weekend with scanning equipment, like that pictured, but also with 3D printing capabilities. They will demonstrate a plastic printed Tlingit spear-throwing device. (Photo provided by Peter Metcalfe)
The biennial conference is open to everyone with an interest in “indigenous peoples of Southeast Alaska and their Canadian relatives,” the meeting program said.
Gerry Hope, executive director of the Sharing Our Knowledge organizing committee, said the theme has been in the works since he was president of Alaska Native Brotherhood Camp 1 in 2000-01, and is an apt one in the sesquicentennial of the Treaty of Cession when the United States acquired Russian interests in Alaska.
“The concept within the Native community is that there has been some thought that there was some hurt feelings, and a little anger, because Alaska Natives were not considered or consulted with the transaction between Russia and the United States on Alaska,” Hope said. “This being the 150th year it was the perfect timing to start a dialogue with the Native community about the Treaty of Cession.”
The conference program says: “Our conference will add new perspectives, that of Alaska Natives whose challenges to the so-called ‘Purchase of Alaska’ were finally addressed in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971.”
Since the first Sharing Our Knowledge conference at Haines and Klukwan in 1993, the four-day symposium has brought together Alaska Native and First Nations tradition bearers, elders, and fluent speakers of indigenous languages, along with artists, academics, researchers, students and other learners.
“It’s unique because it’s bringing together the culture bearers with academics and students,” said Peter Metcalfe, director of communications for Sharing Our Knowledge. “I don’t know of another event like this. It’s the merging of academic and culture. It’s really unique to see it all come together.”
This year’s topics include linguistics, archaeology, art and music, Alaska Native history, museum studies, cultural anthropology, indigenous law and clan protocols, fisheries, and traditional ecological knowledge.
The conference opens 6 p.m. Friday with the “Warming of the Hands” (welcoming by host clans) in Odess Theater, at the Sitka Fine Arts Camp.
Another event earlier Friday is the Tlingit Culture Cruise, from 1 to 4 p.m., during which elders will identify Tlingit place-names and discuss cultural practices. Snacks and soft drinks provided. Tickets are still available for this fundraising cruise.
The film “100 Years” will be shown 7 p.m. Monday at Odess. The filmmaker, Melinda Janko, will be in attendance.
The conference format will be similar to those of the past: morning plenary sessions followed by concurrent workshops in the afternoons. Evenings will be devoted to cultural activities, including Raven/Eagle-Wolf Nights, poetry readings, and other creative presentations. Weavers of Chilkat and Raven’s Tail blankets will gather to work on and present their creations throughout the conference.
Plenary and workshop sessions will be held on the Sitka Fine Arts Camp campus.
The concept of such a conference came from the late Andrew Hope III, with the first conference held in May 1993 in Haines/Klukwan, followed by ones in Ketchikan/Saxman and Sitka. Ten years lapsed until the most recent conferences, held in 2007 in Sitka, 2009 in Juneau, 2012 in Sitka, and 2013 and 2015 in Juneau. Each gathering attracted more than 400 participants and nearly 100 presenters.
The schedule is available at www.sharingourknowledge.org
After the conference, Metcalfe said there will be a panel discussion open to the public with three from Russia and three Alaska Native people from different generations 1:30 p.m. at Mt. Edgecumbe High School. Stephen Haycox, professor emeritus of history at the University of Alaska Anchorage, will be the moderator.
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20 YEARS AGO
March 2004
Advertisement: Tea-Licious Tea House & Bakery 315 Lincoln Street Grand Opening! Freshly Baked Scones, Cakes & Pastries Innovative Salads, Soups & Sandwiches Harney & Sons Tea. Lunch * Afternoon Tea * Supper.
50 YEARS AGO
March 1974
Photo caption: National Republican Chairman George Bush takes a drink of water offered by Jan Craddick, Sitka delegate, during the Republican convention held here. Mrs. Craddick explained to Bush that the water was from Indian River, which means, according to local legend, that he will return.