Daily Sitka Sentinel

September 13, 2019, Community Happenings

Baby Raven Reads

 

Event on Saturday

Alaska Native families with children to age 5 are invited for storytelling, songs and other cultural and literacy activities 10 a.m.-noon Saturday at Sitka Head Start.

 

The theme is ‘‘Harvest.’’ The event is sponsored by Sealaska Heritage. Families can enroll at the event. Call 907-586-9201 or email babyravenreads@sealaska.com, or go to www.sealaskaheritage.org for information.

 

Climate Connection: What Tales Do The Herring Tell?

By Leah Mason

This year has been a scary one for people who fish in SE Alaska. Whether its subsistence, charter or commercial fishing, there are signs that things are changing and nobody is very clear about what it will mean for our ways of life. What we do know is that the fish are generally getting smaller, the water is getting warmer, and it’s getting harder to find some of those fish in the usual numbers in the usual places.  

Some of us see other creatures catching fish (or crabs or clams or abalone) and blame them for shrinking our “share” of the resource or reduced profits. You can hear that conversation at least twice a year on Sitka Chatters. Others spend a ridiculous amount of time trying to pin down EXACTLY what is going on. An article we covered earlier this year, on relationships between warming water temperatures and fishing productivity, has been in the center of a quarrel about the right approach to modelling the problems since March. Around the same time that article was published, Sitkans were waiting to see whether there would be enough herring present to allow the sac roe fishery to take place. Local people have been casting doubts on this for the past couple of years based on their own experience and the knowledge passed to them by their elders. Luckily, with the prospect of having the last of the Southeast herring runs disappear on their watch, the powers that be seemed more inclined to caution. Who can blame them? How terrible would it feel to give the starting signal on what might turn out to be a local extinction? I think we all felt it, and I’m glad I didn’t have to form part of a human chain to stop it. 

I don’t have years of fishing experience, or the benefit of a long oral history of traditional resource management in Southeast Alaska to draw on, but I look at all the old photos of fish and people on the walls of our bars and coffeehouses, and I see a lot of monster fish that don’t seem to exist anymore. Maybe that 1,000-pound halibut was unusual even then, but I have read accounts of salmon derbies where the winning King Salmon we are catching today would be considered to be on the low side.

We don’t know a lot of things, but there is a lovely phrase used by people doing difficult things in difficult conditions that I like to think about when I’m working through a challenge – optimal ignorance. In this case it means that while we might not know everything and probably never will, but we know enough to be ashamed, and to start changing our ways.

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Leah Mason is a member of the Sitka Citizen’s Climate Lobby.

 

 

Assembly Candidate

Meet and Greet

Assembly candidate Thor Christianson will be at Highliner Coffee Co. 8 a.m.-10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, to discuss with Sitkans their ideas for city government and campaign questions. Call 738-2491 for additional information.

 

Story Time Set

At Public Library

Preschool story time at Sitka Public Library will be 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 19.

‘‘Autumn is Here’’ will be the theme of the last story time of the month. Fall story time will start on Oct. 31. Families can check out the library calendar on the library website and social media pages.

Story times include readings, rhymes, songs and a craft project. Everybody is welcome. For information call the library at 747-8708.

 

Run, Walk to Aid

Cancer Society

Stride 365 5k run/walk for the Sitka Cancer Survivors Society is slated Oct. 5 at the O’Connell Bridge lightering facility.

Registration is at 9 a.m. and the race starts 9:30 a.m. A $10 registration fee/donation is suggested to benefit the Sitka Cancer Survivors Society.

 

Unit 4 Bear

Season to Open

The fall brown bear registration hunt opens Sept. 15 in Game Management Unit 4, which includes Admiralty, Baranof and Chichagof Islands.

Prior to registering, hunters must watch the brown bear identification video “Take a Closer Look.” View online at https://vimeo.com/30511231. Hunters are being encouraged to target male bears and must have a valid hunting license, registration permit (RB077), and a brown bear locking-tag prior to hunting. Register at ADF&G offices or online at http://www.adfg.alaska.gov. For more information, call the Sitka area office at 747-5449.

 

 

SCLT to Meet

The Sitka Community Land Trust will meet 6:15-7:45 p.m. Monday, Sept. 16, at the Sitka Public Library. The public is encouraged to attend. The SCLT is a non-profit organization that relies on community support and participation. For information contact Mim McConnell at 738-2888.   

 

Fall Soccer On,

Registration Set

Registration is underway for fall soccer. The season runs Oct. 6-Nov. 24, at the upper Moller turf field. 

Times will be 3-4 p.m. for the younger group, kindergarten-second grade, and 3-4:30 p.m. for older groups, grades 3-5 and grades 6-8. 

Those who participated in summer soccer do not need to register again. All others are to register at https://secure.leaguepilot.com/go/3166/.

The cost is $40, and that includes the field fee, and a kit with a soccer shirt, shorts and socks. 

Email sitkayouthsoccer@gmail.com or call 738-5515 for information.

 

 

Hispanic Heritage

Month Observed

In observation of Hispanic Heritage Month, visiting Colombian artists Daniel Suarez and Jorge Mario will present a program on their artwork and cultural influences 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 15, at the Sitka Unitarian-Universalist Hall.

It is open to the public. A meal of soup and bread follows at noon. The hall is located at 408 Marine Street. Parking is available in the lot on the back of the building on Spruce Street.

 

‘Fluid Strength’

Class at Hames

Hames Center is offering a new class beginning Sept. 16. “Fluid Strength” will run 5:30-6:30 Mondays and Wednesdays, and led by Sue Conrad. 

The low impact class will flow through sequenced patterns to gain strength, challenge balance, coordination, mindfulness and power. It is open to all abilities. Members and non-members are welcome. For information call Hames Center 747-5080 or visit www.hamescenter.org.

 

 

Kidical Mass Bike Ride Saturday

Cyclists of all ages are invited to join Sitka’s fifth “Kidical Mass” family bike ride 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, at the Sitka Community Playground across from the SJ Campus.

 

Free bike safety checks and helmet-fitting will be offered prior to the ride.

The group will bike to Keet Gooshi Heen Elementary School, for complimentary snacks, door prizes and activities. 

Each participant will need a bike, a helmet, and an adult (or kid-at-heart) to ride with. Kidical Mass events encourage family participation and teach young riders bike safety on the road. A few new helmets will be available for those who need them.

‘‘Kidical Mass is a legal, safe and fun bike ride for kids, kids at heart, and their families,’’ a press release from organizers said.

 

 

The first ride was held in 2008 in Eugene, Oregon, and has now spread to dozens of communities throughout North America and beyond. 

 

Queen Tribute

Staged Sept. 13-14

Sitka Fine Arts Camp will present a Queen tribute concert 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, and Saturday, Sept. 14, at the Sitka Performing Arts Center.

It will feature Bay area-based performer Samuel Faustine as Freddie Mercury, along with locals Joe Montagna, Drew Sherman and Gus Cannizzaro.

 

Fan favorites “We Are the Champions,” “Under Pressure” and “Don’t Stop Me Now” are on the play list. Tickets are $20 general and $15 youths,  available at Old Harbor Books, online at fineartscamp.org, and at the door.

 

SJ Architecture

History Presented

James Poulson will present “The Architecture of the Sheldon Jackson Campus, from Phrenology to Academic Eclecticism” 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18, at the Laundry Building/Power House on the Sheldon Jackson School National Historic Landmark.

Poulson, who has a master of design studies in historic preservation at Boston Architectural College, will talk about the schools, the architects and trends behind the architecture of the Sheldon Jackson School National Historic Landmark, including the connection between the Sheldon Jackson Museum and Victorian phrenologist Orson Squire Fowler.

 

The Laundry Building is across College Drive from the Sheldon Jackson Museum. Additional parking is available at the Hames Center. The talk is sponsored by the Sitka Fine Arts Camp, as part of historic preservation projects on the Laundry Building and on Fraser Hall next door. Preservation work has been funded in part by Historic Preservation Fund Certified Local Government grants. For more information call 738-7448.

 

NYC Pianist

Set to Perform

Sitka Fine Arts Camp will present ‘‘A Night of Avant-garde Piano’’ 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 16, at the Sitka Performing Arts Center.

 

New York City-based pianist Robert Fleitz will lead a journey through the world of modern and experimental music. Tickets are $20 general and $15 for youths, on sale at Old Harbor Books, online at fineartscamp.org, and at the door.

 

Art, Music, Historic

Preservation Event

Slated Sept. 20

What I Did This Summer, a celebration of art, music and historic preservation, will be held 5-9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20, at the Power House/Laundry Building on the Sheldon Jackson School National Historic Landmark.

The Laundry Building is across from the Sheldon Jackson Museum. Additional parking is available at Hames Center.

The event includes a show of art and objects by Sitkans on the theme of “What I Did This Summer,” tours of historic preservation work on the Laundry Building and on Fraser Hall (next door), live music and refreshments.

 

The event is sponsored by the Greater Sitka Arts Council and the Sitka Fine Arts Camp. For more information call 738-7448.

 

Climate Defense

Project Discussed

Kelsey Skaggs, J.D., executive director of Climate Defense Project, will speak 6-8 p.m. Sept. 13 at Centennial Hall in the Raven Room. The topic will be ‘‘Breaking the Law to Make the Law.’’ Skaggs links climate activists considering nonviolent civil disobedience to legal expertise when other avenues to protect against global warming have been exhausted. She will speak about  her experience at Standing Rock and other venues.

 

The Sitka Citizens Climate Lobby, whose monthly meeting follows 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, at  the See House behind St. Peter’s Episcopal Church on Lincoln Street. 

 

Renewable Energy

Fair Set Sept. 14

A Renewable Energy Fair will be  1-4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, at the entrance to Harrigan Centennial Hall.

Electric vehicles, heat pumps, bicycling, and firewood heating will be featured. Attendees can talk to EV owners for advice and learn how to  lower carbon footprints.

 

The family-friendly event will include cake, balloons and treats. It is open to the public.

 

Native Alaska

Film Screening

 

At SJ Museum

The Sheldon Jackson Museum will host a screening of the film ‘‘We Are Still Here: A Story from Native Alaska’’ in the museum gallery 10:30 a.m.  Saturday, Sept. 14.

The film is being shown as part of the Sitka Seafood Festival celebration. During the screening, admission will be waived.

 

‘‘We Are Still Here: A Story from Native Alaska’’ tells the story of Amira Abujbara, a young woman with Alaska Native and Qatari roots, who travels to Iliamna, a remote village in Alaska, each summer to help her grandmother harvest fish from the world’s largest sockeye salmon run.

During her visits to her Yup’ik mother’s birthplace, she sees Alaska as a beautiful place of abundance, tradition, and community but also a land of hardship where there are high rates of poverty and substance abuse. How will this town of just over 100 respond to a proposal for a gold and copper mine that offers the promise of jobs but also threatens to ruin the salmon run and dramatically impact traditional ways of life?

 

Abujbara said the film is the product of a small but mighty team of indigenous women – Ciara Lacy, the filmmaker, is a Native Hawaiian, and Kayla Briet, the film composer, is of Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation heritage.

Abujbara, the journalist who came up with the idea of making the film and who takes the film viewer along with her to Iliamna, is Yup’ik and Qatari. She currently works as an assistant producer and online journalist at Al Jazeera.

 

 

Sitka Trail Works

Sets Annual Meet

Sitka Trail Works members and the public are invited to the annual meeting and potluck 5:30-7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 16, at Centennial Hall.  

The agenda includes highlights from the year. Bill Foster will give a talk about the 60th anniversary of his bike ride to Cuba.

Two STW board members are up for re-election. 

 

Attendees can take a main dish, side, or dessert to share. Those with questions may call Sitka Trail Works at 747-7244.

 

Kaagwaantaan

To Meet Sunday

Sitka Kaagwaantaan will meet 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 15, to teach history, cultural values and ceremony, and to plan fundraisers for the dancers who want to sign up to go to Celebration in the spring.

 

For more information call Roby at 738-4004.

 

Tots Carnival

At Elks Lodge

Sitka Imagination Library will hold a Tots Carnival 10:30 a.m.-noon Saturday, Sept. 14, at the Sitka Elks Lodge.

The free family event will include story time, games, crafts and snacks. It is for families with children ages 5 and younger.

The carnival is made possible with support of the Sitka Elks Lodge and Sitka Emblem club. Events at the Elks Lodge are for members and guests.

 

 

Alaska Day Festival

Planners to Meet

Alaska Day Festival planners will meet 6:30 p.m. each Tuesday in September at Centennial Hall.

“Frontier First Responders” is the added theme this year for Sitka’s mid-October community commemoration of the official transfer of Russian claim in Alaska to the United States of America which occurred at Sitka on Oct. 18, 1867. Photos and implements of those who came to the rescue in bygone days are being collected.

Festival-sponsored events include Oct. 14 for New Archangel Dancers grand show; Oct. 17, the gala ball; Oct. 18, military memorial service and parade, followed by 1867 transfer ceremony commemoration on Castle Hill.

Organizations having activities to be added to the festival’s printed schedule are asked to contact Chairman Ted Allio at 747-5124 or Vice Chair Steve Dalquist at 752-0750 or schedule coordinator Elaine Strelow at 747-3469.

 

 

Comments about festival activities or new volunteers are invited to attend the meetings or contact a festival coordinator.

 

Walk for Recovery

Listed Sept. 14

Sitka Counseling will hold the Walk for Recovery 10 a.m. Sept. 14. Participants will meet at Centennial Hall, walk over the John O’Connell Bridge, and back to the hall.

 

‘‘Walk with us as we celebrate those in recovery from mental health and substance use related issues,’’ Sitka Counseling said in a news release. ‘‘Help spread the message that prevention works, treatment is effective and people recover.’’

 

‘Wet Feet’ Live

Stories to be Told 

Sitka Tells Tales, the local live storytelling series, will return 7-8:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19, at Beak Restaurant.

The theme is ‘‘Wet Feet: Stories On, In, Under and Of the Sea.’’ It will feature true stories told live, and music. It is hosted by Artchange Inc. and the Sitka Seafood Festival. 

 

For information call 738-2174.

 

Registration Open

For Boys Run I

Registration is open for Boys Run I toowú klatseen, an after-school running program for third- through fifth-grade boys that helps build self-esteem, healthy relationship skills, and respect while training for a final 5K fun run.

For information or to register, visit boysrun.org/register-a-boy/ or email ethompson@safv.org. Applications are due Sept. 13.

 

‘‘We look forward to practicing strength of spirit throughout this Boys Run season,’’ organizers said.

 

Boathouse Repair

Volunteers Sought

All are invited to help repair a piece of Sitka’s history at the Sitka Maritime Heritage Society’s next work party 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, Sept. 14.

 

The group will work to fasten the repainted historical siding back onto wall. Volunteers should be dressed for outside work. Coffee and snacks will be provided. For information, contact sitkamaritime@gmail.com or 623-8054. Additional information is available on the website: sitkamaritime.org.

 

Native Alaska

Film Screening

 

At SJ Museum

The Sheldon Jackson Museum will host a screening of the film ‘‘We Are Still Here: A Story from Native Alaska’’ in the museum gallery 10:30 a.m.  Saturday, Sept. 14.

The film is being shown as part of the Sitka Seafood Festival celebration. During the screening, admission will be waived.

 

‘‘We Are Still Here: A Story from Native Alaska’’ tells the story of Amira Abujbara, a young woman with Alaska Native and Qatari roots, who travels to Iliamna, a remote village in Alaska, each summer to help her grandmother harvest fish from the world’s largest sockeye salmon run.

During her visits to her Yup’ik mother’s birthplace, she sees Alaska as a beautiful place of abundance, tradition, and community but also a land of hardship where there are high rates of poverty and substance abuse. How will this town of just over 100 respond to a proposal for a gold and copper mine that offers the promise of jobs but also threatens to ruin the salmon run and dramatically impact traditional ways of life?

 

Abujbara said the film is the product of a small but mighty team of indigenous women – Ciara Lacy, the filmmaker, is a Native Hawaiian, and Kayla Briet, the film composer, is of Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation heritage.

Abujbara, the journalist who came up with the idea of making the film and who takes the film viewer along with her to Iliamna, is Yup’ik and Qatari. She currently works as an assistant producer and online journalist at Al Jazeera.

 

 

United Way

Day of Caring

 

Set for Tuesday

United Way of Southeast Alaska will hold its third annual Day of Caring in Sitka on Tuesday, Sept. 17.

Local nonprofit agencies will offer up a service project to be completed. Volunteers can be individual residents, schools, organizations, or local businesses.

In the 2018 event, more than 12 volunteers donated almost 40 hours of service at two Sitka nonprofit agencies. 

“I was appreciative of all the organizations and employees that donated time and energy to the effort,” said Warren Russell, United Way board chair and Southeast Regional manager for GCI. “Boots on the ground doing great work for communities and organizations make me proud to be a part of United Way of Southeast Alaska.”  

Volunteers will receive a “LIVE UNITED” T-shirt and a complimentary breakfast at a soon-to-be-announced location to kick off the event. Each volunteer will donate up to four hours to complete the designated service projects.

Agencies and businesses interested in participating can sign up online at https://www.unitedwayseak.org/2019-day-caring-scroll-down-sign-form.

 

For additional information call Sabrina Boone, office administrator, at 907-463-5530 or email at staff@unitedwayseak.org.