Daily Sitka Sentinel

November 20, 2020, Community Happenings

Zoom Series

Presented at

SJ Museum

The Friends of Sheldon Jackson Museum will host a winter Zoom ‘‘Share Your Culture/Share Your Research’’ series this winter, beginning Nov. 21. 

The first presentation will be by artist Robert Hoffmann (Tlingit) 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21. Hoffman’s presentation, titled “The Relationship Between Formline Design & Carving,” will showcase Bill Holm’s illustrated cross-section of carved formline in Northwest Coast Indian Art: An Analysis of Form and Steve Brown’s proposals about the evolution of formline (as highlighted in the publication Native Visions.)

Through the use of a carved fish head, Hoffman will speak on how the various elements of formline are dictated by actually having come from carved design. The 35-minute Zoom event will be free and open to all and can be accessed by going to the link: https://bit.ly/359zs8i.

His presentation is in observance of Native American Heritage Month.

The series also will include presentations by Chuna McIntyre (Yup’ik), June Pardue (Alutiiq/Sugpiaq), and Richard Jackson (Tlingit). 

The Sheldon Jackson Museum is open noon-4 p.m. Tuesday and Saturday. Admission is $5 for general admission, $4 for seniors, and free for ages 18 and under. Call the museum at 747-8981 with questions.

Climate Connection

By Callie Simmons

The impacts of climate change are not strictly limited to the physical land. While a changing climate influences the amount of rain and snow, when sea ice forms, etc. it also disrupts humans’ connection to the environment; our cultures, our traditions, our ways of being. A lot of important research aims to understand how climate change impacts certain resources and ecosystems, but what about understanding how we can continue important cultural practices in a changed environment? Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science together can provide tools and insight for how to adapt and persist in a changed world.

Erosion, sea-level rise, warming seas, and more frequent and intense weather events are just a few of the climate related issues impacting Alaskans currently. Change is occurring rapidly and for many communities concern is focused on what is happening right now, not what will likely happen in the future. In Western Alaska thin sea-ice makes access to caribou dangerous and impossible in areas where Inupiaq people have sustainably harvested caribou for 14,000 years. Central Alaska has seen a surge in wildfires. In Southeast Alaska increasing temperatures constrain the survival of yellow cedar.

Maija Katak Lukin, the superintendent of Western Arctic Parklands and speaker at Sitka Whale Fest recently urged scientists to not only study the impacts of a changing environment, but study how we can continue traditional practices amidst rapid change in her talk “Changing Weather and Changing Traditions.” How can people safely dry seal meat in different atmospheric conditions? How can berry harvest continue in an unpredictable climate? Tackling questions like these, utilizing both Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science, can help communities more wholly approach issues related to climate change.

By listening to those closest to the land, communities can use the knowledge and solutions generated by both Western Science and Indigenous Knowledge to address how traditional ways of gathering, subsistence harvest, and recreation can continue in a changed environment. And that work is happening across the state. The Sitka Tribe of Alaska’s SEATOR lab tests shellfish across Southeast Alaska for biotoxins, helping to provide food security for shellfish harvesters. The Central Council of Tlingit and Haida has developed a climate adaptation plan that identifies key areas of concerns and specific actions to increase resilience. In response to unpredictable ice conditions, the University of Alaska Fairbanks recently launched “Fresh Eyes on Ice” a program that combines satellite-based measurements with historical data and citizen scientist observations to create a more complete picture of ice conditions across Alaska. In remote Yup’ik communities’ researchers at the Center for Alaska Native Health Research designed a school-based intervention program, Fish-to-School or Neqa Elicarvigmun, that aimed to strengthen the traditional food system.

Great work is happening across the state, but important questions remain unanswered. Research into how certain fish species are responding to climate change or predictions of how much rain certain communities are expected to get are all critical pieces to understanding and addressing climate change, but, on their own, tell an incomplete story. We need to more fully understand how we live in a climate that is changing before our eyes. Part of that understanding comes from asking questions that will work towards repairing our connection to the land and using Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science to provide solutions to those questions.

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Callie Simmons is the Research Coordinator at the Sitka Sound Science Center and a member of Citizens Climate Education

UAS Lecture Series

Continues Friday

With Zoom Event

The annual UAS fall lecture series continues 7 p.m. Friday with a virtual presentation by Irene Dundas on “Repatriation of Clan Objects and Human Remains.”

Dundas will introduce repatriation of clan objects and human remains and speak about what the relationship is between Southeast tribes, clans and museums. Registration is free.

This year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Fall Lecture Series events will be offered virtually using Zoom. Each talk has a free registration link available on the UAS Juneau campus calendar uas.alaska.edu/calendar. After completing the registration, a confirmation email is sent with information on how to join the meeting.

Future speakers in the series include: Dec. 4, “Juneau During COVID-19: a Study of Resilience, Leadership, and Community Courage.”

Suicide Prevention

Training on Tap

SafeTALK, suicide alertness for everyone by Livingworks, is being offered in Sitka Dec. 2-5.

The four-hour, in-person, suicide prevention workshop helps create a safer community by teaching participants how to recognize warning signs, engage in safe conversations, and direct individuals to needed resources.

Sitka Counseling, in partnership with the Sitka Police Department, will offer three free trainings at 8 a.m.-noon Dec. 2; 1-5 p.m. Dec. 3; or 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Dec. 5 at Centennial Hall.

COVID-19 precautions will be in place. Email Missy Mongiovi at mmongiovi@scpsak.org to reserve aseat for one of the trainings or for more information.

Hunting, Fishing

Panel Organizes

An independent hunting and fishing commission is seeking new membership beginning in January. Residents of Sitka, Kake, Angoon, Juneau and other coastal harvesting communities are being encouraged to join.

Tribal citizens of federally recognized tribes or individuals knowledgeable about hunting, fishing and gathering practices of traditional Native foods in Southeast Alaska are being encouraged to send a letter of interest, and to learn more about this opportunity by sending email to: southeast.ak.hfc@gmail.com or call 738-1040.

Giving Tree Slated

At Wells Fargo

The annual “Giving Tree” at Wells Fargo Bank Lobby will be set up from Nov. 27 through Dec. 19.

Members of the public can stop by and pick up a tag for a Sitka child, youth or elder in need of a gift this Christmas season. Gifts will be shared with the Sitka Pioneers Home, Sitka Long Term Care, SAFV, Youth Advocates, and Head Start.

Unwrapped gifts are to be returned to Wells Fargo Bank with the tag attached.

The Giving Tree is sponsored by the United Methodist Church of Sitka. Call Julia Smith at 738-6336 with questions.

AA to Meet

Noon AA meetings are held seven days a week at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church parish house basement.

Masks are required.

Turkey Shoot

Slated Nov. 21

Sitka Sportsman’s Association will host its annual Turkey Shoot 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, at 5211 Halibut Point Road.

The longtime Sitka Sportsman’s Association annual event is for both the outdoor shotgun trap and skeet and indoor 22 pistol and rifle shoot.

Anyone hitting a particular colored clay target during a normal round of trap or skeet, or winning one of the 22 pistol events, will win their choice of a turkey or a coupon for a free round of trap or skeet. There is a limit of one turkey or coupon per shooter. The cost per round of trap or skeet is $20 and $5 per pistol event, and both fees include ammunition. Loaner shotguns and pistols  also will be available for use at no charge.

A barbecued hamburger lunch will be available for $5 each.

For more information call or text April at 738-4559.

SCS Drive-Thru

Event on Nov. 21

Sitka Conservation Society through December plans to hold several calendar and membership drive-through events, starting with the Wild Gratitude Celebration drive-through on Nov. 21.

All are invited to the Centennial Hall parking lot 1-3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, to pick up their 2021 calendar, renew memberships, and say hello to the SCS team.

On hand will be calendars, merchandise, materials and small tokens of wild gratitude available until supplies run out. It will be a masked event.

Those interested in volunteering or wanting to learn more about the events can call Heather at (717)-350-0351 or email heather@sitkawild.org.

Cooking for Cause

Fundraiser on Tap

Tickets are on sale for ‘‘Cooking for a Cause 2020,’’ an event that includes the ingredients for a dinner for two, video instruction by Ludvig’s Bistro owner and chef Collette Nelson, music, a silent auction and photo contest.

Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust  and Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association have joined forces to host the  fundraiser for the seafood donation program.

Since March 2020, ALFA and ASFT have provided more than 480,000 meals of seafood, free of charge, to Alaskans who are food insecure.

The pandemic has highlighted the need to increase regional food security overall and to increase U.S. consumption of U.S. seafood in particular. 

Participants can purchase a box with all the ingredients and video-led instructions. Seafood, vegetarian and chicken options are available and each box also comes with dessert for two. Boxes will be available Dec. 4; however, participants can set their own schedules as the instructions and entertainment are pre-recorded. Entertainment from local musicians will be available to watch, and a silent auction with several items will be posted as part of the fundraiser. 

Those who post photos of their finished plates in the photo contest can win you a $50 Ludvig’s gift certificate for the Best Looking Dish. Silent auction and photo contest winners will be announced on Sunday, Dec. 6. Participants also will have the option of leaving a tip or donation and be entered into a raffle to win an 8th generation iPad, five pounds of spot prawns from the F/V Ocean Cape, or ALFA T-shirts and other items.

Boxes will be available for pick up at Ludvig’s Bistro or delivery to one’s home on Dec. 4 for a small fee.

The Cooking for a Cause fundraiser event will be held virtually. Ticket sales will run through Nov. 22. Visit alaskansown.com/pages/cookingforacause2020 for more information and to purchase tickets. Contact Lauren at 714-369-4057 or at alfa.asft.outreach@gmail.com with questions.

ALFA is an alliance of small-boat, commercial fishermen that support sustainable fisheries and thriving coastal communities by involving fishermen in research, advocacy and conservation initiatives. ASFT is a non-profit dedicated to strengthening fishing communities and marine resources through research, education and economic opportunity.

Thanksgiving Takeout

Dinner Listed Nov. 25

The Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood are inviting all Sitkans in need to a free takeout Thanksgiving dinner this year.

Dinners can be delivered, picked up curbside, or on foot noon-6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 25 (the day before Thanksgiving), at Harrigan Centennial Hall. 

Those individuals, or families, who would like meals are asked to call Karen at 747-7803 to be put on the list before Nov. 25.

‘‘ANB Camp 1 and ANS Camp 4 wish all of Sitka a peaceful and happy Thanksgiving Day,’’ organizers said in a press release.  

Ocean Wave

Quilters to Meet

Ocean Wave Quilters will meet 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1, via Zoom.

Monthly meetings, September through June, are open to all, members or not. Those wishing to pay the $25 dues receive a monthly newsletter, discounts on classes and other benefits.

For more information call President Sarah Jordan at 738-7272.

Climate Action

Workshop Nov. 21

Sitka Citizens’ Climate Lobby is offering a statewide online workshop about how to use the levers of political will in climate advocacy. 

The free workshop will be 9-11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, via Zoom. 

The goal of the workshop is to help each volunteer find ways to put their talents and interests to work at all levels of participation. Sign up at https://akflow.eventbrite.com. Contact Michelle at 747-2708 for information.