Historical Society to Honor Tlingit Code Talkers

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Created on Friday, 11 October 2024 15:30

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By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
A “hysterical” take on Alaska’s history, the real history of Sitka’s Tlingit code talkers, an overnight cook-off and a boat ride are all part of the Sitka Historical Society and Museum’s observance of Alaska Day.
“It’s just a whole week of celebration in commemoration of Alaska’s history,” said Hal Spackman, director of the Sitka Historical Society and Museum. “I think the Sitka community is lucky to have this variety of events that bring attention to Alaska history. It’s something to look forward to, it reminds us where we came from and it brings us together.”

The 2023 Brew Cruise leaves Crescent Harbor. (Sentinel file Photo)

The week includes the fundraiser brisket cook-off starting Saturday, a fundraising lunch and Allen Marine “brew cruise” on Sunday, the Mr. Whitekeys “Hysterical Historical History of Alaska” on Tuesday, and the society’s annual meeting Wednesday, featuring a talk on the Tlingit Code Talkers of Southeast Alaska. The meeting also will include the Alaska Day beard and bonnet contest. The theme of this year’s Alaska Day Festivals is “Honoring our Alaskan Code Talkers.”
The schedule of Sitka Historical Society-sponsored events is as follows:
Beginning 5 p.m. Saturday - BBQ Brisket & Pork Butt Cook-off. The historical society buys the brisket, pork butt or both. Contestants receive two free tickets to the brew cruise, and winners in the contest will be awarded prizes. The cook-off is at Centennial Hall but there will be indoor seating for the brisket meal at 1 p.m. Sunday.
From 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. Sunday is the Brew Cruise, taking off at the Crescent Harbor dock with DJs on both boats, craft brews and wines, and a stop in Silver Bay. Tickets are on the historical society Facebook page, or sitkahistory.org.
At 6:30 p.m. Tuesday is the Mr. Whitekey’s “Hysterical Historical History of Alaska.”
Spackman said he was pleased to be able to bring Mr. Whitekeys back to Sitka for an entertaining performance that riffs on Alaska history and culture.
“He’s a really entertaining and wonderful presenter,” Spackman said.
Spackman said the response to Whitekeys’ show last spring in Sitka was positive enough that he felt it would worthwhile to bring him back for a free program at Centennial Hall.
“If anybody knows Mr. Whitekeys, they know he’s a very sharp-witted person, and he’s just a great speaker and has high energy,” Spackman said. “After essentially retiring from the Fly by Night Club, he’s really taken on one of his loves, which is history.”
At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Centennial Hall is the annual historical society meeting with a salute to “Tlingit Code Talkers: Silent Heroes of WWII,” led by American Legion Post 13 Commander Vince Winter.
There also will be a short business meeting, and the Alaska Day Festival beards and bonnets competition.
Winter became interested in the local code talkers in 2020 when Alaska Native Brotherhood Camp 1 recognized the code talkers, and presented a medallion to ANB President Peter Karras in memory of the late code talkers. Karras is the nephew of two of code talkers.
“Peter invited me down to ANB as commander of the American Legion to give a talk about code talkers, then I realized we had five Sitka code talkers, and nothing was being done about it,” Winter said. “So we had our first celebration.”
It included U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski’s presentation of a flag to Karras in honor of his uncles’ service as code talkers. The flag has been flown over the U.S. Capitol. The next day, the legion rented out the movie theater and showed the movie “Code Talkers of World War II” to a packed house at the Coliseum. The audience was invited to the legion for a celebration that included the Naa Kahidi Dancers, a Native drum group, and a visit with a film producer Kody Dayish working on a film “Unbroken Code” about Navajo code talkers, that follows their lives, from childhood to military service.
Winter was approached by Rachel Roy around that time, about her grandfather Louis Minard, who was also a code talker, “Which makes sense, because if you look at the records at the time there were five recognized Tlingit code talkers.” They were Robert “Jeff” David Sr. and Richard Bean Sr. who served in the Philippines; Harvey Jacobs and Mark Jacobs Jr. who served in Iwo Jima; and George Lewis Jr. who served in the Aleutians. Minard also served in the Aleutians in the war.
Roy provided paperwork to the Legion, the Legion documented that he was in the Aleutians and the late Chuck Miller provided other information that was needed to document Louis Minard as a code talker.
The free talk will include the history of code talking starting in World War I, and the “trials and tribulations” to get Minard recognized as a code talker in addition to the other five.
Winter marvels at the asset that the code-talkers turned out to be, “the harshness of the government telling them they couldn’t use their languages, but the military recognized it as a strength, and in the end, it helped everyone, having that diversity.”