The Island Institute
Dear Editor: With some sadness, the board of the Island Institute would like to inform the greater Sitka community that this well-loved organization closed at the beginning of August.
The Island Institute was founded in 1984 by Carolyn Servid, Don Muller, Alice Lee and Marylin Carty (formerly Newman). Over the years, the Institute worked to encourage deep thinking and open conversations about how we live well in this place we call home and how we live well with each other.
The Institute respected diversity, honored all cultures and looked to build community through open, honest communication.
The Institute hosted The Sitka Writer’s Symposium, which evolved into the Sitka Symposium to encourage broad participation by thinkers, readers, storytellers and writers. Visionaries such as Gary Snyder, Barry Lopez, Wendell Barry, Carlos Reyes, Vernita Herdman, Eve Saulitis, Richard Nelson, Gary Holthaus, Scott Russell Sanders, Robin Kimmerer, John Straley and Terry Tempest Williams participated to share their work, lead discussions and stimulate new thinking about the big challenges confronting our culture, species and planet.
The Institute also trained many Sitkans in collaborative problem solving, which has helped diverse sectors of our community find broadly supported solutions to complex challenges. More recently the Institute expanded its programing to more actively engage Sitka’s students and to encourage storytelling through art, film, oral traditions as well as writing. Story Lab, New Pathways and Our Alaska Stories helped young people find their voice to tell their stories of family, community, and a sense of place. Over the 35 years of its existence, this small organization has had a major impact both in Sitka and outside, enriching our community and sharing the magic of the island Sitkans call home with visitors from around the world.
But Sitka is rich in creative non-profits, and over the years other organizations have embraced Island Institute programs, evolving these programs in new and important ways. Island Institute board members have found resources – both human and financial – to support the Institute’s work increasingly difficult to secure.
After inviting long-term supporters and the Sitka community at large to share in the decision-making, we made the difficult decision to find homes for the remaining programs and to carefully close down the Institute. We will miss it deeply, but we are also well aware that the work will live on in the minds and hearts of all who participated in Institute programing.
To all who have supported or participated in the Island Institute over the many years of its existence we give heartfelt thanks. Without you this work would not have been possible.
Linda Behnken, Brenda Campen,
Reid Magadanz
Island Institute Board Members
Back-to-School Fair
Dear Editor: On Aug. 9, the Sitka Tribe of Alaska offered the first (of what we hope will be many) annual Back-to-School Fair; we estimate that over 400 community members were in attendance. The success of the fair would not have been possible without the contribution of the Sitka School District and Sitka High School, as well as the 24 vendors who came to offer information, books, supplies and activities for youth and families.
We would like to thank: SEARHC Health Promotions and Dental; Sitka 4-H; Alaska Army National Guard and the Explorers Program; Alaska Marine Safety and Education Association (AMSEA); Center for Community; Hames Center; author Pauline Duncan; Sitkans Against Family Violence; Sitka Babies and Books; Sitka Counseling; Sitka Police Department; CCTHITA Sitka TANF Office; Sitka Native Education Program; Sitka Tribe of Alaska Cultural Resources Department; Sitka Tribe of Alaska Social Services Department; U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary;Youth Advocates of Sitka; Girl Scouts of Alaska; Sitka High School National Honor Society; and University of Alaska Southeast Sitka Campus.
In addition to the organizations listed, there were community volunteers who pitched in to support this effort. We are already looking forward to collaborating with additional community groups in order to expand the reach and impact of next year’s Back-to-School Fair. If there are other agencies, organizations, or individuals who would like to participate next August, we would love to include them. Interested groups can contact me at 747-3968.
Jean Swanson,
Outreach Family Caseworker,
Sitka Tribe of Alaska,
Social Services Department
