In December, Sitka artist Ilgavak Peter Williams, owner of Shaman Furs, at right, donated $5,275 to the Salty Spoke Co-op. From Salty Spoke are Joel Hanson, left, and Seung Baang. (Photo provided)
By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
The Salty Spoke, Sitka’s bike cooperative, will be able to hire staff members thanks to a sizable donation from a local artist and a matching grant from a national organization.
After only a year in operation, the Salty Spoke has raised $15,351 from local donations and an equal amount from the Outride Fund, a group that promotes cycling among young people.
For Ilgavak Peter Williams, cycling has long been a way of life. He donated $5,275 to the Salty Spoke’s fundraising campaign in late December, putting the group over its $15,000 threshold to receive matching funds from Outride.
“I got into biking .. at a young age,” Williams said told the Sentinel by phone. “My family didn’t have a car growing up and I really enjoyed the independence I got as a form of transportation as a kid, and would also prefer to get myself to school via bicycle than take the bus.”
Originally from Akiak, near Bethel, Williams moved to Sitka when he was a small child.
The Salty Spoke offers bike repair workshops at the back of the Hames Center and focuses on educating young people.
Speaking for Salty Spoke, Joel Hanson was grateful for William’s donation.
“We want to thank Shaman Furs and Ilgavak Peter Williams,” Hanson said. “We’re grateful to him and his company for putting us past our matching grant goal of $15,000 from the Outride Fund. He was able to finish off what other people have started.”
As stated on its website, saltyspoke.com, the organization hopes to “build an inclusive and strong bicycling culture in Sheet’ká by increasing equitable access to safe, affordable transportation, decolonizing cycling by supporting women, youth and Indigenous bikers as well as Sitkans with income limitations, and offering programs that allow riders to have more agency over maintaining their own bikes.”
Williams has been active with Salty Spoke since its inception.
“I’ve been involved with the Salty Spoke for a while and was involved in trying to help it get started and then also involved in actually applying for the Outride grant,” he said. “And so I’ve been aware of what it’s been doing and the purpose of the grant and I’ve just been really blessed this year with my business, Shaman Furs.”
As an artist working with fur as a medium, Williams has been featured in the New York Times and the Guardian for his sea mammal fur artwork. His company website is seaotterfur.com, though he noted that recently he has branched out to work with fish skin and deer hides.
Williams travels by bike in his daily routine – he enjoys the independence and low costs associated with cycling.
“As an adult I also really appreciate it as a form of independent transportation and I really love riding a bicycle,” he said. “I really enjoy the freedom… costing less, not having to be dependent on insurance, gas. Maintenance is a lot easier, that kind of thing. And also just how it’s really good exercise – and mentally, emotionally and spiritually as well. So I enjoy riding a bike for these reasons and I’ve never gotten a driver’s license.”
He was glad for the chance to donate money to help increase access to biking in Sitka.
“It means a lot that I’m in a position where my business can donate that money. I guess it’s pretty cliche but it’s giving back. I’m really excited about the Salty Spoke’s mission of trying to decolonize and disrupt patriarchy in cycling and trying to make cycling more accessible as a form of transportation in this community,” Williams said.
Salty Spoke offers people a place to work on their bikes, or to repair older bikes and return them to service.
“The Salty Spoke offers a space for people to maintain and work on their bikes. We have some volunteer co-op members that are trained in mechanics and maintenance and can assist on projects. Another service we offer is a work-trade for a bike, so if someone doesn’t have a bike, they can come in and work on a bike and eventually they are able to take that bike when it gets to the point of being safe and usable. We don’t want the bikes to be sitting around. We want people to be safe and use human-powered transportation instead of vehicles. Generally, there are a lot of good opportunities for particularly young people to work with their hands and learn skills,” Hanson summarized.
The Salty Spoke is open Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and operates on a cooperative membership program.
Bike mechanic Alyssa Russell said the Outride grant is well suited to reaching young people.
“They’re really focused on how equitable access to biking is a really healthy outlet to youth and so having access to biking as a source of exercise, a source of community, a source of empowerment,” Russell said. “That’s kind of their focus and that’s what we’re really excited about with these funds… I think we do have an opportunity to reach youth.”
The cumulative $30,000 in new funding will enable the group to finance more youth cycling education.
“We will use the generous donations of people and companies like Shaman Furs to start a youth education program,” Hanson said. “This summer, we will hire a part-time staff member who will coordinate those youth programs and teach young people life skills and bike mechanics skills.”
With about 40 people currently in the co-op, Hanson said, most services involve oiling bike chains and adjusting brakes, though sometimes more significant repairs are needed.
Russell was eager for the chance to offer additional services.
“We really want to expand our youth program – we see a lot of potential with that. I personally have found a lot of joy and empowerment through working with bikes… The youth we’ve worked with so far have been super excited and into it,” she said. “Some youth are more tactile learners and it’s cool to be able to provide something totally different that they might not have tried before.”
As a female mechanic, Russell stressed the importance of providing an inclusive space.
“The biking world can be not very diverse and if you go into a bike shop, chances are most of the people working there will be male… For me it’s been really exciting. I didn’t feel like as a woman I could be mechanical, and so we were also really excited to be a safe space for all,” she said.
Hanson stressed his desire to maintain a low barrier to entry.
“We want to have really low barriers… and hopefully this summer we’ll be able to have a staff member that is specifically dedicated to making programs like that happen,” he said.
Hanson was also appreciative for support from SEARHC, the Sitka Legacy Fund and other individuals.
As the nationwide shortage of bikes and bike parts continues, Hanson hopes to provide a place for Sitkans to keep their bikes running.
“There is definitely a shortage of bikes, bike parts and bike tools,” he said. “The Salty Spoke wants to create opportunities for people to learn skills and have the resources needed to do that right here in our town.”
