By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
Following an outpouring of public testimony, a motion to rename Baranof Elementary School failed at the Sitka School Board’s regular meeting Wednesday.
On the table was a proposal to rename the school Charlie Joseph Sr. Awdigaan Hit, as suggested by Sitka Tribe of Alaska following a consultation process. Awdigaan Hit translates in English to “House of Sunshine.” The renaming process got underway in the winter of 2021.
The board initially considered the proposed name change at its March meeting but chose to table the motion until April after members of the public expressed concern over the new name.
Board member Blossom Teal-Olsen reaffirmed her desire to rename the school but expressed concern that it might be improper to name a building after an individual.
“We have a chance to rename a school currently named after a person who does not deserve to have a school named after him,” Teal-Olsen said during board discussion on the topic. “Since then I have talked to many people within the community, elders, individual council members. We have input of cultural bearers who do support that it isn’t traditional to name a building after a single person.”
Board president Amy Morrison said she regretted any division caused by the proposed name.
“It’s discouraging, I guess, from a board perspective, that everything was done in the best efforts and best intentions and for what it’s worth I apologize that it’s become divisive, especially on the Tribe. That was never the intention,” Morrison said.
She preferred to delay the process if needed.
“There’s enough controversy over this that I would rather take another 14 months if that’s what it took to make sure we get this right,” Morrison said. “I don’t feel like there is any rush or hurry to do this.”
Like Teal-Olsen, Morrison reaffirmed her desire to see Baranof’s name dropped from the school.
Moving forward in the renaming process, Morrison hoped to form a “community committee involving community members and students and teachers and staff. A lot of different stakeholders could be involved in coming up with a name. That’s probably where I’m leaning, not in favor of the motion that’s on the table because I really think this deserves more attention and more time.”
Board member Todd Gebler recommended starting the process over.
“The only way to move forward is to start new… What that would look like I’m not exactly sure but I would say take both names off the table,” Gebler said. “I wish I could have met Charlie Joseph Senior. He sounds like a true educator, the kind of guy who makes you better just by meeting him. But I can’t believe he would want to be part of something that could divide his own people so much. My recommendation, what I think, is that we need to respectfully ask the Tribe to start again, give it back to STA and ask them for another recommendation and go from there.”
When a new name is eventually picked, board member Andrew Hames said, he hopes it is a cause for celebration rather than for division.
“We want to have a huge party and a celebration when this issue is finally decided and we want it to be decided as a group and with as much representation as we can. So I’m supportive of taking a little more time and re-approaching this,” Hames said.
Following the board discussion, the motion to rename the elementary school Charlie Joseph Sr. Awdigaan Hit failed 1-4. Morrison, Teal-Olsen, Hames and Gebler voted against while Paul Rioux voted in favor. The board will again take up the topic at future meetings.
Prior to board discussion on the issue, a number of Sitkans stepped up to the microphone and expressed their thoughts on renaming the school. Opinions among speakers varied.
Assembly member Crystal Duncan spoke against the motion, saying it was improper to name the school for a person.
“I wish the school district would have just left the name as is. Of all the people to make that statement, I can’t believe I’m one of them… If tonight, in keeping with western traditions, you decide to name the school after a person, you will have completed the assimilation process,” Duncan said. She recommended that the school district look to Juneau as a positive example of how to approach the naming process.
Melonie Boord was against keeping the current name, but also opposed the proposed name.
“I support the renaming of Baranof School to get away from the name of Alexander Baranof, who terrorized and colonized the Tlingit people much like Vladimir Putin is doing to the Ukrainian people,” Boord testified. She said a school named Baranof Elementary is comparable to naming it “Putin Elementary.”
But Boord took issue with the proposal to name the school for a man.
“We don’t need another building or another street named after another man… We have way too many other cultural educators to consider if you must choose a person’s name,” she said.
When the board decided a year ago to rename the school, it asked STA to suggest a name that incorporated a significant cultural educator.
Pauline Duncan was also against naming the school after a person.
“If you go and name this after a person then you are certainly staying in the colonization period,” she said.
During the four-hour meeting a number of speakers from the public were in favor of the proposed name honoring Charlie Joseph.
Retired school district cultural director Nancy Douglas supported STA’s proposed name.
“You are responsible to make all of our school district members shine, and the best way to do that is to rename Baranof School after Charlie Joseph, the cultural renaissance elder, the elder who knew the importance of culturally responsive teaching,” Douglas said. “He knew that through teaching us our culture we can stand tall and shine.”
Harriet Miyasato Beleal agreed with Douglas, though she added that she would also support naming the school for Isabella Brady.
“Would you like to go down in history for renaming the Baranof school to honor Charlie Joseph or Isabella Brady, the Tlingit language and dance instructors back in the 1950s, when they taught Tlingit language and dancing so it would not be lost?” Beleal asked.
In written testimony submitted to the board, Lance Twitchell argued that a new name should incorporate Charlie Joseph, whose Tlingit name was Kaal.átk’. However, Twitchell did not endorse the new name as proposed.
“I highly recommend attaching his name to the school currently known as Baranof Elementary. For Lingít peoples, it is insulting, offensive, and dismissive to have a school named after Baranof,” Twitchell wrote. “However, it is also not culturally fitting to name a building after a person… I might suggest Kaal.átk’ Hídi X’awool Elementary, which would be “The Doorway to the House of Kaal.átk’” Elementary. This would be in reference to a story he told about how an entrance song would be sung from this place before entering.”
In other business, the board accepted Amy Morrison’s resignation from the board. Morrison said in her letter to the board that she is resigning because she and her family will be moving out of Sitka in June.
After accepting the resignation of Morrison, who was board president, the board voted to name Hames as board president, Rioux as vice president and Teal-Olsen as clerk.
The board also briefly discussed Title VIII impact aid and the education of Alaska Native children.
The board will meet again May 4 in Centennial Hall.
