John Duncan Sr.
Dear Editor: John Duncan Sr., Kaaldeiwtu Eesh, the man will be missed in Sitka, Sheet’ka, but his spirit will stay on for some time.
John was a master carpenter, layeix s’aati, and a mentor for new carpenters. And he was a leader among his Kiks.adi clan.
John was a Naa Kaani, a ceremonial in-law, to the Kaagwaantaan clan and worked in that role with Kaagwaantaan leader Nels Lawson Sr. and later Harvey Kitka.
John was a member of many organizations including Alaska Native Brotherhood Camp 1, where he served on the Camp Council.
Camp 1 sent John and Harvey as delegates to ANB Grand Camp in Anchorage where, among other duties, they represented Sitka to the Grand Camp concerning subsistence issues.
John and I were opposite clans, but ANB brothers. Serving with John on Camp Council we had some interesting, serious and also fun times.
Meeting people who didn’t know us we could introduce ourselves as brothers and when that got an incredulous look I could explain the reason for lack of family resemblance was that I was adopted.
Kaaldeiwtu Eesh, John Duncan Sr. will be missed, but his spirit stays on.
R. Spike, Koodaxgahaa, Arnold, Sheet’ka
Sitka Reads
Dear Editor: Thanks to everyone who participated in this fall’s Sitka Reads 2020 project. The wonderful book that many Sitkans simultaneously read was the ‘‘Racial Healing Handbook’’ (RHH). Forty-five complimentary copies of the RHH got distributed and our finale had a live Zoom presentation and Q+A with the handbook’s brilliant author, Anneliese Singh, Ph.D., LPC.
This was all made possible because of our generous supporters: Friends of the Sitka Public Library, Sitka Counseling, Old Harbor Books, Sitka Tribe of Alaska-Social Services, SEARHC, Sitka Health Summit Coalition, and Outer Coast. A big thanks to all the weekly book group leaders/participants and all 90 people who signed up to partake in some or all parts of this educational endeavor. Your commitment to a healthier and brighter future for everyone is admirable and does not go unnoticed. Dr. Singh even praised our community, commenting, “It’s so inspiring to see what you are all doing in Sitka, Alaska!”
We commend all individuals in our town working towards social justice and racial equity and are grateful that our community is creating space for racial healing. As Dr. Singh writes, “Healing means you begin to unlearn the stereotyped racial messages you internalized about your own race and the race of others. It means you as an individual learn to recognize the wounds that racism creates in you, whether you are white or a person of color and whether you are conscious of these nicks and tears to your psych or not. ... You learn to notice how your race drives ... privileges and access to needed resources. ...”
Injustices based on race and other identities have been around for a long time. They are entrenched, difficult to dismantle, and sometimes even hard to see, let alone understand. However, people are relearning history, discussing desirable changes that benefit everyone, and taking positive action all over the planet and right here in Sitka. To everyone who is working on racial healing and making communities that work for humans of all backgrounds and identities, we want to close with a heartfelt thank you, salamat, gracias, and gunalchéesh. Onward.
Doug Osborne, Kari Sagel,
Kay Kreiss, Leah Mason,
Loyd Platson, Missy Mongiovi, Nancy Furlow and Paul Kraft
P.S.: Old Harbor Books, the Sitka Public Library and Sitka Counseling’s new social justice lending library are all good options for getting or borrowing a copy of the ‘‘Racial Healing Handbook.’’ It’s excellent.
