Raffle for MMIW
Dear Editor: I would like to extend sincere thanks to the many individuals, organizations, and larger community that made the recent community raffle a success. Delayed due to COVID, we were able to finally raise money for two non-profit organizations that are working on issues related to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW).
There are many to name, but to start (and listed alphabetically), the bulk of prizes were requested through the efforts of Cass Pook and Nick Fruendt. The following people and businesses stepped forward to provide us with incredible prizes: AC Lakeside, Backdoor Café, Chocolate Moose, Chookán (Lakrisha Johnson), Galanin & Klein, Island Artists Gallery (Alicia Porter Harris, Amy Sweeney, Norman Campbell), Jeff Budd, Libby Watanabe, Liz Zacher, Lkheinaa L’uknaxádi (Jerrod Galanin), Mean Queen, Raven’s Hook, Sealaska Heritage Institute, Tamara Kyle, Vanessa Bradley, West Coast Workshop, Yeidikook’áa (Dionne Brady-Howard), Yéil Ya-Tseen (Nicholas Galanin), and Yellow Jersey Cycle Shop.
In addition, 600 tickets were sold with the help of eight awesome and dedicated Sitkans: Bridget Hitchcock, Harper Glazer, Kari Sagel, Lakota Harden, Lisa Gassman, Patrick O’Donnell and Serena DeTemple. In addition, it was incredibly helpful that Jerrick Hope-Lang and Pauline Duncan offered table space at the Christmas bazaar, and the University of Alaska Southeast allowed for use of a vendor table at their Indigenous Peoples’ Day community event. These opportunities ensured we brought in every possible dollar.
Moreover, we owe gratitude to Sitka Tribe of Alaska for the use of their raffle permit and consistent support throughout!
And most of all, gunalchéesh to the ticket buyers. Every ticket was sold. An elder once said, “The tallest you’ll ever be is when you’re kneeling down to help someone up.” This isolated raffle is one example of how we hold up the women in our community.
With that said, the two organizations chosen as beneficiaries of our fundraiser are: Sitkans Against Family Violence and Data for Indigenous Justice. The mission of SAFV is to provide empowerment-based safety and advocacy services for victims/survivors of domestic and sexual violence while promoting a community of nonviolence and respect. The purpose of Data for Indigenous Justice is to steward and take care of all of the data regarding our missing and murdered Indigenous persons in our Alaska Native community. We do this through stewardship, cultural values and honoring our ancestors past and present in all of the work that we do.
I close by thanking SAFV and DIJ for their positive impact on the community of Sitka and everyone who contributed to making this a successful fundraising effort. Gunalchéesh,
Crystal Duncan, Sitka
