Museum Collection
Dear Editor: I was a sponsor of the bill that set out to appropriate $2 million in 1983 to begin the purchase of the Sheldon Jackson Museum (SB 256). The state testified in Senate Finance at the time:
“The collection is recognized as one of the preeminent Alaska Native collections in the world. It includes an outstanding argillite collection, approximately 800 objects from the North Slope including an exceptional collection of masks from Point Hope, an excellent collection of Eskimo, Aleut, Tlingit and Athabascan baskets, some rare Athabascan clothing, rare Russian-American materials, and a fine collection of Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian objects including the Katlean Helmet. The collection is well documented and represents the finest collection of Alaska Native material in the state and one of the finest collections in the world.”
All of the above is still true. It is unconscionable to think that the State of Alaska would consider selling any part of this collection held in the public trust. The suggestion of the State “divesting itself” of the Sheldon Jackson Museum is “akin to the federal government suggesting it divest itself of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian.”
Not only the collection, but the building constructed in 1895, specifically to house the museum’s collection, is important in itself as the first concrete structure in Alaska. It is a National Historic Landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places.
The importance of this museum and its collection to the City of Sitka, to researchers, and to the people of Alaska makes it vital that we keep the museum and that we keep it open year-around.
Arliss Sturgulewski,
Former State Senator
State Budget Hearing
Dear Editor: On Sunday, March 24, from 2 to 5 p.m. at Centennial Hall, Sitkans have a chance to weigh in to the state’s House Finance Committee.
The governor’s proposed budget would have drastic impacts on us in Sitka: eliminating ferries and greatly increasing school class sizes for example. This is a chance to weigh in and let the Legislature know what we value. Please join me this Sunday and voice what’s important to you.
Paul Rioux, Sitka
