Dear Editor: My cousin, Kyle Baker, is a former Sitka Fine Arts Camp counselor living in a community called Hiawatha in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Hiawatha has about 6,000 people, many of whom don’t feel safe to leave their homes. Most especially, people of color or people who speak English as a second language are afraid to go to work, go to the grocery store, or send their children to school for fear that they will be separated from their families by ICE agents.
There is a large network of people delivering food and toiletries to the homes of people who are afraid to leave their houses. The Givebutter link that I am sharing is specifically for the Hiawatha and Howe Parent Teacher Organization. The Hiawatha PTO will use said funds to support families in the community and other basic needs.
We are fortunate in Southeast Alaska to be relatively sheltered from what’s going on in the rest of the country. It can be easy to dismiss current events until it directly affects us. Sometimes it takes someone you love telling you that they’re not okay to wake you up and make you want to do something. My cousin has always been a steady presence for me and gave me my first bike when I was a kid. He and many others are working hard to support their friends and neighbors in the light of recent ICE threats to this and hundreds of other communities across the country.
I know that I am not the only one with family ties in the Midwest. Please consider giving to Hiawatha PTO, then reach out to your loved ones in and around the Twin Cities and make sure they’re doing okay. There are countless campaigns like this one all over the internet. If someone you care about is in Minnesota, ask them if there is an organization like this for their community that you can share with others.
Minnesota, from your friends and family in Alaska: You are not alone.
The website is: https://givebutter.com/HHMutualAid
Hannah Palof, Sitka
