Wear Your Mask
Dear Editor: On Nov. 25 I spent an hour with a friend, holding the Wear Your Mask Banner at the roundabout.
My simple math goes like this; we easily averaged 20 cars a minute in the exactly one hour we were there. We got over 200 thumbs up, no fingers were observed, and no name-calling either. I would guesstimate that due to conversation, straightening the banner, and acknowledging the passersby, we missed about the same number of positives that we saw. It was gratifying to see the support. I appreciate the idea that it is OK to disagree, and it is also OK to be civil about it. I also think given the consequences of not wearing a mask, many of our friends, neighbors, and children are put at risk. Thank you.
Jeff Budd, Sitka
School District Staff
Dear Editor: The Sitka School District is arguably our town’s largest institution. Serving in excess of 1,100 students daily, we directly touch a huge portion of Sitka’s households. In a year of challenges, we have faced some monumental ones.
The Sitka School Board would like to give humble thanks and high praise to all district staff: from the bus drivers who pick our children up each morning to the administrators juggling completely new schedules, the counselors, the food service staff to the paraprofessionals, the office staff to the activities staff, the maintenance and custodial staff to the finance office, to the teachers who rallied to make online school a reality. It has taken herculean effort to reinvent what school looks like, and that vision continues to change almost daily. Not one worker has been unaffected by the change.
Handling it all with all grace, dignity, and extreme perseverance, they have strived to give the children of this community the best opportunities to learn. The Sitka School Board is immensely proud of all the staff has accomplished: to them we say salamat, gunalcheesh, and thank you!
Sitka School Board:
Amy Morrison, Eric Van Cise,
Paul Rioux, Blossom Teal-Olsen and Andrew Hames
Missing Women
Dear Editor: As we experience gratitude around the Thanksgiving holiday, we acknowledge that every life is precious. Native American women go missing and/or are murdered at a rate 10 times higher than other ethnicities, with the majority of these acts being committed by non-Native people on Native lands. These cases rarely receive the attention they deserve, as many go cold and some aren’t even properly documented. For example, in 2016, there were 5,712 Native women and girls reported missing or murdered. Of these, only 116 were registered in the Department of Justice database.
Whether you have heard it referred to as Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW), Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG), Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives (MMIR) or Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP), this movement seeks to honor indigenous lives that have been wrongfully taken and to ensure that these individuals get the attention, respect, and justice they deserve. MMIW campaigns shed light on the lives and deaths of our daughters, mothers, sisters, aunties and our neighbors because they will not be forgotten and are not invisible.
We are grateful to live in a community where we can start conversations about violence against women, as well as the deep-rooted issues that allow our women to feel undervalued. Sisters, you are important to us. Know that we are holding you up at this time. We are also thankful that in Sheet’ka, when we become aware of a problem, we work together to find a solution – it takes a village. Together, as individuals residing on Tlingit aani, it is our responsibility to work to end the disproportionate violence committed against indigenous peoples as a whole.
To show our support and respect for the MMIW movement, we will be teaming up with supporters of Black Lives Matter (BLM) at the roundabout at noon on Saturday, Nov. 28. All individuals are welcome and encouraged to bring a mask, their support, and a sign if you are moved to do so. We also invite supporters to wear red in solidarity with MMIW. Further, if you are interested in learning more, or becoming involved, community members are planning activities around this subject to occur during Alaska Civil Rights Month, which starts on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and continues until Elizabeth Peratrovich Day.
Gunalchéesh for helping us bring attention to this important campaign and we wish you and yours a happy holiday season.
Brent Turvey, Caroline Fenton, Claire O’Halloran Hill,
Crystal Duncan, Iris Klinger,
Kevin Knox, Lee House,
Mandy Evans and Missy Mongiovi
