Community Dinners
Dear Editor: In 2019 I decided I wanted to make myself useful. In the lead-up to Thanksgiving, I put out a Facebook post asking if anyone knew who I might contact about volunteering for the upcoming community dinner. Karen Lucas’ daughter, Kjersti, reached out to me with her mom’s contact information – the rest is history. That year my nieces and I tried our hands at “decking the hall.” And then the next day, I scooped every plate with mashed potatoes until every potato had been served. It was a beautiful event to witness, and be a part of.
Keep in mind, this was pre-COVID, the hall was packed full of people. There were people who showed up to engage in community fellowship because this dinner had become a tradition in their household. For some, you could see relief because the food was plentiful and delicious and by walking through the double doors they didn’t have to come out of pocket for a meal that could easily run into the hundreds. For some, they are far from home, or don’t have a large family structure so by showing up, they became adopted family members, known as “brothers” and “sisters” because we’re all family here.
A year later, our community had been drastically impacted by COVID. Our Alaska Native Sisterhood and Alaska Native Brotherhood had to adjust accordingly. This time around I volunteered to be a delivery driver. Through this experience I discovered Sitka has both an Etolin Street and Etolin Way (Google maps taught me that). I can only imagine what a logistical nightmare it was for the planners, but due to their efforts no one went hungry on Thanksgiving and/or Christmas. With COVID mitigation at the forefront, they really pulled it off.
The history in Sitka is immense; I’m proud that part of that history includes the founding of the oldest indigenous persons’ civil rights organization in the world, the Alaska Native Brotherhood, Camp 1. It all started here. It continues here.
The mission of ANB/ANS is: to better the lives of Native people and their families; to continue the fight for civil rights and land rights of all Native people; to share the cultural knowledge, wisdom, and artistic beauty of Native tribal societies and strive for a spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood among all people! These community events are an annual means, and just a small way that these organizations live up to that.
The planning is currently underway for these upcoming holiday dinners. Because this is an annual large-scale event that requires the effort of so many, I can’t in the space provided name all who deserve credit, but I can give a heartfelt thanks to my brothers and sisters, for providing this service to our community. Aatlein Gunalchéesh.
Crystal “Kayeitl’i” Duncan, Sitka
