Forest Service, Sitka Tribe to harvest Tlingit potato garden for community
The Forest Service and Sitka Tribe of Alaska will harvest the Tlingit community potato garden, and present scientific and cultural information about the crop, 12:30 p.m. Oct. 19.
Participants from the community will receive information on how to grow Tlingit potatoes, as well as their biology, history and cultural aspects.
The Sitka Ranger District provides the sunny plot of land to serve as the shared potato garden and tends the garden over the summer after volunteers from the Sitka Tribe’s Traditional Foods Program, the gardening class from Pacific High School, and others from the community plant the potatoes in April.
School and Tribe volunteers are expected to assist in the harvest, but community involvement is also needed. Attendees are asked to wear boots and gardening gloves, and take hand trowels or shovels. Five-gallon buckets of kelp to incorporate into the soil after harvesting would be beneficial as well.
Potatoes will need to be dried and prepared for storage. Many of the harvested potatoes will be saved as next year’s seed potatoes. Depending on the size of the harvest, the group will share the potatoes among the volunteers and through the Sitka Tribe’s Traditional Foods Program and Social Services Department.
The potato garden was started in 2017, partially, to support food security in Sitka.
“We’re excited about this year’s harvest because of the size and vigor of this year’s potato plants. The plants are more than three times the size of last year’s plants, so we are hopeful that we’ll have a really good harvest,” said Perry Edwards, Sitka District Ranger. “We also look forward to learning more about the genetic make-up of our harvest from the scientists who have studied them over the last year.”
Tlingit potatoes – sometimes called Maria’s potatoes – have been present in Tlingit gardens for more than 200 years. The potatoes originated in Mexico or Chile and were a trade item in Southeast Alaska in the early 1800s.
The work day and educational opportunity will be at the Sitka Ranger District office, 2108 Halibut Point Road. Participants should come prepared for the weather as all activities will occur outdoors. For information, contact Michelle Putz at 747-2708 or mputz@fs.fed.us.
Cultural Meeting
Slated Monday
Sitka Tribe of Alaska’s Cultural Resources Committee meeting will be noon Sept. 24 at 205 Baranof Street.
The committee continues to seek Tribal elders and leaders to participate in monthly meetings. The committee has an ongoing agenda based on upcoming cultural events, concerns, historic preservation, clan history or at.oow.
Those interested in serving and/or attending can contact Lillian Young at 966-1357. An RSVP for lunch is appreciated.
Sport Fishing
Photo Contest
Entries Sought
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Sport Fish is accepting photo entries of young anglers – 18 and younger – engaging in sport fishing for the 2019 Sport Fishing Regulations Summary booklets photo contest.
Selected photos will be used on the cover of the Sport Fishing Regulations Summary booklets in the following Alaska regions: Northern, Southcentral, Southeast and Southwest. A maximum of three photos may be entered per photographer. The submission deadline is 5 p.m. Oct. 31.
For submissions to be considered, the photos must be submitted by the anglers’ parent or guardian and accompanied by a completed Media Consent Release Form.
For further information, or to email photos and a completed and signed media consent release form, to: Jessica Lombard in Juneau/Douglas, jessica.lombard@alaska.gov.
Electrical Outage
Claims Accepted
The City and Borough of Sitka informs citizens that may be experiencing appliance damage as a result of the electrical surge/outage that occurred on Sept. 17 to contact insurance agency Alaska Adjusters, LLC., by phone at 404-219-3430, by email at claims@alaska.net, or by fax at 877-809-4435, and reference claim number 002028-0043369-GD-01-CLM.
The insurance agency is available to accept claims and answer questions. CBS has reported all calls received documenting damage to the agent, a press release from the city said.
STA Committee
Seeks Members
Sitka Tribe of Alaska Cultural Resource Department is seeking Tribal citizens to join its education scholarship committee.
The volunteer committee meets an average of four to six times a year, usually during the lunch hour. The committee is responsible for reviewing new and continuing Higher Education (HE) and Adult Vocational Training (AVT) scholarship applications.
Submit a letter of interest to Frea Hillaire, Workforce Development/HE/AVT Specialist, at frea.hillaire@sitkatribe-nsn.gov, 205 Baranof Street, or for further questions call 966-1356.
Museum Offers Free Admission
The Sheldon Jackson Museum will welcome special ticketholders 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, as part of the Smithsonian’s 14th annual Museum Day, a national celebration of boundless curiosity in which participating museums emulate the free admission policy at the Smithsoanian Institution’s Washington D.C.-based museums.
The special event represents a nationwide commitment to access, equality and inclusion at museums across the country. More than 250,000 people downloaded tickets for last year’s special free day, and this year even more are anticipated, the museum said.
Free museum tickets are available for download at Smithsonian.com/MuseumDay. The ticket provides general admission for two people at participating venues on Sept. 22. The event is limited to one ticket per email address. A list of participating museums, can be found at Smithsonian.com/MuseumDay/Search.
National Public Lands Day
Celebrated in Sitka Area
Americans across the country will visit their favorite parks, beaches, wildlife preserves and forests to enjoy the treasured lands to play, learn and connect in celebration of the 25th annual National Public Lands Day on Saturday, Sept. 22.
In Sitka, a wide variety of public lands are available: national forest, national parks and state parks. The Tongass National Forest is the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world, a press release from Sitka Conservation Society said. Every day hundreds of people walk through the Tongass and through the Sitka National Historical Park.
‘‘NPLD is a day to appreciate the public lands that we can enjoy here in Sitka,’’ the society said. ‘‘From fishing coho in our waters to hiking and hunting up in our mountains, NPLD is a great opportunity to join together with people across the country in getting outside.Our access to these valuable areas persists because they are public; they are set aside for all of us.’’
Coordinated each year by the National Environmental Education Foundation, National Public Lands Day brings together people from coast to coast to get outside and enjoy the public lands and facilities across America. Last year, more than 200,000 people participated in events at more than 2,500 sites in all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. Seven federal agencies will participate along with hundreds of state, county and city partners and a host of nonprofit groups. For the 20th consecutive year, Toyota is the event’s national corporate sponsor.
For more information, check out NEEFusa.org/NPLD. Everyone is encouraged to follow and participate in the conversation on social media using the hashtags #NPLD and #NEEF25thNPLD.
Haa Khusteeyi
Event at Museum
In observance of Indigenous People’s Day, the Sheldon Jackson Museum will host a special reception and talk by Chuck Miller (Tlingit) 5:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 8.
Miller will show a selection of artifacts from the museum’s collections storage that are personally significant to him and share stories about how these pieces reflect Tlingit traditional cultural practices and ways of life and his own relevant anecdotes.
Miller will offer a personal interpretation of a few rarely publicly seen artifacts and a celebration of culture through storytelling. The event, including light snacks and drink sponsored by the Friends of Sheldon Jackson Museum, is free and open to the public and will be held in the museum lobby and gallery.
The reception begins at 5:30 p.m. and the presentation is at 6 p.m.
Saxan Art Activity
Listed at Museum
The Sheldon Jackson Museum will host an At Saxan Art Activity 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 29.
During the September At Saxan, children ages 6-10 will make Alutiiq-style masks and look at images of Alutiiq masks in the museum gallery. The masks will be made using paper, scissors and colored pencils. To register a child, call 747-8981.
At Saxan traditionally happens one Saturday of the month in the fall, winter and spring and is family-friendly, free of charge, and sponsored by the Friends of Sheldon Jackson Museum.
During the At Saxan events, children ages 6-10 make some sort of a craft or work of art and learn about Alaska Native cultures and peoples. Frequently, At Saxan participants look for specific kinds of artifacts in the gallery.
The Sheldon Jackson Museum is open 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Admission will be waived for the At Saxan Art Activity. Call 747-8981 with any questions about the museum’s programming.
American Legion
Auxiliary Meets
The American Legion Auxiliary will have a garage sale 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, at the American Legion Hall.
