Oral Historian Job Opportunity

The Association of Village Council Presidents has a job opening for an Oral Historian located in Bethel, Alaska. According to the job announcement, “The Oral Historian provides services to organize and initiate topical indexing of the ANCSA Historic and Cemetery Sites Program tape collection from the Calista/AVCP region. The Oral Historian will coordinate inter-agency efforts involving the oral history collection including copying, archiving, storage, collection maintenance cataloging, indexing, transcribing and translating. The Oral Historian must have a strong commitment to developing a long-term oral history initiative in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region and to incorporating local cultural heritage projects into a larger regional focus, and must be able and willing to work cooperatively with Native elders, individual researchers, various state and federal agencies, and Calista Corporation staff and administrators.”

Qualifications include: Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university in Linguistics or Language Studies with a specialization in Alaskan Native Languages. Spoken and written fluency in Yup’ik and English is required.

For full job announcement and more information go to: https://www.avcp.org/job/oral-historian/

NN Cannery Project Discusses Community Work

Between Two Bookshelves: Humanities Organizations and the COVID-19 Pandemic

On June 25, 2020, Katie Ringsmuth with the NN Cannery History Project participated in a virtual online briefing organized for congressional staffers in Washington DC that showcased how humanities organizations like hers are serving communities in distinct and crucial ways throughout the COVID-19 crisis. She represented the Cannery History Project and discussed the unifying significance of current and past essential workers, as well as the historic lessons learned from the 1919 pandemic and the Black Lives Matters movement and how they tie together through the NN Cannery History experience. Katie was joined by Vive Griffith from the Clemente Course in the Humanities, which serves low-income adults. Moderating the conversation was Cecily Hill, the National Humanities Alliance’s director of community initiatives.

To watch the recorded video click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiidLBk684I&feature=youtu.be

2020 Annual Award Nominations

The Alaska Historical Society is asking for help in recognizing individuals, historical societies and public institutions for their outstanding research, writing, and promotion of Alaska history. Nominations are due no later than August 15, 2020.

Here’s the list of awards to be made in 2020:

The James H. Ducker Historian of the Year Award is given to an Alaska resident for publication of significant new material about Alaska’s past published the last sixteen months. history during the past year. Historian James Ducker edited the Society’s scholarly journal Alaska History for 30 years.

The Esther Billman Certificate of Excellence is given to a local or state historical society, museum, government agency, or other organization for a project or series of projects contributing to the preservation and understanding of Alaska history. Esther Billman’s service as curator at the Sheldon Jackson Museum is commemorated by the award.

The Evangeline Atwood Award is given to an individual for significant long-term contributions to Alaska state or local history. Evangeline Atwood was one of the founders of the Alaska Historical Society.

The Barbara Smith Pathfinder Award is given to an individual or individuals for indexing or preparing guides to Alaska historical material. Barbara Smith, a historian, archivist, and exhibit curator prepared invaluable guides to Alaska Native, Russian Orthodox, and Russian American records.

The Elva R. Scott Local Historical Society Award is for a special achievement of a community historical society or museum to make the local people and historical events known. Elva Scott was a founder of Homer’s Pratt Museum, and after moving to Eagle was the newsletter editor, tour guide, and official of that community’s historical society.

The Student and Beginning Professional Travel Scholarship Awards are cash awards given to help individuals attend and participate in the Alaska Historical Society’s annual meeting and conference.

The Contributions to Alaska History Award recognize an individual or groups that have made  singular and significant recent contributions to the promotion and understanding of Alaska history.

A letter of nomination with sufficient detail and supporting materials should be sent to the AHS Awards Committee, members@alaskahistoricalsociety.org or mailed to P.O. Box 100299, Anchorage, AK 99510.  Nominations for the Ducker Award must include a copy of the publication for the committee’s use.

Nominations are due August 15, 2020.

Municipality of Anchorage Landmark Register

The Municipality of Anchorage is recognizing the importance of having a Historic Preservation Program by developing a Local Landmark Register. The Planning Department released the Public Review Draft of the Local Landmark Register Ordinance on June 15, 2020. The public review-and-comment period is from June 15 through August 31, 2020.

For more information and to submit comments go to: http://www.muni.org/Departments/OCPD/Planning/Projects/Pages/Local-Landmark-Register.aspx

Cook Inlet Historical Society Virtual Lecture

In response to the COVID-19 virus, the Cook Inlet Historical Society has transitioned to a free, online speaker series.

Please tune in for Cook Inlet Historical Society’s virtual panel lecture titled:  “We’re Saving It for You:  The Value and Importance of Archives and Museums in Alaska”; 7 p.m., Thursday, June 18, 2020.  

Advance registration is required for this free virtual talk.  Online meeting details will be included in an automatic confirmation email.  Register here:  https://www.anchoragemuseum.org/visit/calendar/details/?id=59352

In this lecture, a local panel of archivists and museum curators will give an overview of their respective institutions’ archival, manuscript and museum holdings related to Alaska and the Circumpolar North. Archives also have been used in innovative and creative ways for community outreach, film documentaries and educational outreach. By emphasizing how these collections are used in research, the panelists will discuss the rich resources in the state’s archives. They will present what archives can do for you, how to best use them for personal and historical research, types of users, digital collections and success stories. Public support for archives and museums is a continuing priority of the Alaska Historical Society and the Cook Inlet Historical Society.

The coronavirus derailed the Historical Society’s Speakers Series in March, April and May.  The March event on the importance of history museums and archives was canceled only a few days before it was scheduled so the presenters were well along with preparations.  Recognizing this, and with many historians and researchers concerned about the pending move of the National Archives from Seattle, it is still a very timely topic. The public’s attention to issues such as closing the Seattle National Archives can be lost in these difficult times, making it easy for its proponents to proceed with little public input.

Speakers

Will Schneider is Professor Emeritus at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and former Curator of Oral History, Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks.  He is president of the Alaska Historical Society.  He will speak on the value and importance of archives, and the Alaska Historical Society’s Archive Video Project (https://alaskahistoricalsociety.org/about-ahs/ahs-advocacy/importance-of-archives/).

Arlene Schmuland is the head of Archives and Special Collections at the Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.

Arabeth Balasko is Archivist at the Atwood Resource Center, Anchorage Museum.  During her archival career, she has worked as an archivist and historian at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Greenbrier Historical Society, Preservation Society of Newport County and the Arlington Public Library.

Bruce Parham retired as Director of the National Archives at Anchorage in 2011, after 22 years of federal service with the National Archives and Records Administration.  He is secretary of the Cook Inlet Historical Society Board of Directors.

This program is jointly sponsored with the Anchorage Museum, and CIHS would like to acknowledge the Museum’s technical assistance and major support.