Tue, June 18, 2013
By: Katherine Ringsmuth We all know that salmon have fueled Alaska’s commercial fishing industry for over 100 years. So, if salmon fed Alaska’s numerous salmon canneries, what fed Alaska’s numerous cannery workers? Believe it or not, the answer is not salmon! Although salmon was eaten on occasion, it was not the primary source of nutrition fueling the industry’s workers. Over the century, cannery workers’ diets have consisted of rice, powered milk, coffee, canned goods, doughnuts, salad bars, and prime rib....
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Fri, June 07, 2013
Below is an excerpt from Attu Boy, Nick Golodoff's memoir of his experiences on Attu and in Japan during World War II, published by the National Park Service in 2012, that relates the events of the Japanese invasion of Attu through the eyes of a six-year-old.The Invasion of Attu - June 7, 1942The Attuans had been warned by the U.S. military that the Japanese might come. Before the U.S. could evacuate the Attuans, the Japanese invaded. The teacher, Etta Jones,...
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Sat, June 01, 2013
Sponsored by the Sealaska Heritage Institute, the Native American Heritage Month Lecture Series focused on the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Below are links are to the recorded lectures.Rosita Worl, “ANCSA: A Path to Assimilation or Cultural Survival”http://vimeo.com/32816841Chris McNeil, “The Legal Status of Alaska Native Corporations and Economic Self Determination”http://vimeo.com/32483946Ed Thomas, “The Interrelationships Between Tribes and Corporations”http://vimeo.com/32344641
Fri, May 31, 2013
By Katherine RingsmuthOn the north side of the Naknek River, during the first snowstorm of the season, I walk with winter along a stony beach, struggling to hold on to the edge of the world. Bristol Bay exhales winds that heave across the mudflats, blasting Alaska's blunt western coastline. It is here, where land meets sea, that such volatile and unpredictable weather patterns form. Pulling my cap tight over my ears, I turn against the October winds, and notice my...
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Thu, May 30, 2013
Greetings, Alaska historians. Check out these interesting items from the recent news. First, Alaska Public Media has posted on its website a recording of Katie Ringsmuth’s recent lecture on “Wrangell Mountain Sky Boys: How Buffalo Bill, Buck Taylor and Bob Reeve Created Alaska’s Skyboy Narrative.” Part of the Centennial Flight of Alaska lecture series hosted by the Cook Inlet Historical Society, Ringsmuth delivered the lecture at the Anchorage Museum on April 18. The recording is available here: http://www.alaskapublic.org/2013/05/24/wrangell-mountain-sky-boys/ Also, poet Joan Naviyuk Kane...
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