Category: 49 History

Wed, March 06, 2013

William H. Seward, Political Fixer

In recognition of Seward's Day this month, we're posting the following column by Tom Kizzia that was first published in the Anchorage Daily News and is reprinted here with the author’s permission. Kizzia’s book “Pilgrim's Wilderness” will be published later this year.In the years just after the American Civil War, were bribes paid to win congressional approval for the purchase of Alaska? And did the American politician credited by history with making the deal know about the payments?The answer to... (Read More)

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Mon, February 25, 2013

Honoring Melvin Dempsey: Part II

A continuation of the story of Melvin Dempsey, a half-African-American, half Cherokee prospector who contributed much to the establishment of early Valdez.by Andrew GoldsteinWith George Hazelet and A.J. Meals, Dempsey discovered gold on Chistochina River in the fall of 1899. Starting for the interior via the glacier route, he arrived at Chisna, placing numerous claims along the Chistochina River between 1899 and 1901. In March 1898, Dempsey became the center of a controversy. Since 1897, the Valdez town site had... (Read More)

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Thu, February 21, 2013

Honoring Melvin Dempsey: Part I

by Andrew GoldsteinIn recognition of Black History Month, we’d like to honor one of Old Valdez’s fascinating and influential early residents. Melvin Dempsey was a prospector of African-American and Cherokee descent and an educated man who remains an “unsung hero” in his accomplishments establishing the town’s early infrastructure.Melvin Dempsey, circa 1905Dempsey was born a slave in 1857 in North Carolina, the son of a Cherokee plantation owner and an African-American slave. He moved around in his early life, living in... (Read More)

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Thu, February 14, 2013

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Litigation Records Appraisal and Processing Project

This announcement provided by the Alaska State Archives. The website is available at: https://archives.alaska.gov/education/evos.html The Exxon Valdez oil spill was a decisive event in world history. It permanently changed the lives of those who live in Alaska; especially people in the spill region. Lawsuits between the State of Alaska, the United States government and Exxon and Alyeska Corporations and other defendants lasted five years. All state and federal cases were eventually combined as a federal case presided over by Judge... (Read More)

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Wed, February 06, 2013

Interview with Lissa Wadewitz, author of “The Nature of Borders”

The Nature of Borders: Salmon, Boundaries, and Bandits On the Salish Sea is Lissa K. Wadewitz’s new book about how humans have conceptualized ocean and freshwater boundaries in the transnational context of the Pacific Northwest. The book is published by University of Washington Press. Wadewitz is an assistant professor of history at Linfield College in Oregon. The following interview was conducted by email.Your book deals with the concept of "borders" on multiple levels (e.g., indigenous, maritime, international). Tell us what... (Read More)

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