Category: News

Wed, March 14, 2018

New publication about 1867 Alaska Transfer Ceremony

The Alaska Historical Society is pleased to announce publication of: "As the Old Flag Came Down: Eyewitnesses to the October 18, 1867 Alaska Transfer Ceremony" Chris Allan, 2018. This 32-page booklet offers 16 eyewitness accounts of the 1867 Alaska Transfer Ceremony held in Sitka, Alaska. Drawn from newspaper stories, letters, and journals, there is one pre-transfer account, one post-transfer account, and 14 that describe the event. It also includes some 1868 photographs taken by Eadweard Muybridge. These accounts provide a rare opportunity to see... (Read More)

Sat, March 10, 2018

Sesquicentennial Matters in Alaska

[caption id="attachment_5745" align="alignright" width="190"] Close up of top of Seward’s Pole in Saxman, Alaska. The pole was carved by Stephen Jackson. Photo by Hall Anderson, used with permission.[/caption] The Alaska Historical Society is pleased to announce that the National Council on Public History just published an article "Sesquicentennial Matters in Alaska" by Anna Lee Hirschi, our contractor for Alaska’s commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Alaska Treaty of Cession.

Thu, September 07, 2017

Alaska Newspapers on Chronicling America Website

The Alaska State Library is pleased to announce that the first batch of selected Alaskan historical newspapers are now on the Library of Congress' Chronicling America website. This includes: 1206 issues of The Alaska Daily Empire (1912-1918), 448 issues of Douglas Island News (1898-1907), and 47 issues of The Thlinget (1908-1912). To check them out go to: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/newspapers/?state=Alaska&ethnicity=&language= A second batch is already on its way to Library of Congress for review, so look for future announcements of when they go... (Read More)

Mon, July 17, 2017

Alaska Out of the Vault Podcast

With a grant from the Alaska Historical Commission, Anjuli Grantham has produced a special podcast called "Alaska Out of the Vault" that examines Alaska in the decades around the Treaty of Cession. It focuses on what was occurring in Alaska--not in Washington, DC--and what themes and transitions were afoot rather than the big, iconic moments that tend to receive the most attention. [caption id="attachment_5253" align="alignright" width="200"] Unangan puffin skin parka, circa 1880s. Photo courtesy of Alaska State Museum.[/caption] Anjuli selected objects... (Read More)

Wed, April 05, 2017

Why Russia Gave Up Alaska, and How it Affected Native Alaskans

Willie Iggiagruk Hensley, Inupiaq scholar and the 2017 keynote speaker for the Alaska Historical Society Annual Conference, published an article titled "Why Russia Gave Up Alaska, America's Gateway to the Arctic." It originally appeared on the website The Conversation on March 29, 2017 and was re-posted at the Smithsonian online. Willie Hensley offers an overview of the historical legacy of the Alaska purchase from Russia and provides a unique perspective on what becoming part of the United States has meant to... (Read More)