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Southeast Alaska village of Kake welcomes artifacts — some over 200 years old — back home

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Southeast Alaska village of Kake welcomes artifacts — some over 200 years old — back home


Nearing the tip of his flight from Seattle to Juneau, Frank Hughes regarded out his aircraft window to the bottom under the place the define of the Organized Village of Kake slowly appeared beneath him.

An pleasure inbuilt him, one which he stated made him really feel like his coronary heart had simply skipped a beat. Although Hughes has lived within the small Southeast Alaska Native village for years and has come and gone from it too many instances to depend, this time was totally different — as a result of he wasn’t alone in coming dwelling.

Within the stomach of the aircraft sat a sturdy black bin locked by zip ties and scattered with fragile stickers holding 25 Alaska Native artifacts starting from spruceroot-woven baskets to ceremonial paddles to headdresses that had been taken from the village within the early 1900s.

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Most of the items are estimated to be greater than 200 years previous.

“We’re going dwelling,” Hughes stated. “These artifacts are coming dwelling.”

Since 2018, Hughes has labored to carry the collections of artifacts that had been discovered at George Fox College in Oregon again to Kake after discovering their existence whereas doing analysis for the Native American Grave Safety and Repatriation Act for which he served as coordinator. Hughes stated throughout his work for NAGPRA he had finished many Indigenous artifact repatriations throughout the nation, however stated he couldn’t consider it when he got here throughout the artifacts from Kake.

Now, after almost 5 years of ready, Hughes, together with Lincoln Bean, vice chairman for the Organized Village of Kake, flew to the college this month to retrieve the artifacts and convey them dwelling. The pair and the bin of artifacts made stops in Seattle and Juneau earlier than heading to Kake on Nov. 18.

“After I checked out them, it was like taking a look at my previous and my elders,” Bean stated. “It’s a few of the most stunning artwork of weaving, headdresses I’ve by no means seen earlier than. The apron for dancing, with a few of the most intricate, stunning beadwork you’ve ever seen in your life.”

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[Joy and healing: Anaktuvuk Pass elders return the remains of a Nunamiut man to the village]

How the gathering of this small Southeast Alaska village’s cultural artifacts ended up almost 1,000 miles away, saved off-display at what payments itself because the No. 1 Christian faculty in Oregon, is up for debate, Hughes and Bean defined.

The pair stated they consider that a few of the artifacts could have been given as a present to guests of the village. They stated it’s extra doubtless, nevertheless, that the majority had been taken by the Non secular Society of Buddies in Alaska — also referred to as Quakers — who constructed a mission within the village in late 1891, then left after the constructing was handed over to the Kake Memorial Presbyterian church in 1912.

“They minimize it out and took it,” Hughes stated a couple of picket masks that was a part of the gathering of artifacts repatriated. The piece was doubtless the oldest of the gathering and served as a marker on a tree figuring out the territory. He stated the masks must have been minimize out of the physique of the tree to be eliminated.

Quakers had been missionaries in Alaska who through the 1800s and 1900s ran about 30 boarding faculties for Indigenous youngsters within the U.S. and its territories, together with the Douglas Island Buddies Mission Faculty on Douglas Island.

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Quakers had been a part of the historic motion during which many Alaska Native youngsters had been despatched away from their households, communities and tradition to boarding faculties within the state — or throughout the nation — and had been pressured to divorce themselves of their Indigenous id in trade for U.S. values and tradition.

Although most of the boarding faculties had been closed by the late 1900s, the legacy of trauma and abuse from these faculties nonetheless stays for a lot of Alaska Native households and communities.

Hughes stated although the ache nonetheless permeates from the previous, repatriation serves as a solution to carry therapeutic to each the folks residing in Kake at this time and the spirits that dwell inside the artifacts.

“We’re simply attempting to carry them dwelling the place they got here from,” Bean stated.

Hughes stated when he first noticed the artifacts in Oregon, he knew instantly that the spirits of his Tlingit ancestors had been there with him.

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“After we opened it up, the thrill and the spirits had been alive, it’s like strolling in an air-conditioned room — the spirits got here alive,” Hughes stated. “It’s good to see you, we’re joyful to see you.”

Bean agreed, and stated the Tlingit tradition is a present from God and bringing dwelling this stuff offers him a glimpse of his tradition he didn’t know was lacking.

“I’ve by no means seen something like this,” Bean stated. “It’s highly effective wanting again on folks we all know that had been right here earlier than us — as a household, as a tribe — and it’s tangible, we will contact it.”

Kake Alaska Native cultural artifacts repatriation Juneau Empire AP Storyshare

Hughes stated he and Bean would current the artifacts, nonetheless unopened, to the village. Plans to open the field and welcome the artifacts dwelling had been on observe to start however doubtless wouldn’t occur till after Thanksgiving.

Bean and Hughes stated that the repatriation serves as a step towards therapeutic and rebuilding the elements of their tradition that had been taken.

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“We all know who we’re, we all know the place we come from, we all know the place we’re going,” Bean stated.





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Alaska

Alaska Native culture bearers bless Cook Inlet Fin Whale

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Alaska Native culture bearers bless Cook Inlet Fin Whale


ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Alaska Native Heritage Center staff gathered on the Cook Inlet mudflats on Monday to honor a whale that washed ashore over a week ago.

Alaska Native Heritage Center staff gathered on the Cook Inlet mudflats on Monday to honor a whale that washed ashore over a week ago.

“We came here today to offer some prayers and ceremony to the whale that washed up,” Ben Baldwin, with the Alaska Native Heritage Center, said.

Baldwin was one of several staff who took part in the blessing ceremony for the nearly 50-foot fin whale.

“The reason that we’re here as Native people is to be respectful of all living things,” Marilyn Balluta, with the center, said. “This [the whale] is your non-human relative.”

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During the ceremony, Baldwin performed both a prayer and a song for the whale. According to Baldwin, this was the first time he had done a blessing like this in front of a large crowd of people. Traditionally, he said he tends to do blessings like this when he is out hunting.

“I offered a prayer in smoke inside an abalone shell and that [shell] had plants from here, from the Cook Inlet basin,” Baldwin said. “It’s the medicine of the land that we’re offering to our non-human relatives from the land as well.”

According to Baldwin, whales are significant in the Alaska Native culture. Both for sustainability purposes and their spirituality.

“They’re very spiritually strong and they carry a lot of meaning,” Baldwin said. “And we felt that it was really important to offer a prayer as a community, offer it a final drink and make sure that we are interacting with our non-human relatives in a really good way.”

Monday’s blessing was also a somber moment for some people who gathered around the whale. Emily Edenshaw, the CEO of the Alaska Native Heritage Center, shared how she struggled with seeing images surface that showed chunks of meat missing as well as its fin chopped off.

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“I know for myself it was really hard to see the photos and to see the post, but understanding that this is an opportunity to apply what we’ve learned but also show our respect,” Edenshaw said.

It’s a similar feeling for Baldwin, who asks that people pay their respects when visiting the whale.

“It’s more than just flesh and bones, it’s spirit, it’s a relative and it should be respected,” he said.

See a spelling or grammar error? Report it to web@ktuu.com

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Alaska Republicans bring in national lawyer, will ask for recount on Ballot Measure 2

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Alaska Republicans bring in national lawyer, will ask for recount on Ballot Measure 2


The Alaska Republican Party said on Sunday that it will be asking the Division of Elections for a recount of the votes on Ballot Measure 2, which gave Alaskans the option of repealing ranked-choice voting.

Although dark money from Outside Alaska overwhelmed proponents of the repeal, it ended up failing to be repealed by just 664 votes, a tiny margin.

Of the 340,110 votes cast on the measure, the margin of “No” votes to “Yes” votes was 160,619 to 159,955, or 50.1% to 49.9%. The state must cover the costs of a recount when the margin is this close.

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“We will submit this request, along with the names of the requisite Alaskan voters required to initiate this process, once the election is certified, which is scheduled for November 30, 2024,” said the statement issued by the Alaska Republican Party.

The party has hired the Dhillon Law Group, led by Harmeet K. Dhillon, to be on the ground during the recount and review, along with Alaska-based party counsel and observers.

“Ms. Dhillon and her firm are a nationally recognized, seasoned election integrity legal team, and bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to this recount process. Ms. Dhillon is an expert in election law. She and her colleagues Michael Columbo and Mark Meuser were recently on the legal teams in Arizona, Pennsylvania, and other crucial locations nationally to ensure a fair, transparent, and thorough process,” said Party Chairwoman Carmela Warfield. “Our Party Counsel, Ms. Stacey Stone and her team, are experienced Alaskan election law practitioners, and in September 2024, they successfully intervened on the Alaska Republican Party’s behalf in the case of Alaska Democratic Party v. State of Alaska Division of Elections, ultimately prevailing in the Alaska Supreme Court.”



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101-year-old woman shares her birthday reflections with Alaska’s News Source

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101-year-old woman shares her birthday reflections with Alaska’s News Source


ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Norma Aldefer didn’t expect to turn 100. Now, one day after her 101st birthday, she’s even more surprised.

Inside her pristine apartment, Aldefer’s table is full of cards wishing her a happy birthday. She points out a favorite, which reads “You’re how old?”

Celebratory messages from loved ones, along with congratulations from state officials Senator Lisa Murkowski and Governor Mike Dunleavy. Aldefer said last year’s centennial birthday even brought in regards from President Joe Biden.

Aldefer moved to Alaska to marry her husband, who was originally from her hometown. The photograph she has at her side is of her as a younger woman posing with her mother in 1948.

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Norma and her parents pose “all dressed up” for family photos.(Olivia Nordyke)

“We took pictures of ourselves and and I’m all dressed up in high heels and a hat and a purse. And my little bag that I was carrying.” Aldefer said she was scared leaving the small farm she grew up on, but by working as a telephone operator for Southwestern Bell, she expanded her horizons.

Multiple times Aldefer stated she’s remained curious all her years. She said it’s the reason she’s been able to maintain herself rather than losing her faculties, and believes it’s the way to feel fulfilled.

“Sometimes people get into things they don’t enjoy, but they think, ‘Oh, I have to make a living.’ Don’t do that. If you’re not comfortable, go do something else,” Aldefer said.

“May not make a good living for a while, but you might enjoy life.”

Aldefer says she still enjoys life, and continues to enjoy a nightly martini alongside cheese and crackers before she begins to cook dinner.

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Over the course of the interview, she marveled at her gratitude for her world – calling herself blessed.

“I know I’m not going to be here much probably much longer, but I’ve had such a good life, you know. I’m not afraid of it.”

See a spelling or grammar error? Report it to web@ktuu.com



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