10 years ago
Proposal to eliminate comment period dies
An ordinance that would have cut the second public comment period at Haines Borough Assembly meetings has died.
Assembly member Mike Case proposed the ordinance with Mayor Jan Hill’s endorsement. Before it could be introduced on April 14 at the assembly level, it was pulled from the agenda and sent to the Government Affairs and Services Committee due to a wave of concern and discontent.
The ordinance died a quiet death in committee last week when assembly member George Campbell moved to table the ordinance indefinitely. The motion passed.
Former Mayor Stephanie Scott, a critic of the ordinance, attended the meeting and said the issue received little attention. “There was no discussion. I was sort of surprised. They seemed to have already made up their minds,” she said.
Opponents criticized the ordinance as an apparent discouragement of public participation that would stifle the public process.
20 years ago
Pole’s lesson of honor, friendship is timeless
Haines and Klukwan community leaders spoke about the value of friendship and the importance of strong community ties Friday as Haines Elementary School’s 40-foot Friendship Pole was erected after a one-month restoration.
A camera from The History Channel, which sponsored the totem renewal effort, recorded the celebration, which included dances and songs by Haines and Klukwan students, speeches by clan and government leaders, a traditional gift exchange, and a reception afterward at the ANB Hall.
The cable television network’s “Save Our History” program paid nearly $10,000 for renovation of the 40-foot yellow cedar totem, which was carved 28 years ago and dedicated to all the children of the Chilkat Valley.
Teachers of Haines’ inaugural Indian Education program, Brendan and Lauri Larson, donated seed money for the project, which later drew matching state grants as well as a host of community sponsors.
The pole was carved at Alaska Indian Arts and rededicated last week as the culmination of annual Tlingit Week activities, part of the district’s ongoing Indian Education program.
Students scraped and repainted the yellow cedar totem in classroom sessions, before school and even on weekends, said project leader and Sheldon Museum director Jim Heaton.
“For those of us who were here when we first made the pole so many years ago, it’s like we’re waking this totem pole up again,” said Tommy Jimmie Jr., leading Haines fourth-grade students in song.
“Tlingit trade songs are appropriate because the trading our people had with the people of the Interior was done out of friendship, and that’s the spirit in which these songs are being sung,” he said.
The Friendship Pole is unusual because it’s one of the few totems in Southeast that includes both eagle and raven clan symbols, said Klukwan School teacher and principal Cheryl Stickler.
“It represents our connections with other people. Standing by ourselves, we can do very little, but when we connect with other people, we can do much.”
Klukwan village president Kim Strong agreed that the totem’s message is important. “This Friendship Pole symbolizes the strengths we draw from our Tlingit culture and the culture of the Haines people, Native and non-Native. We’ve had a long history together, good and bad, but this Friendship Pole is a symbol of what is good. We need to continue strengthening our ties as people…. That’s what friendship is about. When a friend is in trouble, you extend a hand,” she told students.
Other speakers included Joe Hotch of the Brown Bear House, Thunderbird Don “Bosh” Hotch, and Ravens Ray Dennis, Jones Hotch Jr. and Marsha Hotch. Whale House member Jones Hotch used a fishing analogy. “When I think of the Friendship Pole, I think of a gillnet that has a lot of meshes. Sometimes meshes get torn. Sometimes friendships get torn. But if we’re really a friend, we have to mend it.”
Dennis said the pole’s message of unity is important to carry forward — a job that today’s young people can expect to receive support in. We extend our hands in love to each other. That’s what this pole talks about is the love we have for each other as a community… The future now is in your hands. We want to encourage you, lift you up and, if you need help, we’re here.”
The pole also symbolizes traditional Tlingit values of respect and honor, Stickler said.
“Whatever we do, we should do with honor. If we’re a carver, we carve with honor and we carve for others. If we dance, we dance with honor and we dance for others… For at least 30 more years, this pole will be standing and as we walk by, we can think of living with honor. That is true friendship,” Stickler said.
History Channel representative Danielle Capogrosso said she was gratified to take part in the totem dedication. She congratulated Haines for being one of only 29 communities nationwide to win a history preservation grant among the hundreds that applied.
“I’ve been throughout all our country and kids everywhere from New York to Massachusetts have brought their communities together. That’s the beauty of the Save Our History program and what it’s all about, bringing communities like this together and keeping history alive for generations.”
50 years ago
Fish and Game Board criticizes Forest Service timber cutting practices
The Board of Fish and Game says that U.S. Forest Service timber cutting practices in Southeastern Alaska do not provide for adequate protection of fish and wildlife.
In a resolution adopted at its spring meeting in Juneau, the board declared that a Tongass National Forest land use planning statement “threatens irreparable damage to this state’s renewable fish and wildlife resources.”
The resolution directed the Department of Fish and Game to pursue a policy of habitat protection and to take such steps as are necessary to require revision of the proposed land use plan where wildlife values are threatened.
“It would appear from the recently published Tongass National Forest Land Use Planning Statement that the Forest Service further proposes to allow cutting practices designed to maximize the board footage cut without specific provision for watersheds, fish and wildlife protection or the preservation of existing land, commercial, subsistence and recreational fisheries and other vital water uses,” the resolution states.
It also charges that the clear cutting authorized in current timber contracts drastically changes fish and wildlife habitat and causes permanent changes to the ecological systems.
“There appears to be no adequate concern or provision for estuarine and stream areas valuable to trout, salmon, king, tanner and dungeness crabs, clams, scallops, herring, cod, halibut, and other species,” the resolution states.
Also ignored by the Forest Service is the hazard posed to fish and shellfish by log dumps, towing and rafting, the resolution says.
The Department of Fish and Game had previously provided the Forest Service with an in-depth criticism of the land use plan.
This Week in History: Restricting public comment, a friendship pole, board cutting criticism
10 years ago
Proposal to eliminate comment period dies
An ordinance that would have cut the second public comment period at Haines Borough Assembly meetings has died.
Assembly member Mike Case proposed the ordinance with Mayor Jan Hill’s endorsement. Before it could be introduced on April 14 at the assembly level, it was pulled from the agenda and sent to the Government Affairs and Services Committee due to a wave of concern and discontent.
The ordinance died a quiet death in committee last week when assembly member George Campbell moved to table the ordinance indefinitely. The motion passed.
Former Mayor Stephanie Scott, a critic of the ordinance, attended the meeting and said the issue received little attention. “There was no discussion. I was sort of surprised. They seemed to have already made up their minds,” she said.
Opponents criticized the ordinance as an apparent discouragement of public participation that would stifle the public process.
20 years ago
Pole’s lesson of honor, friendship is timeless
Haines and Klukwan community leaders spoke about the value of friendship and the importance of strong community ties Friday as Haines Elementary School’s 40-foot Friendship Pole was erected after a one-month restoration.
A camera from The History Channel, which sponsored the totem renewal effort, recorded the celebration, which included dances and songs by Haines and Klukwan students, speeches by clan and government leaders, a traditional gift exchange, and a reception afterward at the ANB Hall.
The cable television network’s “Save Our History” program paid nearly $10,000 for renovation of the 40-foot yellow cedar totem, which was carved 28 years ago and dedicated to all the children of the Chilkat Valley.
Teachers of Haines’ inaugural Indian Education program, Brendan and Lauri Larson, donated seed money for the project, which later drew matching state grants as well as a host of community sponsors.
The pole was carved at Alaska Indian Arts and rededicated last week as the culmination of annual Tlingit Week activities, part of the district’s ongoing Indian Education program.
Students scraped and repainted the yellow cedar totem in classroom sessions, before school and even on weekends, said project leader and Sheldon Museum director Jim Heaton.
“For those of us who were here when we first made the pole so many years ago, it’s like we’re waking this totem pole up again,” said Tommy Jimmie Jr., leading Haines fourth-grade students in song.
“Tlingit trade songs are appropriate because the trading our people had with the people of the Interior was done out of friendship, and that’s the spirit in which these songs are being sung,” he said.
The Friendship Pole is unusual because it’s one of the few totems in Southeast that includes both eagle and raven clan symbols, said Klukwan School teacher and principal Cheryl Stickler.
“It represents our connections with other people. Standing by ourselves, we can do very little, but when we connect with other people, we can do much.”
Klukwan village president Kim Strong agreed that the totem’s message is important. “This Friendship Pole symbolizes the strengths we draw from our Tlingit culture and the culture of the Haines people, Native and non-Native. We’ve had a long history together, good and bad, but this Friendship Pole is a symbol of what is good. We need to continue strengthening our ties as people…. That’s what friendship is about. When a friend is in trouble, you extend a hand,” she told students.
Other speakers included Joe Hotch of the Brown Bear House, Thunderbird Don “Bosh” Hotch, and Ravens Ray Dennis, Jones Hotch Jr. and Marsha Hotch. Whale House member Jones Hotch used a fishing analogy. “When I think of the Friendship Pole, I think of a gillnet that has a lot of meshes. Sometimes meshes get torn. Sometimes friendships get torn. But if we’re really a friend, we have to mend it.”
Dennis said the pole’s message of unity is important to carry forward — a job that today’s young people can expect to receive support in. We extend our hands in love to each other. That’s what this pole talks about is the love we have for each other as a community… The future now is in your hands. We want to encourage you, lift you up and, if you need help, we’re here.”
The pole also symbolizes traditional Tlingit values of respect and honor, Stickler said.
“Whatever we do, we should do with honor. If we’re a carver, we carve with honor and we carve for others. If we dance, we dance with honor and we dance for others… For at least 30 more years, this pole will be standing and as we walk by, we can think of living with honor. That is true friendship,” Stickler said.
History Channel representative Danielle Capogrosso said she was gratified to take part in the totem dedication. She congratulated Haines for being one of only 29 communities nationwide to win a history preservation grant among the hundreds that applied.
“I’ve been throughout all our country and kids everywhere from New York to Massachusetts have brought their communities together. That’s the beauty of the Save Our History program and what it’s all about, bringing communities like this together and keeping history alive for generations.”
50 years ago
Fish and Game Board criticizes Forest Service timber cutting practices
The Board of Fish and Game says that U.S. Forest Service timber cutting practices in Southeastern Alaska do not provide for adequate protection of fish and wildlife.
In a resolution adopted at its spring meeting in Juneau, the board declared that a Tongass National Forest land use planning statement “threatens irreparable damage to this state’s renewable fish and wildlife resources.”
The resolution directed the Department of Fish and Game to pursue a policy of habitat protection and to take such steps as are necessary to require revision of the proposed land use plan where wildlife values are threatened.
“It would appear from the recently published Tongass National Forest Land Use Planning Statement that the Forest Service further proposes to allow cutting practices designed to maximize the board footage cut without specific provision for watersheds, fish and wildlife protection or the preservation of existing land, commercial, subsistence and recreational fisheries and other vital water uses,” the resolution states.
It also charges that the clear cutting authorized in current timber contracts drastically changes fish and wildlife habitat and causes permanent changes to the ecological systems.
“There appears to be no adequate concern or provision for estuarine and stream areas valuable to trout, salmon, king, tanner and dungeness crabs, clams, scallops, herring, cod, halibut, and other species,” the resolution states.
Also ignored by the Forest Service is the hazard posed to fish and shellfish by log dumps, towing and rafting, the resolution says.
The Department of Fish and Game had previously provided the Forest Service with an in-depth criticism of the land use plan.