FIFTH OPENING – The Sitka seine boats Hukilau and Rose Lee pump herring aboard this afternoon at the end of Deep Inlet during the fifth opening in the Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery. The opening was being held in two locations beginning at 11 a.m. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson) 

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By Sentinel Staff
    The Sitka Sound commercial herring sac roe fishery continued today with open [ ... ]

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By GARLAND KENNEDY
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By Sentinel Staff
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By NATHANIEL HERZ
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27 Mar 2024 12:26

Police Blotter
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
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At 2:10 p.m. a man e [ ... ]

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Two Areas Opened in Herring Fishery Today
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By YERETH ROSEN
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March 26, 2024, Police Blotter
26 Mar 2024 13:49

Police Blotter
Sitka police received the following calls by 8 a.m. today:
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At 7:48 a.m. a calle [ ... ]

March 26, 2024, Community Happenings
26 Mar 2024 13:48

Vietnam-Era Vets
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By GARLAND KENNEDY
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Other Articles

Daily Sitka Sentinel

Weekend Play Highlights Sesquicentennial Issues

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
    The curtain goes up Saturday on a locally written play that takes a look from several perspectives at what Sitka may have been like at the time of the Alaska transfer in 1867.
    In this sesquicentennial year, organizers hope the production will spur conversation from other perspectives – and healthy dialogue – among members of the community.
    “It’s a good project because it addresses issues that need to be brought out,” said producer Jeff Budd. “We as a community need to be able to talk about it. Hopefully, it’s a step in the right direction for more connection and more harmony.”
    “Sitka: A Transfer Story,” by Zachary Desmond, will be presented at 5 p.m. and again at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Sheet’ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi. The show is presented by the Sitka Historical Society, and runs about 50 minutes.
    The story was inspired by the 1870 Sitka visit of Lady Jane Franklin, the wife of Arctic explorer John Franklin. After the British explorer went missing on his last expedition into the arctic, his wife spent the next 20 years looking for him.
    “It was a huge international mystery,” said Director Taylor Ciambra.
    The story is set in 1870, three years after the transfer of Russia’s Alaska claims to the United States. The story and the characters are fictional.
    Four actors play all the roles, with Seaton Bryan, Destony Rosas, Lisa Brooks and Sarah Gibson doubling up to cover all the parts.

From left, Seaton Bryan, Lisa Brooks, and Destony Rosas get into character during a rehersal, Thursday. (Sentinel Photo)


    Characters include Lady Jane Garfield (Gibson); Ivan the Russian trader (Rosas); Gregory, who is of Tlingit and Russian heritage (Rosas); Father Salkaloff, a Russian Orthodox priest (Bryan); Major Bell, an American major (Rosas); Benji, a California transplant who works with Lady Jane (Brooks); a Tlingit grandma (Brooks); and a prostitute, Mary (Rosas).
    Brooks said she auditioned because she has enjoyed past theatrical experiences, and was eager to take on a play that tackles a challenging topic.
    “It talks about a difficult subject we’re dealing with in our time, which is racism,” she said. “The play talks about how Native people were treated, and how a person who is biracial has to walk a difficult line.”
    Brooks said she identified with this difficulty: her mom is a third generation Italian and her dad’s family is from Barbados.
    “I never know what box to check,” she said.
    She said the play should inspire more conversations on the subjects raised in the story.
    “I like that this play goes deeper – I hope it promotes dialogue and conversations about who we are as a people and how we treat each other,” she said. “With the divide we have in our country, we need to think about how we’re all here together, living in this beautiful country, and we’re all in it together as one.”
    The play is a project of the Sitka Sesquicentennial Committee, which has been creating programs and projects in connection with the transfer all year.
    “It is important to consider this year as a commemoration rather than a celebration, because the transfer was not celebrated by all parties involved,” the committee says in its mission statement. “Still, the Sesquicentennial commemoration is an excellent opportunity to share in the different perspectives on the Treaty of Cession and its impact on Sitka and Alaska.”
    Desmond, a Sitka resident who is currently studying acting at the Juilliard School, was selected a year and a half ago to write a play about the sesquicentennial.
    Budd said Desmond turned out to be the “go-to person’ when the subject of finding a local playwright for the project came up.
    It was not an easy task. Starting about 18 months ago, it involved feedback from the public, table reads, and recruiting a director. Ciambra majored in directing at college, and directed a one-act play in 2015 when she lived in Sitka as a Jesuit Volunteer.
    She said she was happy to come back to Sitka for the directing job for a new play that takes on subjects, such as grief and racism, with a message in the end of harmony.
    “Things aren’t how they should be but they can still be something good,” she said.
    Budd said he wanted to thank the Rasmuson Foundation, First National Bank Alaska, Artists Cove, Alaska State Council on the Arts, Harry Race Pharmacy, Sitka Rotary Club, Sitka Historical Society, Holland America Advisory Committee and an anonymous donor for support.
    Tickets are $10 at Old Harbor Books and the door.







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20 YEARS AGO

March 2004

Matthew C. Hunter of Sitka recently returned from Cuba as part of a St. Olaf College International and Off-Campus Studies program. Hunter, a junior physics major at St. Olaf College, is the son of Robert and Kim Hunter of Sitka.


50 YEARS AGO

March 1974

Eighth graders have returned from a visit to Juneau to see the Legislature. They had worked for it since Christmas vacation ... Clarice Johnson’s idea of a “White Elephant” sales was chosen as the best money-maker; Joe Roth won the political cartoon assignment; highest government test scorers were Ken Armstrong, Joanna Hearn, Linda Montgomery, Lisa Henry, Calvin Taylor and David Licari .....

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