The Sitka Project Jukebox is comprised of fourteen oral history interviews, photographs, and a walking tour of the Russian Bishop's House. It is designed to provide an overview of the Sitka National Historical Park; its history, its facilities, and its importance to members of the Sitka community. This project was created to let Sitkans explain in their own words what the park means to them. It offers a wonderful perspective on "the meaning of place" to a community.
People interviewed for this project have a variety of ties to the Park. Tlingit elders remember hunting, fishing, and collecting plants from within its boundaries. The Park is significant to the local Kiks.ádi clan since it is where their ancestors fought against and then fled from a Russian invasion in 1804. One of the reasons the land was set aside for the Park in the first place was to commemorate this historic battle. Native and Non-Native Sitkans remember playing in the Park as children, especially those who lived at neighboring Sheldon Jackson School and its mission-sponsored Cottage Community. Former Park employees discuss their experiences working at the Park and key events in the Park's development, such as building the Visitor Center, establishing the Southeast Alaska Indian Cultural Center, and restoring the Russian Bishop's House. Artists and administrators tell the Cultural Center's story; they talk about its role in the community, its relationship with the Park, and its influence on their art and their lives.
The National Park Service funded
the University of Alaska Fairbanks Oral History Program to collaborate with
them and the Sitka Tribe of Alaska on the design and development of this program.
Planning and design work began in 1998. Kristen Griffin, the Park Service
Liaison to this project in Sitka, and Karen Brewster, Research Associate at
the Oral History Program conducted interviews from December 1998 to June 1999.
Robi Craig, Anthropologist for the Sitka Tribe assisted with the interviews,
as well. Program development and production occurred from June to December
1999.
The Sitka Project Jukebox includes interviews with:
| Ellen Hope Hays | Gene Irvine |
| Gil Truit | Nancy Yaw Davis |
| Fred Hope | Jan Steinbright Jackson |
| Al Perkins | Louis Minard |
| Irene Jimmy | Dave Galanin |
| Louise Brady | Tommy Joseph |
| Mark Jacobs Jr. | Terri Rofkar |
| George Hall |
Copies of the Project Jukebox are available to the the public. Sitka National Historical Park has copies available for distribution. Copies are available for review at Sitka area libraries including the Kettleson Memorial Library and Stratton Library. In addition, the Rasmuson Library at the University of Alaska Faribanks has copies in its collection.
 Last
updated October 27, 2003Comments: Web Manager |
