For Andi Hirsch, the Holocaust isn't far-removed history. It’s her family story and something that reverberates in her life today.

“It isn’t long ago history,” Hirsch said. “It’s about how humans treated humans, how we treat each other.”

Hirsch is the project coordinator for the exhibition, “Americans and the Holocaust,” from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum currently on display at the Mendenhall Valley Public Library. The traveling exhibition examines the American response to Nazism, war and genocide during the state-sponsored, systematic murder of 6 million Jews and millions of others, including LGBTQ people, Romany people and prisoners of war by Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s...

Hirsch joined a of handful of Juneau residents Thursday afternoon at the Alaska State Museum for a lecture that examined Alaska newspaper coverage of the American response to Nazism, racism, xenophobia and antisemitism during the 1930s and 1940s, present by Eric Schmalz, the Community Manager for USHMM History Unfolded Project.

"‘It isn’t long ago history’: Presentation focuses on Alaska newspaper coverage of the Holocaust" by Clarise Larson, November 17, 2022. Juneau Empire.

Displays, discussions, other events highlighting soldiers opposing Vietnam War debut[ed] Friday at UAS

U.S. soldiers reacting to bombings by their comrades by rescuing the Vietnamese citizens being attacked 50 years ago and the modern-day Alaskans who embraced two Russians fleeing the war-infused chaos in their country last month share a camaraderie of peace whose lessons needs to be preserved throughout the generations, according to Ron Carver, a civil rights and anti-war activist since the 1960s.

The hundreds of thousands of enlistees during the Vietnam War who engaged in demonstrations, spread their message through underground media and participated in humanitarian efforts “were part of a peace movement so robust it helped end the war,” he said Thursday during a preview of an exhibit at the University of Alaska Southeast detailing their cause.

He said those same lessons apply now as the two Indigenous Siberians who crossed the Bering Sea to St. Lawrence Island are among 300,000 Russians fleeing forced service for the ongoing war in Ukraine.

“We believe the way to help end the war in Ukraine is to help the Russians who don’t want to have any part of it,” Carver told a small crowd of students, instructors, local veterans and others during the preview in UAS’ Egan Library.

"Vets protesting past wars are a lesson for today’s, exhibit leader says" by Mark Sabbatini, November 10, 2022. Juneau Empire.

Related: Exhibits on Vietnam War and G.I. peace movement opens at UAS

This week on State of Art we’re learning about Anchorage Museum’s Seed Lab. The black building covered in murals is located across from the main museum facility on the corner of 6th and A in downtown Anchorage. In addition to supplementing other museum programming, they hold a variety of workshops on topics ranging from climate to repair and reuse and other events and conversations focusing on community and the environment. They also support artists in residence in addition to things like housing a tool library and a newly built podcast studio. We’re joined by Anchorage Museum Public Programs and Audience Engagement Manager Rebecca Pottebaum and Communications Manager Hank Davis to find out more about what Seed Lab is, what they do and more.

"State of Art: Anchorage Museum’s Seed Lab is a space of endless possibilities" by Ammon Swenson, November 4, 2022. Alaska Public Media.

A group effort helped a local totem pole continue to stand the test of time more than eight decades after it was raised.

The Yaxté Totem Pole — erected in 1941 at the Auke Village Recreation Area and carved by Tlingit master carver Frank St. Claire of Hoonah — was able to get a much-needed maintenance inspection after not having one formally by a conservator since 2017 when it needed to undergo extensive repairs.

The inspection was able to happen through a group effort between the U.S. Forest Service who coordinated the inspection, Alaska State Museum conservator Ellen Carrlee who conducted the inspection and Alaska Electric Light & Power, which provided the bucket truck and crew support.

"Standing strong: Community effort helps inspect 80 year-old totem pole" by Clarise Larson, November 4, 2022. Juneau Empire.

Julie Varee, the community outreach archivist at the Anchorage Museum in Alaska, is the 2022 recipient of the Diversity Award given by the Society of American Archivists (SAA)...

With more than thirty years of experience working with Alaskan community members, Varee brings a wealth of knowledge to her archival work. Varee has taken on a leadership role in the Anchorage Museum's diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) and anti-racism training programs. She spearheaded the creation of the new Black Lives in Alaska exhibition, which showcases the richness and resilience of Black lives in Alaska through archival photos and collected materials. In the past year, she has developed and supported programs with Filipino, LBGTQ+, Pacific Islander, and refugee/immigrant communities. She has also advocated for the inclusion of and emphasis on Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) voices and stories within the archives, in exhibits, and on the museum’s social media. Having recognized the need to address the lack of diversity in the museum’s patrons, Varee undertook an assessment and analysis to improve visitor experiences. She acknowledged the need to create a space that can be used by everyone, not just academic researchers...

As noted by one of her nominators, “Julie is committed to surfacing, preserving, and highlighting stories that have too often been overlooked or marginalized. Her continued commitment to exploring a more robust, rich, and complicated history of who we are as a people, as a country, and as Alaskans is commendable and necessary work.”

Related: Documenting and Sharing Anchorage’s Diverse Communities

Public testimony on the issue of removing books from the Homer Public Library children’s section which a citizens group says has LGBQT+ content ran almost four hours at Tuesday’s Library Advisory Board meeting, with 68 people speaking in person or via Zoom.

Following testimony, the board voted to discuss and potentially vote on the appeal at its Jan. 17 meeting. Board chair Kate Finn said that would give board members time to read the 56 books (including some in a series) on a list petitioners asked be removed from the children’s section.

About 150 people filled the Cowles Council Chambers, with a standing-room crowd at times overflowing into the City Hall lobby — the largest crowd since the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2017 hearings that led to an attempted recall of three Homer City Council members.

"Testimony on LGQBT+ library books runs four hours" by Michael Armstrong, November 17, 2022. Homer News.

Related: Homer library board to decide if dozens of LBGTQ+ books aimed at children will stay

Every youngster needs a mentor who helps uncover hidden talents and interests, and ignites a passion for a particular profession or cause.

Molly Odell, director of archaeology and special projects at the Alutiiq Museum, discovered her "guiding adult" when she was a girl growing up in Chiniak. She hung around Philomena Knecht and other archaeologists who spent hours digging in the ground for artifacts and other evidence that told the story of the Kodiak Island Alutiiq people centuries ago.

Odell was so intrigued with archaeology that she took steps that would lead her into this profession.

"Alutiiq Museum Archaeology director got her ‘start’ at Chiniak" by Mike Rostad, November 11, 2022. Kodiak Daily Mirror.

"Palmer’s history and art museum nears 30,000 visitors for 2022, plans wide-ranging activities in 2023" by Tim Bradner, November 3, 2022. Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman.

Three Anaktuvuk Pass elders and a teenager were flying home, feeling sad and joyous at the same time. In their carry-on suitcase, they were bringing back the repatriated remains of a Nunamiut man.

“We don’t know the name but we know it’s one of us, one of our people,” Esther Hugo said. “The remains needed to be returned where they came from, and we felt that.”

Buried outside Anaktuvuk Pass in the 1800s, the remains were excavated and brought to the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University in the late 1950s. Elders Sollie Hugo, Esther Hugo, Louisa Riley and a youth, Aaliyah Wright, recently traveled to New Haven, Connecticut, and brought their ancestor home.

"Joy and healing: Anaktuvuk Pass elders return the remains of a Nunamiut man to the village" by Alena Naiden, November 13, 2022. ADN.

The Peabody Museum apologized for its “complicity in the objectification of Native peoples” by holding hair samples taken from Indigenous children at government boarding schools in the 1930s.

The museum has begun contacting tribes to begin the process of returning the samples, the spokeswoman said.

To facilitate this process, the museum has also set up a website listing affected tribes and locations where the samples were collected, including boarding schools in Alaska, Arizona, Oklahoma and Nevada.

Mr. Woodbury’s hair sample collection was a “part of the history of abuse” propagated by the federal Indian boarding school system, the museum said in a statement. The spokeswoman said the museum would develop a process to return the clippings in consultation with the affected tribes.

"Harvard Museum Will Return Hundreds of Native American Hair Samples" by Christine Chung, November 10, 2022. NY Times.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has established an Office of Native American Partnerships to better represent and advocate for tribal communities.

In announcing the initiative Oct. 4, the SSA said the new office would “elevate and centralize” efforts to administer programs and policies affecting what it terms American Indians and Alaska Natives, or AIAN, and serve as Social Security’s primary point of contact on tribal matters.

The office “will provide a platform to further develop and maintain a strong presence in Indian Country to ensure effective delivery of program services for people with disabilities, retirees and elder populations,” Nancy Berryhill, SSA’s tribal consultation official, says in a statement to AARP.

"Social Security Creates Office to Focus on Tribal Outreach" by Sharon Jayson, November 9, 2022. AARP.org.