State Resources can help Alaskans engage with government
The 2nd Session of the 33rd Alaska Legislature began this week. The non-partisan Alaska State Publications Program would like to highlight a few state resources designed to help the public become more involved in the legislative process.
Our State Publications Research Guide includes a list of resources that can support civic engagement, and another to help you research and understand the budget process. These resources can help if you are wondering who your senator or representative is, want to send a quick request to your legislator to support a bill, need mailing labels for all legislators, or want a detailed explanation of the legislative or budget process.
For more about state publications from all branches of Alaska government, see our full Alaska State Publications guide.
Ketchikan’s City Council chamber was filled with residents of all ages on an especially cold Wednesday night. Most were there because of two books in the public library’s teen section: Red Hood by Elana Arnold and Flamer by Mike Curato.
Deborah Simon, a member of the library’s advisory board, formally challenged the books last year in both the public and high school libraries on the grounds of content she deemed inappropriate for teens. She cited controversial ideologies, profanity, violence and even menstruation and vigilantism in Red Hood as some of her reasons for the challenge.
After a review process, the staff of both libraries denied the challenges. These hearings are part of the public library’s appeal process.
Sounds of early 20th century phones filled the Juneau-Douglas City Museum on Friday night. Ten-year-old Otis Beard studied them closely as they rang.
“There’s a little metal ball clanking from each one really fast,” he said. “It goes at almost light speed. It looks really cool.”
Jim Simard, the former head librarian at the Alaska State Library’s historical collections, says he used diagrams pasted inside the phones to help get them back in ringing condition.
The Alutiiq Museum is launching a new program to continue the return of ancestral human remains from museums and other public collections to Kodiak Archipelago villages.
The “Angitapet-We Are Returning Them” project will continue the work of the Kodiak Alutiiq/Sugpiaq Repatriation Commission to identify and acquire ancestral remains for Kodiak’s 10 Tribes.
Steve Williams, January 19, 2024. Kodiak Daily Mirror.
Local artist Grace Freeman gave a presentation titled “Adventures in Color” for a Museum Midday event at the Tongass Historical Museum on Thursday, offering insight into her creative process.
Museum Program Coordinator Erika Jayne Christian introduced Freeman as a born-and-raised Ketchikan community member who has made art since Freeman “could hold a crayon.”
Danelle Kelly, January 6, 2024. Ketchikan Daily News.
The Adult Winter Reading Program has started, chair yoga will return January 30th, there are story times Friday and Saturday, an origami workshop for kids, and Courageous Conversations is making a presentation on Saturday. Rebecca Brown gives details about this and more.
A Southeast Alaska Native artist is finding new fame this year after one of the largest coffee brands in the world picked up on her talents.
Alison Bremner, a multidisciplinary Tlingit artist from Juneau, is gaining new exposure this year with the reveal of Starbucks’ Artist Collaboration Series cups and tumblers. Bremner’s Indigenous art is part of the series, which showcases independent artists’ work from around the world.
Bremner’s work featured three unique designs on Starbucks cups, which were announced this week.
Researchers have linked the travels of a 14,000-year-old woolly mammoth with the oldest known human settlements in Alaska, providing clues about the relationship between the iconic species and some of the earliest people to travel across the Bering Land Bridge.
Scientists made those connections by using isotope analysis to study the life of a female mammoth, named Élmayųujey'eh by the Healy Lake Village Council. A tusk from Elma was discovered at the Swan Point archaeological site in Interior Alaska. Samples from the tusk revealed details about Elma and the roughly 1,000-kilometer journey she took through Alaska and northwestern Canada during her lifetime.
The open-forum talk and discussion will draw on how archival best practices is currently being applied and indigenized at Cherokee Nation’s Language Department with the mindfulness that digital assets are more than just worthy of digital preservation; they are an irreplaceable cultural resource that act as one of the greatest tools for language revitalization efforts.
The Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums Community Impact Awards acknowledge and celebrate initiatives that exemplify community engagement, innovation, and overall excellence. Initiatives that are replicable in other communities receive priority consideration.
USA-based and international organizations may submit multiple projects/services for consideration, but a new form must be submitted for each initiative.
Applications are due on Thursday, February 15, 2024, at 11:59 PM Eastern.
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