Sitka: A day of Culture

What a day.  Two dance performances, a couple museums, lots of walking, a break for lunch, and a touching story about the Alaskan Flag.  When George Parks, Governor of the Alaskan Territory visited Washington D.C. in 1926, he found out that Alaska had no flag.  So he asked the American Legion to promote a contest of pupils in 7th grade and older in all the schools to design a flag. 1st prize was a gold watch enameled with the winning design.  2nd prize was $15.00.  Students were encouraged to study and back their design with their own ideas.   The winner was a young boy of 13, Bennie Benson, who had lost his mother at the age of four.  His father could not take care of the children and work also, so two of the children were raised in a Mission Home.  Bennie's entry consisted of "eight stars of gold on a field of blue".  The words below the design read: "The blue field is for the Alaska sky, the sea, the forget-me-not flowers.  The North Star is for the future of the state of Alaska, the most northerly in the union.  The Dipper is for the Great Bear, symbolizing strength".  There were 142 entries that were submitted to the committee.  Bennie's flag was unanimously accepted at the Territorial Legislature in May, 1927.

The other highlights were two dance programs:  The New Archangels performed Russian dances, since the Russians had control of Alaska for over a hundred years.  Sitka was the capital during the Russian rule. The other dance group was the local Tlingets sharing stories through their dance movements.
Tomorrow we leave Sitka, but we won't forget the stories we learned from the museums, totem poles and dances.  A great day.    Nell