Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) released six culturally-based children’s books that reflect the Native worldview as part of its Baby Raven Reads, a program for Alaska Native families with children up to age 5 that promotes language development and school readiness.
The series includes a three-book set derived from ancient creation stories that have been passed from generation to generation for thousands of years. The set includes “Raven and the Box of Daylight,” “Raven Brings Us Fire,” and “Origins of Rivers and Streams.” The books were adapted from oral histories by Pauline Duncan and illustrated by Lindsay Carron.
The series also features a book that teaches the Lingít words for colors. The Lingít words in Colors were compiled by Yarrow Vaara, and the book was illustrated by David Lang.
SHI also released “Tlingit Alphabet,” a two-book set that was edited by Katrina Hotch, Linda Belarde and Keri Eggleston, reviewed by traditional scholar Dr. Walter Soboleff and illustrated by Crystal Worl. Readers who want to hear the sounds that comprise the Lingít alphabet may do so through SHI’s new app Learning Tlingit or through an interactive tool on the institute’s language resources page at sealaskaheritage.org.
People enrolled in SHI’s Baby Raven Reads program will receive copies of Colors and the other five books from 10-11:30, Saturday, Dec. 10, at SHI’s Baby Raven Reads family event.
The books will be available at the Sealaska Heritage Store in Juneau in early December.
Rasmuson Foundation awards $525K to Southeast
SITKA, HAINES, JUNEAU — The Rasmuson Foundation awarded $525,000 to select Southeast Alaska community organizations, nonprofits and municipalities during the Board of Directors’ biannual meeting in November.
The Sitka Historical Society will receive $250,000 to construct exhibit galleries, collections, storage and purchase furnishings at the Sitka History Museum.
The Haines Borough will receive $150,000 to build an addition onto the Senior Center to house the Chilkat Valley Preschool.
The City and Borough of Juneau will receive $125,000 to redevelop the old Treadwell Office building on Douglas Island into a picnic shelter.
USFS offers free government contracting workshops
The U.S. Forest Service is offering free government contracting workshops in seven Southeast communities for small businesses interested in contract work with the federal government and the Forest Service. Workshops will be held on Thursday, Dec. 8, from 2 – 5 p.m.
They will focus on certification and resources for economic opportunity, and help small businesses in urban and rural communities gain preferential access to federal procurement opportunities. On average, the Alaska Region of the Forest Service awards $18 million in contracts each year. Participants will complete a HubZone application during the workshop.
Prerequisites for class participation are: active SAM.gov registration with the correct physical address and SBA General Login System (GLS) registration (https://eweb.sba.gov/gls/dsp_sbabanner.cfm). Bring a laptop with WiFi capability if you want help completing the application during class. The classes are in the Petersburg, Sitka, Wrangell, Craig, Hoonah, Thorne Bay and Yakutat Ranger District Offices.
The workshops are free, but participants must register at http://akptac.ecenterdirect.com/events/5836. Contact Jody King at 907-786-7270 or by email at jlking8@alaska.edu with questions. For more information about the SBA HUBZone certification program, go to www.sba.gov/hubzone.
The workshops are provided by the Alaska Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), a non-profit organization, federally funded by the Defense Logistics agency that provides free assistance with all aspects of government contracting.
Students present winter concert
The Juneau Student Symphony will perform in its winter concert, “Dancing into the Holidays,” on Dec. 10. Musicians of all ages and experience levels will take the stage led by the JSS’s conductor, Guo Hua Xia. They’ll play familiar holiday music and classical favorites by Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Mozart. This concert will be Xia’s first since he joined the JSS last summer.
This concert is partially funded by the residents of the City and Borough of Juneau through sales tax revenues.
The concert is Saturday, Dec. 10, 7 p.m. at Aldersgate United Methodist Church (9161 Cinema Drive). Admission is pay-as-you-can at the door. For more information, go to www.juneausymphony.org/studentsymphony/.
