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Peninsula Clarion, Monday, July 7, 2014
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‘It’s a great family sport. We always look forward to camping here and spending time with people who share our interests.’
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both the competitive archers and the casual recreationalists with men, women and kids all taking part. “A lot of the same families come year after year,” he said. “Everyone likes shooting the 3-D targets because it’s good practice for hunting. We have a quality event.” Dave Perry and his family from Wasilla have been coming to the tournament for the last nine years. Dave Perry and his son Ken each placed second in their respective adult divisions while Ken’s son Owen won the boys cub division. “It’s a great family sport,” Ken Perry said. “We always look forward to camping here and spending time with people who share our interests.” A distinct path through wooded areas guided archers to the target stations. One station included a hill formed by glacial deposits, nicknamed the “rock shot.” Each participant shot two arrows from separate marked distances at 45 targets during the tournament. Archers shot at 30
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he said. “I write about that. When I write about my mother, I point out the subsistence lifestyle.” As a person of half Tlingit and half African American ancestry, Perkins and his brother were some of the first minorities to live in Petersburg, he said. His father didn’t have a role in his life, but “black heritage did affect me - because my mom was a musician,” he said. “I tell people my father was black and my mother was an Elvis Presley impersonator.” His mother, Jin’ku’see’e, was a singer and musician who listened to soul music and was part of a group called The Offbeat Five in Petersburg and Juneau. She still lives in Juneau and works for the Douglas In-
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— Ken Perry, archer
targets Saturday then another 15 targets Sunday. The course has 30 3-D Alaskan animals from Dahl sheep, caribou, deer, bear and moose. The animals have a faint outline of the vital organs for scoring. Latz said the 3-D moose made by Rinehart cost $1,800. When the target area gets too
beat up from arrows, the insert can be replaced, he said. Points are awarded based on where the shot hits and ranged from 12, 10, 8 and 5 points. The heart is outlined with a ring and a shot inside that line is 12 points, while the lung and liver shot is worth eight points. A body shot is five points. Two
archers in each group tallied their scores. Malmquist said the targets are made from foam and provide a realistic simulation of what archers could expect in a real life situation. “I like being in the woods with the animal,” Malmquist said. “It is a lot more fun and (bow) takes a certain skill for hunting.” Rob Swanson from Anchorage said he has been coming to the tournament the last three years. He said he enjoys the tournament for the 3-D targets because it adds a realistic element to hunting. “All winter I shoot indoors at dot targets,” Swanson said. “Here this gives you the same type of site like hunting. It keeps you sharp.” Swanson used both a target bow and compound-hunting bow. He said they both require
dian Association. She taught them about hunting, fishing and processing of all kinds of local, wild foods, he said. In the 1970s, when Perkins was 15, the family moved to Juneau, and for the most part has been here ever since. He completed some school at Juneau-Douglas High School and finished high school in Anchorage. He started out in poetry by changing the words in songs. When he moved away from Petersburg, he and his best friend kept in touch by sending poems to each other about how cool the other one was, he said. He characterizes his poetry as “more in the style of Robert Service, as opposed to some kind of slam jam. It’s not the slam tram,” he said, laughing. “I believe people who write in rhythm and rhyme kind of evolve toward that style,” he said. “I think they evolve to-
ward that because it’s the most difficult way to write. It forces you to be more creative with your words.” Growing up and during the first part of his professional career, Perkins went by the last name of Valentine - his mother’s last name. He worked for a while as a features reporter with KTOO, and in TV at KTVA and KTOO TV, he said. He’s also DJ-ed in radio stations in towns up and down the West Coast. He’s lived in California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii and Washington, in addition to Alaska. In Washington, he worked with the Chief Seattle Club, which provides “a sacred space to nurture, affirm and renew the spirit of urban Native peoples,” according to its website. Though he’s not interested in getting involved with anything political here in Juneau, “I have a drum with me at all
times, and I really try to instill to the youth, to the younger people, to continue to create ... Native expression,” Perkins said. “To continue to evolve, and to maintain the sacred traditions of the different arts ... that’s what Tlingits would have been doing regardless of a Western imposition or not. It’s what I do with poetry.” Being away for many years gives him a better perspective on what an amazing place Southeast Alaska is, he said. “One thing I’m noticing more and more is the majesty of Southeast Alaska,” he said. “I’m recognizing it for the first time, I guess.” As a tram conductor, he has a good vantage point from which to do so. “What I realized it’s that it’s a role that seemingly, I’ve been training for all my life,” he said. “I’m a presenter, I’m a poet, and I’m a Southeast Alaskan.”
Photo by Dan Balmer/Peninsula Clarion
Kira (front) and Lena Cook from Palmer try to be the first to hit an apple with their arrow during an archery shooting tournament at the Kenai Peninsula Archery Range Sunday in Soldotna. Kira placed second in the feamle cubs freestyle division.
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said. John Bamburg from Wasilla scored the 1018 in the freestyle division with a compound bow, the most points in the tournament. Randy Spray from Phoenix, Arizona, placed first in the silver senior freestyle division with 981 points. Sarah Taster placed first in the girl cub division. The tournament is part of competitions within the Alaska State Archery Association. Gold, silver and bronze metals were handed out to the top three placers in each division. The archery club awarded each winner with a wooden arrow and provided lunch and dinner. Sportsman’s Warehouse cohosted the event and raffled off prizes. After archers completed the course on Sunday, scores were tallied while kids competed in fun shoots like trying to hit a moving target. James and Tasha Cook came from Palmer so their daughters Kira, 10 and Lena, 8, could participate in the tournament for the first time. Kira, said she had a lot of fun and saw herself improve a lot on the second day. Lena, used a traditional bow because she said it is lighter. Malmquist said archery is great for the whole family and members of the club are available to teach newcomers Saturday mornings at the range. “Any kid can do archery,” Malmquist said. “It teaches them hand-eye coordination and younger archers are more coordinated as a result of participating in this sport.”
a different skill set. Sterling resident Larry Larson said he likes the challenge that comes with a traditional recurve bow. “Look at the target focus on it get in the right state of mind and let your subconscious do the shooting,” he said. “(With a traditional bow) you have to have good form and not think too much because that is when you start to make mistakes. You are always striving for a better shot each time. There is always another level to achieve.” When Lindgren was a kid growing up in New Jersey, his dad took him to competitive shoots every weekend. As the archery sport has developed with more mechanical compound bows with release aids, he still likes to keep it simple. “With longbow you don’t need sights and stabilizers, just a stick and string,” he said. Lindgren won the men’s traditional bow division for the third time in four years. He scored 453 points in the first day and 217 points on Sunday for a total of 670 points. Larson finished second in the division with 628 points. A couple years ago, Lindgren, 60, had both hips replaced, which makes his success all the more impressive, Larson said. Lindgren has been shootReach Dan Balmer at daniel. ing competitively for years and balmer@peninsulaclarion.com holds 23 state field records he
Vehicle hits pole, knocks power out in Fairbanks FAIRBANKS — Fairbanks police say a vehicle hit a utility pole Saturday night in downtown Fairbanks, knocking out power in the area. The News-Miner reports the vehicle reportedly struck several other vehicles before crashing through barricades and running into the power pole. Police say the vehicle’s driver and passenger were transported to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital for medical care.