Draft resolution seeks to transfer half of RV park to STC

By Melinda Munson Assemblymember Reba

Hylton presented a draft resolution to the Civic Affairs Committee Feb. 8 proposing that 12 of the 24 lots at Garden City RV Park, formally known as Blocks 95 and 102, be repatriated to Skagway Traditional Council.

The lots, purchased by the municipality from the Juneau Archdiocese in 2013 for $1.7 million, was the site of the St. Pius X Mission Residential Boarding School for Native Children (19321960).

According to Sara Kinjo-Hischer, tribal administrator for Skagway Traditional Council (STC), a sovereign tribal government, the school was used “for the purpose of exterminating Native culture, language and arts.”

“Not only were mission and boarding schools in the 1900s used to assimilate Native children to make them ‘civil’ by taking away cul- ture and language of the Indigenous people, the Church also introduced sex offenders into the school system,” Kinjo-Hischer added. “The children who stayed at the school were miles away from the protection of parents and relatives.”

For the latest news and updates, follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Whether the Catholic Church had a clear title to the land they built their mission on is uncertain. Hylton stated she believed “the municipality purchased it [Pius X] without a clear title.”

Mayor Andrew Cremata expressed the same sentiments.

“I got a message from somebody recently asking who owned the title before, or who owned the property before the Catholic Church,” he said. And I don’t know the answer to that. And, I especially don’t know, because the Catholic Church never had a title. So, I don’t know that the Catholic Church ever owned it. I don’t know who owned it immediately before the Catholic Church, if indeed someone did have a title to it. I do know that for approximately 11,000 years it was the property of the Chilkat Tlingit people.”

To further complicate the title issue, federal law outlines that Native boarding schools which received federal land or funds be returned to the tribe, in some instances.

According to federal code 25 USC 280, …“when no longer used for mission or school purposes said lands shall revert to the Indian owners.”

The tribal government has (see page 3 - STC)

Public correspondence no longer posted to MOS site

By Gretchen Wehmhoff

For decades, correspondence submitted to the Skagway mayor and assembly has been included in the online meeting packets posted on the municipal website. In October 2022 that process stopped.

In an Oct. 19 memo addressed to the mayor and the assembly, the borough clerk stated that citizen correspondence would no longer be placed on the borough website. This policy change had not been discussed in any public meeting.

The memo stated that correspondence was “typically addressed to the Mayor and Assembly and it is not necessarily intended to be provided to the internet populace.”

Other concerns noted were that recent correspondence was not deemed fit for inclusion and required attorney review, citizens who did not intend to have their letter made public had asked their

The Skagway News. Skagway’s First Newspaper

Christened in 1897, buried alive in 1904 and resurrected in 1978, The Skagway News is currently celebrating 46 years of reporting in Skagway and Dyea, Alaska, recording our Centennial years and beyond.

ADVERTISING & NEWS COPY DEADLINES

Next issue will be published

FEB. 24, 2023

Please email sales@skagwaynews.com

All ads and classifieds by Feb. 17 COPY, LETTERS, CALENDAR DEADLINE:

Please email editor@skagwaynews.com

All news copy, letters and calendar events by Feb. 17

Vol. XLVI, No 2 (941) Feb. 10, 2023

Published on the second and fourth Friday of the month

Phone: (907) 983-2354 www.skagwaynews.com editor@skagwaynews.com sales@skagwaynews.com

Publishers Melinda Munson

Gretchen Wehmhoff

Managing Editor

Melinda Munson

Production Editor/Sales

Gretchen Wehmhoff

Editor Emeritus

William J. “Jeff” Brady

Submissions

The Skagway News welcomes opinions pieces and letters to the editor. Opinion pieces should be no longer than 600 words and will be published based on space availability and relevance to current and local events.

Letters to the editor should not exceed 250 words.

Submit letters and opinions to editor@skagwaynews. com. Letters may be edited for grammar and length.

Subscriptions

Sign up online at www.skagwaynews.com or call us at 907-983-2354

Mail checks to:

The Skagway News PO Box 244, Skagway, AK 99840

All subscriptions include online access.

Online Only $27

USPS 697130 ISSN 0745-872X

Periodicals postage paid at Skagway, Alaska 99840 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER send address changes to: The Skagway News PO Box 244, Skagway, AK 99840