[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 39 (Wednesday, March 17, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E397]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING SITKA NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK

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                             HON. DON YOUNG

                               of alaska

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 17, 2010

  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Madam Speaker, today I would like to recognize 
the centennial anniversary of the Sitka National Historic Park, which 
is the oldest federally designated park in Alaska. The park was 
established in 1890 to commemorate the 1804 Battle of Sitka. All that 
remains of this last major conflict between Europeans and Alaska 
Natives is the site of the Tlingit Fort and battlefield, located within 
this scenic 113-acre park.
  In 1808, following this series of battles between the Tlingit natives 
and Governor Alexandr Baranov, Sitka was established as the capitol of 
what was then called Russian-America. Following the sale of this land 
to the United States after the decline of the otter fur trade, Sitka 
continued to be the seat of government for territorial Alaska until 
1906, when the capital was moved to Juneau.
  Unofficially called ``lover's lane'' or ``totem park'' by Sitka 
locals, the Sitka National Historic Park attracts nearly 300,000 
visitors a year to its scenic coastal trails, beautiful temperate 
rainforest, and world-class collection of Northwest coast totem poles. 
These histories carved in cedar were donated by Native leaders from 
villages in Southeast Alaska, and were then brought to Sitka by 
Alaska's then District Governor John G. Brady in 1905. Many poles 
exhibited along the park's two miles of wooded pathways are replicas of 
the original totem poles.
  The park also boasts a visitor center which contains ethnographic 
exhibits and houses the Southeast Alaska Indian Cultural Center, where 
visitors can watch Native artists at work. Here, the park cares for 
more than 154,000 museum collection items. These include Tlingit 
ethnographic pieces, Russian American archeological and historical 
items, historical photos, archives and herbarium specimens. Highlights 
of the collection include totem poles, Chilkat weaving, Tlingit oral 
history recordings, 19th Century Russian furniture, Russian Orthodox 
icons and vestments, and two hundred original glass plate negatives by 
Sitkan photographer E.W. Merrill. Through these exhibits, visitors of 
the park get a rare peak into the unique cultures and lifestyles of 
Tlingit natives and Russian-American creoles.
  The experience continues at the Russian Bishop's House, one of the 
last surviving examples of Russian colonial architecture in North 
America. This original 1842 log structure conveys the legacy of Russian 
America through exhibits, refurbished living quarters and the Chapel of 
the Annunciation. This house was once the center of the Russian 
Orthodox Church authority in a diocese that stretched from California 
to Siberian Kamchatka, at a time when Russia was still the dominant 
power in the Pacific Northwest. Today, it is an artifact of the 
heritage of Russian Orthodoxy in Alaska, which maintains a strong 
presence to this day.
  Given this unique combination of natural beauty, cultural history, 
and rare artifacts, it is no wonder that the Park played a significant 
role in Sitka's recent designation as one of the Dozen Distinctive 
Destinations by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Tucked 
away behind the dormant volcano Mt. Edgcumbe, the Sitka National 
Historic Park remains one of Alaska's jewels. As the City of Sitka 
commemorates Sitka National Historic Park month, I would like to join 
Alaskans in recognizing the Park on its centennial celebration.

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