It has been over two weeks since my last post. Though I try to post weekly about Sitka and Tlingit history, I found it difficult to narrow this next topic down. There will be a number of topics to come relating to Mt. Edgecumbe.
Mt. Edgecumbe High School celebrated Founders Day the week of February 20, 2006, and does so annually. One of the highlights had to have been the "Gathering of Cultures" night on Wednesday, February 22. Along with all the Tlingit dance groups in Sitka, the Aleut, Yupik, Inupiat, and Athabaskan dancers performed that night. The historic B.J. McGillis Gymnasium was filled to near capacity as the basketball court was turned into a traditional stage for the dancers, many of them Edgecumbe students.
Edgecumbe is a boarding school run by the State of Alaska. It's name comes from a dormant volcano near Sitka (Actually, when a local hears the name Mt. Edgecumbe, they might identify it with the school, the mountain, or Japonski Island). The majority of its students are Alaska Native from all over the state. However, until about 1982, it was a federally run facility specifically for Natives. The federal funding was cut that year and it shut down for 2 years. In 1985, the state reopened the school with an aggressive and innovative curriculum based on Pacific Rim studies. Enrollment is competitive due in part to its acclaimed focus on Total Quality Management.
At its peak, Edgecumbe High School's largest enrollment was around 700 students. Located on Japonski Island (future topic), it is one of three high schools in the Sitka area. In its early days, there were many federal employees housed on the island, and there were many more houses than there are now. The facility was built during World War II as a naval military base.
After the war, the facility was vacated by the military and the Alaska Native Service (ANS) took over its management. Later, the ANS turned into the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). And in 1947, it was opened to educate Native students from all over Alaska whose villages didn't have high schools. When the school filled up quickly, other schools were opened in the states such as Chemawa, Oregon and Chilocco, Oklahoma. Issues arose about the schools stemming from loss of contact with the family and culture. As a result, another regional vocational school opened in Nome; the William E. Beltz school. Further opposition to the expansion of Mt. Edgecumbe school in 1968 led to other regional schools opening in Kodiak (1968) and Bethel (1972).
Edgecumbe has played a large role in many of the elder members of my Tlingit family. My parents met at Edgecumbe. My father transferred from Wrangell Insitute and was part of the only eighth grade class at Edgecumbe. He graduated from and also learned how to make dentures there. My mother earned her LPN certification from the nursing program it offered. Both of them made a living either at the school or at the nearby health care facility. Other traditional vocations were offered by the school ranging from carpentry to automotive.
My aunt took advantage of an opportunity to become a teacher through a program offered at Edgecumbe, and during her subsequent teaching career, was named Teacher of the Year for Alaska. Her brother also graduated from the school and went on to be a legislator and leader of Sealaska, the regional Native corporation for Southeast Alaska. As a matter of fact, ANCSA was built on the mindshare of the Alaska Federation of Natives, to which many boarding schools' alumni belonged.
Edgecumbe has expanded its enrollment from 370 students in 2004, to 420 students in 2005. The growing number of students moves them from the 3A category to the 4A category in the interscholastic statewide status. This becomes interesting because their sports teams, a whole topic in itself, may be competing with the state's best. It can be said that the Mt. Edgecumbe Braves are again the envy of the state. There will be more to come later on the rest of Japonski Island's treasures.
Mt. Edgecumbe High School celebrated Founders Day the week of February 20, 2006, and does so annually. One of the highlights had to have been the "Gathering of Cultures" night on Wednesday, February 22. Along with all the Tlingit dance groups in Sitka, the Aleut, Yupik, Inupiat, and Athabaskan dancers performed that night. The historic B.J. McGillis Gymnasium was filled to near capacity as the basketball court was turned into a traditional stage for the dancers, many of them Edgecumbe students.Edgecumbe is a boarding school run by the State of Alaska. It's name comes from a dormant volcano near Sitka (Actually, when a local hears the name Mt. Edgecumbe, they might identify it with the school, the mountain, or Japonski Island). The majority of its students are Alaska Native from all over the state. However, until about 1982, it was a federally run facility specifically for Natives. The federal funding was cut that year and it shut down for 2 years. In 1985, the state reopened the school with an aggressive and innovative curriculum based on Pacific Rim studies. Enrollment is competitive due in part to its acclaimed focus on Total Quality Management.
At its peak, Edgecumbe High School's largest enrollment was around 700 students. Located on Japonski Island (future topic), it is one of three high schools in the Sitka area. In its early days, there were many federal employees housed on the island, and there were many more houses than there are now. The facility was built during World War II as a naval military base.
After the war, the facility was vacated by the military and the Alaska Native Service (ANS) took over its management. Later, the ANS turned into the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). And in 1947, it was opened to educate Native students from all over Alaska whose villages didn't have high schools. When the school filled up quickly, other schools were opened in the states such as Chemawa, Oregon and Chilocco, Oklahoma. Issues arose about the schools stemming from loss of contact with the family and culture. As a result, another regional vocational school opened in Nome; the William E. Beltz school. Further opposition to the expansion of Mt. Edgecumbe school in 1968 led to other regional schools opening in Kodiak (1968) and Bethel (1972).
Edgecumbe has played a large role in many of the elder members of my Tlingit family. My parents met at Edgecumbe. My father transferred from Wrangell Insitute and was part of the only eighth grade class at Edgecumbe. He graduated from and also learned how to make dentures there. My mother earned her LPN certification from the nursing program it offered. Both of them made a living either at the school or at the nearby health care facility. Other traditional vocations were offered by the school ranging from carpentry to automotive.
My aunt took advantage of an opportunity to become a teacher through a program offered at Edgecumbe, and during her subsequent teaching career, was named Teacher of the Year for Alaska. Her brother also graduated from the school and went on to be a legislator and leader of Sealaska, the regional Native corporation for Southeast Alaska. As a matter of fact, ANCSA was built on the mindshare of the Alaska Federation of Natives, to which many boarding schools' alumni belonged.
Edgecumbe has expanded its enrollment from 370 students in 2004, to 420 students in 2005. The growing number of students moves them from the 3A category to the 4A category in the interscholastic statewide status. This becomes interesting because their sports teams, a whole topic in itself, may be competing with the state's best. It can be said that the Mt. Edgecumbe Braves are again the envy of the state. There will be more to come later on the rest of Japonski Island's treasures.
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