Public Programs Archive

In recognition of Indigenous Peoples Day, the City Museum will be hosting a panel discussion connected to our current exhibit, Echoes of War: Unangax̂ Internment during WWII. Panelists will discuss the evacuation and internment of Unangax̂ during WWII, traditional Unangax̂ culture, and contemporary life on the Pribilof Islands.

Panelists will include Zinaida Melovidov, Jacob Merculief, Serafima Edelen, and Martin Stepetin, Sr. All panelists are, or have been, residents of St. Paul, one of the Pribilof Islands, and they have family members who were interned at Funter Bay. Additional contributors will include Mary Lekanof and Ric Iannolino, co-chairs of the Funter Bay Project in Juneau.

Zinaida Melovidov’s is a resident of St. Paul. She was born there in 1948 and has raised seven children on the island. Her mother was a teenager and her father not much older, when they were evacuated and interned in Funter Bay.

Jacob N. Merculief was born on St. George Island in 1955 and lived there until he was 11 years old when his family moved to St. Paul Island. Currently he is the mayor of St Paul Island and is serving as a Tribal Council Member for the Aleut Community of St. Paul.

“My parents and grandparents were interned in Funter Bay during World War II. My dad was 18 at that time and joined the army but our men were also the guys who harvested Northern Fur Seals for the Federal Government and were sent back to the Islands during the internment period. My mom was only eight years old when they were sent there,” says Merculief.

Serafima Edelen was born in Anchorage in 1993 and was raised in Saint Paul. Her great grandparents, William and Martha Shane, were among those evacuated to Funter Bay.

Martin Stepetin, Sr is from St Paul Island and has lived in Juneau since 2011. All four of his grandparents spent the war at Funter Bay.

The panel discussion will be presented via Zoom webinar and Facebook Live on October 12th at 6:30 pm. City Museum Curator of Exhibits and Collections, Niko Sanguinetti will moderate the panel discussion. To join the Zoom webinar on October 12th, click the link:  https://juneau.zoom.us/j/92219698115