
11. Juneau Voices: Evelyn Myers & Lillian Petershoare


Evelyn and Lillian are looking back and taking stock, surveying generations of Tlingit families who’ve kept hold of this land in the face of so many attempts to take it away.
More about this story
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Juneau Voices #11 is located at Willoughby Avenue and Whittier Street.
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Jim Schoppert (1947-1992), a Tlingit artist and educator, described the Tlingit relationship to the land as a “sense of ownership of land, not ownership in title and deed to a parcel of land, but just a sense of belonging that no matter how much has been tried in the past, it cannot be eroded or taken away from the people’s identity. It is part of their identity. It’s a very profound relationship.”
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On January 14, 1962, the adult residents of the Juneau Indian Village signed a resolution asking the State of Alaska Congressional Delegation for an amendment to the Indian Townsite Act of 1926, so that the Juneau Indian Village would receive township status. That amendment became Senate Bill 247.
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On January 15, 1963–a year and a day later–Senator Bob Bartlett read the resolution on the U.S. Senate Floor when introducing Senate Bill 247.
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These residents of the Juneau Indian Village signed the resolution (listed in the order that they appear on the resolution):
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Alfred Grant
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Mary Reyes
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Willie Peters
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Cecilia Kunz
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Ruth Hayes
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Henry Cropley
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Margaret Cropley
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Henry Anderson
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Joseph G. Wilson
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John F. Wilson, Sr.
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Peter L. Williams
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Frank Shorty
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Edward N. Kunz, Sr.
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Austin Hammond
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Martha Barril
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Olga Wilson
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Priscilla Corpuz
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Dorothy Coronell
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Roy R. Peters
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Alice Nelson
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Bessie Visaya
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Danny Wilson
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Jessie Wilson
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Jim C. John
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Maggie Andersen
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Albert Johnson
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Elsie Johnson
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Joseph G. Moses
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Esther Moses
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Lillian Grant
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Fannie Ward
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Johnnie A. Jackson
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Annie James
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Chris Nelson
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Carl C. Nelson
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James Peters
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Robert Peters
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Marie Peters
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Bessie Williams
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To spend more time with Evelyn Myers, please visit: https://www.aanyatxu.org/evelyn-myers. For more time with Lillian Petershoare, please visit: https://www.aanyatxu.org/lillian-petershoare
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The narrators for Juneau Voices are David Katzeek, Kingeisti, an Eagle, and Erin Tripp, Xáalnook, a Raven.
EVELYN MYERS & LILLIAN PETERSHOARE
NARRATOR 2:
We’re here at Juneau Voices Number 11.
This place where we’re standing now was once the beach of the Áak’w Village.
NARRATOR 1:
Raven and Eagle used to spend time here when the tide was low, scavenging food in the tidal pools.
NARRATOR 2:
Boats pulled up right here from fishing or crossing to Douglas Island.
LILLIAN:
I grew up here, in a house my father built.
NARRATOR 1:
This is Lillian Petershoare.
LILLIAN:
My Tlingit name is Ix̱andoo. My mother’s name was Dorothy Kaachgei Peters Coronell, and her mother was Gertrude Yankoogei Young Peters.
SOUND: Raven’s and Eagle’s calls, and a musical phrase, send us back in time.
NARRATOR 1:
1955
NARRATOR 2:
1955
LILLIAN:
My grandmother picks up a handful of earth. She is giving her daughter Dorothy land as a wedding present. My grandmother lets the soil fall through her fingers, as she says:
NARRATOR 2 (as Lillian’s grandmother):
Always hold onto this land, never let it go. So much has been taken from us.
NARRATOR 1:
1963.
NARRATOR 2:
January 14, 1963.
LILLIAN:
I’m 10 years old. The owners of land in the Juneau Indian Village have no deeds for their property. With no deeds, they have no land rights. They can’t get loans. They can’t get insurance. So they sign a resolution asking the United States Congress to establish a legal townsite at the village. Every adult signs, including my grandfather, mother, aunts, & uncles:
The Narrators and Lillian name all of the signers:
Alfred G. Grant
Mrs. Mary Reyes
Willie Peters
Cecilia Kunz
Mrs. Ruth Hayes
Henry Cropley
Margaret Cropley
Henry Anderson
Joseph G Wilson
John F Wilson Sr
Peter L Williams
Frank Shorty
Edward N Kunz Sr
Austin Hammond
Mrs Martha Barril
Olga Wilson
Priscilla Corpuz
Dorothy Cornell
Roy R Peters
Mrs Alice Nelson
Bessie Visaya
Danny Wilson
Jessie Wilson
Jim C John
Maggie Andersen
Albert Johnson
Elsie Johnson
Joseph G Moses
Esther Moses
Lillian Grant
Fannie Ward
Johnnie A Jackson
Annie James
Chris Nelson
Carl C Nelson
James Peters
Robert Peters
Marie Peters
Bessie Williams
LILLIAN:
Alaska Senator Bob Bartlett uses two words to describe to his colleagues in the U.S. Senate what my family and the Juneau Indian Village want:
NARRATOR 1 (quoting Senator Bob Bartlett):
Simple justice.
NARRATOR 2 (quoting Senator Bob Bartlett):
Simple justice.
UNISON:
Simple justice.
LILLIAN:
The bill becomes law and deeds are issued. The words of my grandmother echo through my family still:
NARRATOR 2 (as Lillian’s grandmother):
Always hold onto this land, never let it go.
SOUND: Raven’s and Eagle’s calls, and a musical phrase, bring us back to the present.
NARRATOR 1:
2019.
NARRATOR 2:
2019.
NARRATOR 1:
Juneau Voices… this collection of audio stories… is being created. One of the community members who shares stories for the project is Evelyn Elizabeth Myers. She passes away before this project is completed. But her stories and memories are still here. Haa Shagóon.
VOICE of Ryan Conarro, co-creator of Juneau Voices:
So let’s get started… We’ve got the recorder running now. Evelyn, maybe we’ll start by just asking you to introduce yourself, if you would please. . .
EVELYN:
Okay. My name is Evelyn Elizabeth Myers, and I am Tlingit. And my clan is Yanyeidí and I am Eagle/Wolf. And I grew up in Juneau in what was then and still is the Juneau Indian Village. And I am pleased to see that there was a revitalization of our culture. And the community, specifically the Juneau City and Borough, wanting to acknowledge that we are a people of the land.
…My aunt Dorothy, she had a great love of the land, and the people, and she would say “Keep the land, keep the land.”
NARRATORS:
“Keep the land, keep the land…..”
EVELYN:
I just hope that those who have land in the Village keep in mind that that’s just a very strong, small hold that we have of our history down there. We want to make sure that we honestly depict the history. …We are a people of the land and we are the voices of the people.
SOUND: A drum. Distant calls of Raven and Eagle. Ethereal music.
NARRATOR 1:
Raven and Eagle are flying once more, up above the village, up above the city. It looks like they’re teasing each other a little bit.
NARRATOR 2:
I love it when they do that! Spiraling and spinning.
NARRATOR 1:
They’re going up… up… up.
NARRATOR 2:
Into rainy misty clouds. Into the sunshine. Into the stars and the northern lights. From up there, they can see all of this at once. All these stories from this place.
NARRATOR 1:
Ldakát át a káa yéi wooteeyi yá t’látgí at x̱á át.
The Place That Has Everything.
NARRATOR 2:
The Place That Has Everything.
NARRATOR 1:
Dzantikʼihéeni.
NARRATORS 1 & 2:
Juneau.
Gunalchéesh.