Southeast Communities Rally for Their Neighbors
Monday, February 24, 2020
Communities up and down Southeast Alaska are feeling the impacts of loss of ferry service. Southeast Alaska is made up of thousands of islands that are home to more than 21 communities. Living in rural Southeast Alaska depends on a reliable ferry service that delivers people and goods and supplies. The Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) provides ferry service in Southeast Alaska and connects people and communities like Interstate 5 (I-5) does for the Pacific Northwest.

At the end of February 2020, food supplies in the smaller Southeast communities is nearing critical food security levels. Over the last week, people rallied in their communities to “Save the Ferries” and began sending food out to the smaller communities.

A town hall meeting was held on February 20 at the Sitka ANB Hall. The local Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood (ANB/ANS) organized the meeting to discuss ferry system status, as well as to collect food and dry good donations. After the meeting, volunteers organized the donations for shipment to communities who are in crisis caused by the sudden cuts to their ferry service. Generous donations of food and dry goods were received from the Alaska Commercial Company (AC Lakeside) grocery store, individuals and from a Sitka High School food drive. The collected items in Sitka were shipped to Angoon, Kake and Hoonah. Delivering the food to the communities was made possible by Alaska Seaplanes and its staff who volunteered time for the event and donated discounted air freight service to Angoon and Kake.

Sealaska Director David Goade helped at the Sitka ANB Hall where the community was preparing food to send out. “It was heart-warming to see people come together to support others who are in need of basic items like food because of hardships created by the sudden end of ferry service to their communities,” said Goade. “It’s a temporary response to the ongoing crisis in small Alaskan communities that have depended on the ferry system for so many decades. Extraordinary events like this will need to continue until the ferries are running on a regular basis again.”
It’s fitting that leaders of the Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood are driving solutions during a critical time for our region and people. The ANB/ANS has a 100-year history of advocacy for Native people and the region.
It’s great to see the Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood in action, promoting grassroots efforts that benefit Native people and communities. We applaud the heartfelt giving that can help address emergency needs, but the State of Alaska needs to create a sustainable solution for the essential public services the ferry system has always provided. Adequate funding for the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) is Sealaska’s number one state policy priority. The AMHS is critical to shareholders and communities within the region. The AMHS provides Southeast communities with access to healthcare, cultural events, affordable travel for school activities, as well as access to our regional hubs to purchase basic needs.
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We are excited to announce that the results of the 2025 Sealaska election have been certified and are ready to share with all of you.
Congratulations to our 2025 winners. At Sealaska, we are deeply grateful for your participation in this year’s election. Selecting exceptional leaders to help guide our shared future is one of the most meaningful ways for shareholders to engage with us. These winners were randomly selected from the pool of early birds by the Inspectors of Election. All payments will be processed this week and delivered via the payment method on file for distributions in MySealaska.com.
We are continuing our search for a dynamic and visionary leader to serve as Sealaska’s president. It is important that we find the right candidate to fill this position, which is why the Sealaska board of directors is being as exacting as possible as we search for a candidate capable of amplifying the impact of our mission and providing benefits that empower our shareholders. To this end, the Sealaska board of directors recently revised the job description for the position of president and sought the assistance of a professional recruiting firm. Our hope is to announce a successful candidate as our new president this coming summer.
After considering the recently announced U.S. Postal Service delays to First-Class Mail in conjunction with a paper proxy error leading shareholders who wish to vote by mail to potentially wait for their regularly scheduled second proxy mailing, we have made the decision to extend the early bird deadline to June 6. We are listening to shareholders and want to give everyone the best chance to qualify as an early bird. Thank you for understanding and thank you for voting.
Shareholders, an error occurred when printing proxy cards regarding the number of shares you own and votes you have in the top right corner of your proxy card. This error does not affect the validity of your paper proxy, nor does it affect voting on MySealaska.com through the Election Connection portal
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Sealaska shareholders are invited to join us at our upcoming in-person and virtual community meetings to learn more about Sealaska business operations, upcoming opportunities and connect with fellow shareholders and descendants.
Sealaska shareholders are now able to view and download their IRS Form 1099-DIV for 2023. Printed 1099 tax forms will be mailed on or before Jan. 26.
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