Schoenbar Middle School students wrapped the school year with a project designed to commemorate the World War II Aleut relocation camp that once operated at Ward Lake.
To understand the history of relocation camps in Southeast Alaska â including the Ketchikan area â more than 200 seventh- and eighth-graders across three English classes at Schoenbar read the book Aleutian Sparrow by Karen Hesse, a historical fiction novel written in verse about the Ward Lake camp that was opened in the early 1940s for the relocation of Aleut individuals.
According to archives from the National Park Service, Aleut individuals were evacuated from the Aleutian Islands chain as U.S. and Japanese militaries continued to clash during WWII, following the attack on Dutch Harbor and other sites in the Aleutian Chain in summer 1942.
The Ketchikan Native Youth Olympics team has been growing.
When the team first formed in Ketchikan three years ago, only three students signed up. The next year, Ketchikan s NYO team grew to an estimated 10 or 13 participants.
And this year, the team has swelled to nearly 20 middle and high school students who are training to compete in a variety of traditional games at a regional competition set to be held in May in Ketchikan.
Ketchikan s NYO team head coach, Starla Agoney, recently spoke with the Daily News and explained the origin of the tradition. It just really encompasses cultural values with being able to respect each other, respect ourselves, (and) being able to change a mindset, like a fixed mindset to a growth mindset, Agoney explained.