.|
|
|
Ms. Jimmy is a member of the Sitka Kiks.ádi clan and was born and raised in Sitka, Alaska. She is a respected elder and traditional Tlingit weaver. Ms. Jimmy has served as a board member and has worked to share traditional Tlingit weaving methods at the Southeast Alaska Indian Cultural Center, located at the Sitka National Historical Park Visitor Center. Active in cultural and subsistence issues, Ms. Jimmy is presently a member of the Sitka Tribal Council.
Irene Jimmy is perhaps in her early sixties, has black hair and is in good health from a lifestyle that still includes harvesting her own berries, fish, and spruce roots that she carefully prepares to weave her Tlingit baskets. Ms Jimmy's manner is kind and polite. Her speaking is slightly hesitant, as she is obviously a conscientious and thoughtful person. In this way, Ms. Jimmy is respectful of traditional Tlingit protocol and the necessity of watching one's words for the damage that words can inflict if not measured and delivered with care.
In her interview, Ms. Jimmy speaks of her, her family's and her clan's connection to the Sitka National Historical Park. She says that she is grateful to the Park Service for its preservation and public access policies, because it is a location that is sacred to the Kiks.ádi clan.
Ms. Jimmy recalls attending one of the memorial potlatches that was held at the Fort Site to recognize the Kiks.ádi clan's losses. Irene was taken to the memorial with her mother and recalls having cloth in her hands and standing in a circle and tearing the cloth in memory of the clan members who lost their lives in the 1804 Battle. Ms. Jimmy also recalls harvesting spruce roots and berries from the Sitka National Historical Park site as a child with her mother.
.