Join us at the Valley Library on Tuesday, June 6, from 7:30-8:30 p.m. for Mike Dunham’s free presentation: “Seward and the Tsar: Alaska and Emancipation.” Using material from his books “The Man Who Sold Alaska” and “The Man Who Bought Alaska,” Dunham will connect the biographies of William Seward, Tsar Alexander II, U.S. General Jefferson Davis and Chilkat leader Koh’Klux, and place the United States’ acquisition of Russian interests in Alaska, 150 years ago, in perspective with their other achievements, notably the ending of slavery in North America.
Mike Dunham came to Alaska in 1955 and grew up in villages of the Yukon-Kuskokwim. He also lived in small towns on Kodiak, the Kenai Peninsula, Southeast Alaska and, finally, Anchorage. He was a broadcaster and journalist, mainly working in Anchorage, for 50 years before retiring in January of this year. As a reporter, a number of his articles and programs looked at Alaska History. Dunham’s two short books concerning the purchase of Alaska, “The Man Who Bought Alaska” and “The Man Who Sold Alaska,” came out in March. He is also the editor of A Grammar of Central Yupik and is the 2016 recipient of the First Amendment Award from the Alaska Press Club.
The Juneau-Douglas City Museum fosters an awareness of Juneau’s cultural heritage, values, and community memory to draw strength and perspective from the past, inspire learning and find purpose for the future. More information about the City Museum can be found on the museum’s website: www.juneau.org/library/museum. The City Museum is located at 4th & Main Streets. The phone number is 586-3572. Summer hours are Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Summer admission is $6 for general admission, $5 for ages 65 and older, and free for ages 12 and under, as well as for museum Friends members at the Family level and higher.
