Irene Jimmy

Irene Jimmy was interviewed on December 17, 1998 by Kristen Griffin and Robi Craig at the Sitka Tribe of Alaska office in Sitka, Alaska. She was in her early sixties, and was in good health from a lifestyle that included harvesting her own berries, fish, and spruce roots that she carefully prepared to use in her weaving projects. She spoke as a conscientious and thoughtful person 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 this interview, Irene talks about her and her family's and clan's connections to Sitka National Historical Park, including harvesting spruce roots and berries there as a child with her mother, and 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. She also discusses her work as a weaver, the revival of traditional Tlingit art forms, the important role the park has played in the preservation of Tlingit art, and the history of the Tlingit and Russian battles in Sitka. Irene recalls as a child attending one of the memorial potlatches that was held at the Fort Site to recognize the Kiks.ádi clan's losses and standing in a circle and tearing cloth in memory of the clan members who lost their lives in the 1804 Battle.