Children’s Voices, 1925-1965: Portraits from the Jesse Lee Home, Seward

The first session I was able to attend was on the Jesse Lee Home in Seward. A local historian (Jackie Pels) was telling stories from her book (Family After All: Alaska's Jesse Lee Home). She collected oral narratives, slides, pictures, documents, and stories to tell the tales of the children and adults who populated the orphanage. It was fascinating, touching, and a great session. Now I need to go buy her books...

Program abstract: Children’s Voices, 1925-1965: Portraits from the Jesse Lee Home, Seward "The story of Alaska’s boarding schools and orphanages is only beginning to be told,” Alaska bibliographer Bruce Merrell wrote in 2008. In this presentation from Family After All: Alaska’s Jesse Lee Home, the stories are firsthand, accompanied by photographs that First Alaskans called amazing, a rich visual context. The Qutekcak Native Tribe of Seward called the collection a
testament to the survival and persistence of today’s Alaska Native elders. Pels will talk about the project and the book."