Which is the real holiday?

Sean Pearson
While many of us went about our regular hectic and busy lives Monday, Alaska Day quietly slipped by with little fanfare and even less celebration.
And why not? The only people really affected by Alaska Day are State employees who get a paid day off.
Banks stay open. Postal workers stand at the ready. And – most significantly – school’s still in session.
Alaska Day is a legal holiday observed on Oct. 18. It marks the anniversary of the formal transfer of the Territory of Alaska from Russia to the United States during a flag-raising ceremony at Fort Sitka in 1867.
And, according to Wikipedia, it should not be confused with Seward’s Day, which is the last Monday in March. Seward’s Day marks the signing of the treaty in which the U.S. purchased Alaska from Russia on March 30, 1867.
The official celebration for Alaska Day is held in Sitka, where schools often release students early, many businesses close for the day and events such as a parade and reenactment of the flag-raising are held.
The official celebration for Seward’s Day is, well, apparently in Seward. It includes special history programs, storytelling events and historical slideshows.
So which one is the real holiday?
That all depends on whether you’re standing in Seward or Sitka when you’re doing the asking. The real question is whether or not the Russians regret selling it to us so cheaply.
It’s interesting how many Americans believed there was absolutely nothing in the “vast wasteland” of Alaska to warrant the $7.2 million purchase by then-U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward. Russia had suffered great losses when they owned the land, the cost of maintaining such a remote outpost was great, and the Russian Empire certainly wasn’t dragging its feet in sales negotiations.
The Alaska Purchase – historically also referred to as “Seward’s Folly” – added some 586,412 square miles of new U.S. territory at roughly 1.9 cents per acre.
Any way you look at it now, that’s quite a bargain.
It took only 30 years for doubters to begin changing their opinions about Alaska – mostly thanks to the 1897 discovery of gold along the Klondike River.
And Alaska’s natural resources have no doubt paid back that initial land investment many times over. With everything from trillions of cubic feet of natural gas, to copious coal and oil reserves, to thriving seafood and lumber industries, the Great Land has proven itself greater than possibly even William Seward could have imagined.
Today, those wanting to further the state’s economic prospects through expanded industries such as drilling and mining are constantly at odds with those seeking to preserve as much of the state’s natural resources as possible.
On Monday – Alaska Day – the federal government’s Minerals Management Service gave the green light to Shell Offshore Inc. to drill in Alaska’s Beaufort Sea.
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, “welcomed the announcement,” calling it, “an encouraging sign that Alaska’s oil and natural gas resources will continue to play a major role in America’s energy security.”
The Alaska Wilderness League, Center for Biological Diversity, EarthJustice, National Audubon Society, Natural Resources Defense Council, Pacific Environment, Sierra Club and World Wildlife Fund referred to the decision as “very disappointing.”
They point to impact analyses that are “sorely lacking,” and maintain that the MMS “approved a drilling plan without a full analysis of the potential consequences.”
Casualties could include everything from oil-tarnished ocean waters to polar bears to whales.
Is it really worth the cost?
Well, that depends.
With all the different species of all the different organisms that could be impacted by offshore drilling, how would we possibly ever do enough studies to rule each one of them out?
Where do we draw the line? Is there a line?
When winter hits and horizontal snow makes for relatively chilly evenings, I want to be able to heat my home. Do I really have to worry about offing a baby ice seal every time I turn the oil stove up a notch?
We’ve been at this for 142 years now, and we still haven’t figured out how to strike a balance yet.
Maybe we’re really Seward’s Folly after all.

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