Alaska Day is a legal holiday in the U.S. state of

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, observed on October 18. It is the anniversary of the formal transfer of territories in present-day Alaska from the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, which occurred on Friday, October 18, 1867.

Background

On March 30, 1867, the United States purchased Alaska from the Russian Empire for the sum of $7.2 million (equivalent to $ million in ). It was not until October of that year that the commissioners arrived in Sitka and the formal transfer was arranged. The formal flag-raising took place at Fort Sitka on October 18, 1867. The original ceremony included 250

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

troops, who marched to the governor's house at " Castle Hill". There, the American soldiers raised the American flag, and the Russian flag was lowered.William S. Hanable (April 4, 1975) , National Park Service and The official account of the affair as presented by General

Lovell Rousseau Lovell Harrison Rousseau (August 4, 1818 – January 7, 1869) was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, as well as a lawyer and politician in Kentucky and Indiana. Rousseau was a member of the Whig Party early in his politi ...

to Secretary of State William H. Seward: Due to the 11-hour time difference between Sitka and St. Petersburg, and the fact that Russia still used the

Julian calendar The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts ...

, the date is sometimes given as Saturday, October 7.

Observance

Alaska's territorial legislature declared Alaska Day a holiday in 1917. It is a paid holiday for state employees. The annual celebration is held in Sitka, where schools release students early, many businesses close for the day, and events such as a

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

and reenactment of the flag-raising are held. It should not be confused with Seward's Day, the last Monday in March, another state holiday commemorating the signing of the treaty for the Alaska Purchase in which the U.S. purchased Alaska from Russia on March 30, 1867.

Modern view

Alaska Day is protested by some

Alaska Native Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the I ...

people, who view the holiday as a celebration of the violence used to take their land away. Native organizers assert that the land was not Russia's to sell in the first place; therefore, the sale of the land to the U.S. is illegitimate. Even despite being a holiday tradition in Alaska and October 18 being marked the day Russia transferred Alaska to the United States, some Alaska Natives have argued about the holiday as

cultural genocide Cultural genocide or culturicide is a concept first described by Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin in 1944, in the same book that coined the term ''genocide''. The destruction of culture was a central component in Lemkin's formulation of genocide ...

, and there is a chance of healing in time. A former resident of Sitka, Peter Bradley, had given an idea about a resolution that called for renaming Alaska Day to Reconciliation Day.

References

{{U.S. Holidays Annual events in Alaska State holidays in the United States October observances 1917 establishments in Alaska Recurring events established in 1917 Native American-related controversies