Senate sponsors resolution to form commission to review Alaska's state seal; hearing held for future work
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Summary
Sen. Gary Stevens introduced SCR 11 to form a 14'member commission to review and recommend changes to Alaska's official state seal, citing historical shifts that removed Native representation. Arts and humanities organizations supported a public process. The committee held the resolution for further refinement.
Sen. Gary Stevens told the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday that Senate Concurrent Resolution 11 would form a legislative commission to evaluate the official state seal and recommend possible changes to better reflect Alaska's cultural heritage.
Stevens said the familiar seal dates to statehood in 1959 but includes imagery that reflects industrial and resource themes from earlier eras. "Maybe it's time to have a more comprehensive seal," he said, arguing the process should include a wide array of stakeholders and design professionals.
Tim Lampkin, staff to Sen. Stevens, walked the committee through historical renditions of the seal and described how elements shifted over time'from early depictions that included Native people and subsistence scenes to later seals that emphasize industrial resource imagery. He outlined a proposed commission of 14 members (legislative and public members, including the lieutenant governor or designee, representatives of the State Council on the Arts, the Alaska Humanities Forum, the Alaska Historical Society, the University of Alaska, the First Alaskans Institute, and a high'school student leader), set a target date for recommendations by May 14, 2027, and said the commission would expire unless extended by a supermajority vote.
Ben Brown, chair of the Alaska State Council on the Arts, said the council can support a public, deadline'driven process and urged diverse representation. Cordelia Kelly of the Alaska Humanities Forum noted earlier seals once included Alaskan Native peoples and said SCR 11 would provide an open public process that previous adoptions lacked.
"There was never a public process," Kelly said. "We never had an open design contest like we did for our state flag." She urged the committee to give Alaskans a chance to participate in a review of the seal's imagery and meaning.
Chair Tobin opened public testimony; none was offered. After questions and brief discussion, the committee agreed to hold SCR 11 for a future meeting and asked sponsors to work with staff on potential language changes.
