Regional museums are reeling from closures and the loss of ticket revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic. Upper Lynn Canal institutions received some federal and state relief dollars to soften the blow.
The Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center. (Stremple/KHNS)
Per state emergency mandate, museums closed in March to curb the spread of COVID-19. They were allowed to re-open in May. Since local museums remain closed or operate on reduced hours, they have significantly reduced income.
Klukwan’s Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center stayed closed this season. The Chilkat Indian Village is closed to visitors to protect residents and especially elders from the spread of COVID-19.
Alaska State Museums awarded the center $7,500 from its new Grant-in-Aid program.
“To get us through this winter,” Grant writer Lani Hotch said.
“Because we don’t have any income. You know, usually we have all these tours, all these visitors that come in. We don’t have any of that because the COVID. No tour ships, the highway’s closed… we applied for those grants to help make up the difference.”
The Grant in Aid program has been around since the 1970s, but this year it specifically targets operating costs. That’s things like rent, utilities and core staff.
Haines’ Alaska Bald Eagle Foundation also received $7,500 from the program. Their money is going to feed the birds.
“[It’s] usually a $900 a month to feed all the birds,” said Executive Director Cheryl McRoberts. She said the foundation has a different responsibility than many museums.
“Not just employees, not just utilities, we actually have lives here.”
Eagles at the American Bald Eagle Foundation in Haines.(Emily Files)
The Foundation was closed from March until June. McRoberts estimates the foundation lost up to $45,000 in revenue over those three months. The doors are open now, but without summer tourists, McRoberts says there isn’t much foot traffic. Between the federal Payroll Protection money and a local grant from the Haines Borough, she’s been able to keep all staff employed.
Both the Haines Sheldon Museum and the Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center were awarded $6,250 from the Alaska Humanities Forum this summer. The money comes from the federal CARES Act, administered by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The emergency relief funding is intended to help pay staff and other costs despite cancelled events and reduced ticket sales.
