The loss of five lives aboard the seiner Wind Walker earlier this month was the latest in a string of tragedies that has shaken Sitka this year, from a January boating accident that killed two teens to the apparent bear mauling of a local fisheries advocate in October.
In a two-hour vigil at the University of Alaska Southeast Sitka campus boat ramp on Saturday, more than 80 Sitkans and visitors gathered to share stories of loss.
Paul Rioux, who organized the event with Nalani James, said they wanted the community to have a space to come together in grief.
“When someone is hurting, we can’t usually see the mess, and even if we could see it, we can’t reach into their hearts and put things back into the right places,” he said. “What we can do is acknowledge one another – give one another permission to hurt. Today, you all have permission to hurt. We can offer that love to one another.”
Malisa Crisman held up a photo collage of her son, who was one of five crew members aboard the F/V Wind Walker. She said she had come up from Las Vegas with her daughter-in-law.
“My son was E.J. Celaya. He was a commercial fisherman out here for seven months,” she said. “He loved the people that he met here. He said Sitka is a beautiful place. He eventually wanted his family to come. He said everyone welcomed him, and he wanted to make this his home. He’s going to be forever missed.”
Sitkan Jackie DeBell held up a photo of her grandson, David Jackson, who died at age 16 in a car accident this September.
“It’s been a real struggle with our family,” she said. “We have to learn how to live. It’s just learning to live without him, learning new things. And I just want to acknowledge everyone here. I know everyone has somebody they lost, and their lives are forever changed. Whether your grief started five, 10 years ago or last month, I want to offer you my condolences.”
Representatives from community organizations, including the Alaska Marine Safety Education Association and Brave Heart Volunteers, spoke briefly.
Brave Heart program manager Kathryn Winslow encouraged Sitkans to rely on each other.
“The holes in our hearts do not go away, and neither does the love,” she said. “So keep supporting each other, listening and sharing. We are a community woven together with threads of compassion and strength.”
Local musicians Elias Erickson and the Jen Reid Trio led the group through a hymn and a rendition of The Beatles’ “Let it Be.” Afterward, attendees stood at the edge of the boat ramp and tossed flowers into the channel.