The Alaska State Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has issued a directive to the Division of Libraries, Archives, and Museums to look into divesting itself of the Sheldon Jackson Museum in Sitka, including the building and its collections, through sale.

As members of the statewide museum community, your voice matters on this issue.

You can reach your legislators by email, phone, social media, or mail.

Find out who your Senators and Representatives are with this interactive map, and then find their contact information below:

Alaska State Senate

Alaska House of Representatives

The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) maintains an Advocacy webpage that allows you to find your elected officials by entering your address. There you will find your federal and state elected officials, including address, phone number, and social media handles.

Consider sharing a Facebook post or Tweet and tagging your elected officials:

"The Sheldon Jackson Museum means so much to me. Please help protect these resources @[insert social media handle]"

You can also send a 50 word message to your legislators, using the link below.

Write a 50 word message

Senator Bert Stedman of Sitka has spoken out about this issue and is quoted in several news articles in support of the Sheldon Jackson Museum. 

Take a moment to thank Senator Stedman.

Museums Alaska's Board of Directors has identified the potential sale of the Sheldon Jackson Museum as one of our top legislative priorities this year. Please be sure to subscribe to our digital mailing list to stay up to date on this and other advocacy calls to action as they occur.

Below is a copy of a letter sent on behalf of our Board of Directors to Governor Dunleavy's office.

Letter of support from Museums Alaska Board of Directors for SJM

Please feel free to use the below template to write your own letter. The best letters address your personal connection to the issue, so please feel free to deviate from this template.

Template letter of support for SJM

AAM has also created an online version of this template letter, making it easier than ever to contact your legislators about this issue.

Museums Alaska maintains resources on our website to help you navigate the Alaska legislative process here. We will continue to share more resources and information as it becomes available.

We also hold a monthly Advocacy Task Force teleconference meeting, that is open to anyone interested in advocating on behalf of Alaska's museums. Please join us!