Alaska Native Arts & Culture

The Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository supports Alaska Native artists locally and statewide, and it just announced the acquisition of a couple of beaded art pieces, including a headdress from an artist in Old Harbor.

The internees, from St. Paul and St. George in the Pribolof Islands, were moved 1,300 miles against their will. Many died on the way and in Funter Bay over their two-year internment.

Restrictions on the ivory industry are multiplying in the U.S., causing concern for artists in Alaska. Alaska Native carvers do have a degree of protection under federal law. But, non-Native carvers who only work with fossilized ivory are not shielded in the same way.

Some of London’s fans said they were proud of how far she did manage to go and they’re happy she used her platform to showcase Native culture.

It is hoped that raising the Raven totem pole will pay respect to the grievances of the past, restore the T’aak̲u K̲wáan’s ancestral connection to the land, and signal their desire to heal and move forward, culture intact.

The somber ceremony is the beginning of the T’aak̲u K̲wáan tribal government’s plans to formally recognize historic trauma and begin healing. The 26-foot Raven Pole honors the Gaanaxteidí clan of the T’aak̲u K̲wáan, leaf of devil’s club that represents healing and a carved staff which represents the end of grieving.

James Hart received the Emerging Leader award at the annual tribal assembly. Hart is a Central Council delegate and a tribal council member at the Haines-based Chilkoot Indian Association.

Churchill has received an Alaska State Council on the Arts fellowship, and a National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship Award for Haida basketry. She studied at the British Museum and relearned the six-strand weave, which she brought back to Alaska.

Teachers from around Southeast Alaska will gather in Juneau next month to discuss culturally responsive education.