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Formline Deterioration in Northwest Coast Art
Exterior of the SHI building, which features formline design by master Haida artist Robert Davidson. Formline Deterioration in Northwest Coast Art The Sealaska Heritage (SHI) Native Artist Committee in their recent meeting expressed deep concern about the deterioration of Northwest Coast (NWC) formline that they are seeing within our community of artists. The concerns [...]
The Inbox
Eechdaa Dave Ketah, who was born in Ketchikan, now lives in Portland, OR. Despite living away from Lingít aaní, Ketah has been connecting with his heritage by taking online classes offered at SHI and UAS, visiting his father’s people in Klawock to learn to carve and by attending Celebration in person in 2022. [...]
In the Boat & On the Shore
A whole group portrait at the final celebration for the Haa Yoo X’atángi Deiyí project on August 19, 2022. Immersive Learning Experiences with Haa Yoo X’atángi Deiyí: Our Language Pathways Photos and Text by Stacy Unzicker Along the back of a banquet hall sits a long table holding pictures of beloved elders and ancestors that [...]
Research Updates: Continuing collaboration with the Metlakatla First Nation
By Alyssa Bader, Sealaska Heritage Postdoctoral Fellow As a National Science Foundation postdoctoral research fellow at Sealaska Heritage Institute, I will be working under the mentorship of Dr. Rosita Worl to explore the relationship between diet and the community of bacteria living in our mouths, called the oral microbiome. Through the oral microbiome, I hope to [...]
Naa Sháade Háni (Clan Leader): Stepping into the Office of Clan Leader
Naa Sháade Háni (Clan Leader): Stepping into the Office of Clan Leader In December 2019, after several months of deliberation, Sealaska Heritage's Council of Traditional Scholars developed this Clan Leaders statement to offer the minimal qualities of character and knowledge that they collectively see as necessary for clan leaders. It does not propose to include all [...]
Meet Tsimshian scholar Alyssa Bader
SHI Postdoctoral Fellow studying impact of Native food on people One of Alyssa Bader’s strongest connections to her culture has always been food. That she is studying how traditional Southeast Alaska Native foods impact health, then, is not too surprising. Dr. Bader, who is Tsimshian, received her doctorate in anthropology from the University of Illinois. [...]
The raising of the totem pole raising in Massett in 1969
The renowned master artist Robert Davidson sometimes submits pieces for SHI's blog. This month, news of a new documentary on a totem pole raising in Old Massett in 1969 came out. The film, Now is the Time, explores the raising of a pole carved by Davidson and his brother, Reg. Robert wrote this blog to provide [...]
Latseen Northwest Coast Art and Leadership Academy – July 7-18, 2019
Alaska Native high school students immersed themselves in culturally-based education and leadership training on the ancestral territory of the Áak’w Ḵwáan during Sealaska Heritage’s Latseen Art & Leadership academy, held in partnership with Central Council Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (CCTHITA) and in collaboration with Goldbelt Heritage Foundation. A total of 30 students participated [...]
Q & A with Rosita Worl: What is the proper response when a clan performs Spirit Song?
At Sealaska Heritage, we field a lot of questions from the public, researchers and the media about Northwest Coast cultures. This question addresses a question we've fielded numerous times. Question: What is the proper response when a clan performs a Spirit Song? SHI President Rosita Worl: George Keiḵóok’ Jim of the Wooshkeetaan Clan and L’uknax̱.ádi yádi addressed this question at the [...]
Photos: Community carving sessions at Gajaa Hít
Photos: Community carving sessions at Gajaa Hít By Lyndsey Brollini The smell of cedar and the pounding of adzes hitting wood filled the air at Gajaa Hít on a recent Saturday during what has become a regular gathering for a small group of Juneau carvers. The Haa Latseen Community Project carving sessions, a Sealaska Heritage program, at Gajaa [...]
Photos: A look back on Team Juneau and the 2018-2019 season of Native Youth Olympics
Left: Team Juneau walks in the athlete parade at the Native Youth Olympic Games in Anchorage. Photo courtesy of Michael Dinneen. Right: Team Juneau on their last day of practice before traveling to Anchorage for the NYO Games. Photo by Lyndsey Brollini. (Sponsors) By Lyndsey Brollini More than 400 athletes from across the state traveled [...]
“Hooked” wins first place, cultural stories category, in Alaska Press Club competition
Congratulations to former Sealaska Heritage employee Tamara Ikenberg, who just won first place in the cultural stories category from the Alaska Press Club! She wrote, Hooked: Ancient fishing technology preserved and revived for the next generation, for First Alaskans Magazine on behalf of Sealaska Heritage. The piece, first published in 2018, is reprinted here with permission [...]
Respect: weighing our words after Celebration 2018
By Jessie Barker (Aarhus University, Denmark, and the Behavioural Insights Team, UK) With thanks to Celia Denton (University of Alaska, Anchorage), Jerreed Ivanich (Johns Hopkins University) and Caitlin Stern (Santa Fe Institute) I arrived in Juneau the day before Celebration, the zipper on my suitcase almost broken from trying to close around a bagful of [...]
Quality takes time
A blog by the renowned master artist Robert Davidson on Northwest Coast art: Quality takes time, allows time for thinking. Thinking develops maturity of the end product. Too many great ideas are stunted by rushing to completion. Knowing and acting on it are two different things. When one masters the principles developed by the Old [...]
Q & A with Rosita Worl: What are the challenges of integrating Native arts, culture and language into new institutions?
At Sealaska Heritage, we field a lot of questions from the public, researchers and the media about Northwest Coast cultures. This question addresses an issue we've dealt with many times in the past and continue to face today. Question: What are the challenges of integrating Native arts, culture and language into new institutions? SHI President Rosita Worl: In our efforts to integrate Native art, [...]
