Latest posts
Q & A with Rosita Worl: What is your position on the petition to remove the Seward statue in Juneau?
At Sealaska Heritage, we field a lot of questions from the public, researchers and the media about Northwest Coast cultures. This question was in the news recently. Question: What is your position on the petition to remove the Seward statue in Juneau? SHI President Rosita Worl, Ph.D.: The call for the removal of the William H. Seward statue is [...]
Photos: Another successful year at the 2020 Traditional Games
Mara Sheakley-Early competing in the Two-Foot High Kick. Photo by Lyndsey Brollini, SHI Media Department. (Official Results) By Lyndsey Brollini One hundred and forty-five athletes from across Alaska, Arizona, and Canada competed in the third annual Traditional Games in Juneau, held March 7-8 at Juneau Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé. Athletes from 14 communities lined up in the [...]
Practicing our values, from Baby Raven Reads
Practicing our values, from Baby Raven Reads By Tess Olympia SHI Education Program Manager Suddenly, we are home with our children, all day every day. How do we shift to a daily life of “social distancing” with infants and young children? Let’s take advantage of this time at home to practice our values. Haa Latseení, [...]
Tlingit Code Talkers: The warriors who helped end World War II
Navajo code talkers have long been recognized for the crucial part they played in World War II. But until very recently, no one knew that Tlingit code talkers also used the Tlingit language as a code that the enemy was never able to crack. Even the families of the Tlingit code talkers did not know [...]
The remarkable Tlingit leader Kaal.áxch and the coming of the Americans
Sealaska Heritage held its first of two November lectures Wednesday in recognition of Native American Heritage Month. Dr. Steve Langdon, professor emeritus at the University of Alaska Anchorage Department of Anthropology, spoke about the powerful Tlingit leader Ḵaal.áx̱ch, who lived in Klukwan at the time of the assertion of jurisdiction by the United States government [...]
Master Haida artist Robert Davidson: Thoughts on Northwest Coast art
The renowned master artist Robert Davidson has agreed to allow Sealaska Heritage to post occasional teachings on Facebook. Here is our most recent installment, which Robert wrote after SHI’s sponsored a roundtable discussion in July with Northwest Coast artists. The major issues facing artists today and possible solutions include patience—taking time to learn from the [...]
Are you owed money? November 27th is deadline for Cobell Settlement claimants
More than 400 Southeast Alaska Native people and estates listed The deadline is fast approaching for claimants in the Cobell vs. Salazar Settlement who are on the “Whereabouts Unknown” list to supply information to the claims administrators. Those Alaska Natives on this list, or their heirs, may be eligible for payments under the settlement. The [...]
Photos: A Tribe Called Red
The indigenous music group A Tribe Called Red rocked the house in Juneau this month through a performance sponsored by SHI, the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council (JAHC) and KTOO. This photo series by Sydney Akagi begins with the Native dance group Woosh.ji.een, which opened for the band. Woosh.ji.een opening for the band. Woosh.ji.een opening [...]
Photos: Baby Raven Book Giveaway
Confession: When we first received a federal grant to develop our Baby Raven Reads program, we were a bit daunted. The project, in part, required us to produce 18 children’s books in three years. That’s a lot. Our staff worked very hard to find the best writers and illustrators and to produce books that met [...]
Q & A with Rosita Worl: A primer on clan leaders
At Sealaska Heritage, we field a lot of questions from the public, researchers and the media about Northwest Coast cultures. SHI President Rosita Worl, who is from the Shangukeidí Clan and a Tlingit anthropologist, spends considerable time answering these. Because the answers to some of these questions are of general interest, we’ve launched “Q & A with Rosita Worl” on [...]
Photos: Tináa Art Auction and Native Fashion Show
We can't stop thinking about our 2017 Tináa Art Auction, which raised nearly $200,000 for the institute's new endowment to perpetuate programming for future generations and the public. The Alaska Native art that was donated by artists and collectors was flat-out stunning and the Native Fashion Show wowed us as well. We are incredibly grateful [...]
Q & A with Rosita Worl: Indian Point, a sacred site
At Sealaska Heritage, we field a lot of questions from the public, researchers and the media about Northwest Coast cultures. SHI President Rosita Worl, who is from the Shangukeidí Clan and a Tlingit anthropologist, spends considerable time answering these. Because the answers to some of these questions are of general interest, we’ve launched “Q & A with Rosita Worl” on [...]
Beloved Tlingit author, poet and scholar passes away
On September 25, 2017, the world lost a giant. Nora Ḵeixwnéi Dauenhauer, Lukaax̱.ádi and beloved Tlingit author, poet and scholar, passed away at the age of 90. Nora, with her late husband Richard Dauenhauer, made significant contributions in preserving Tlingit oral traditions through their award-winning Tlingit Oral Literature Series. Nora’s first language was Tlingit, and [...]
Sealaska Heritage to showcase stunning bronze by Robert Davidson during First Friday
Sealaska Heritage Institute will host a public viewing of a stunning bronze sculpture by internationally acclaimed Haida artist Robert Davidson at the Walter Soboleff Building tonight for First Friday. Called Crab of the Woods (Frog), or Hlk'iian q'uusdanin in the Haida language, Xaad Kíl, the sculpture is based on a mask Davidson carved in 1989 [...]
Photos: A look at SHI’s Regional Jinéit Art Academy Youth Program
SHI began piloting the Jinéit Art Academy Youth Program in 2016, building partnerships in four Southeast Alaska communities with the common goal of exposing Alaska youth to high-quality Northwest Coast art programming and increasing the number of Alaska youth exposed to and familiar with Northwest Coast art forms. Here are some photos from our program [...]
