Art

EXPRESSION THROUGH ART HEALS AND NOURISHES OUR COMMUNITIES AND OURSELVES.

@ A L W A Y S I N D I G E N O U S M E D I A

Art heals, nourishes, and strengthens community and culture. In an extractive economy, art is elitist, transactional, and hierarchical. This forces artists to prioritize the careerism, materialism, and cash value of their creations. A Just Transition rooted in Indigenous traditions returns to the sacredness of creation itself. That art is both a gift and a skill that needs to be accessible to all, rooted in community, and focused on teaching and self-expression.

MUSIC AND DANCE

Traditional dance festivals in Alaska bring together dancers and spectators from across the state. These festivals range in size from the statewide AFN to the Teller Dance Festival which features dancers from local communities like Shishmaref, Nome, and Wales. Music is a powerful way to strengthen community and culture. Bands like Pamyua instill pride in their community, and festivals such as Rock Aak'w virtual festival feature Indigenous musicians and provide a crucial platform to elevate these groups.

TRADITIONAL ART

Alaskan artists strengthen their communities by using art to educate community members and pass down culture. In Juneau, Planet Alaska, an Alaska Native woman-owned gallery, puts on many educational and community programs such as the

Planet Alaska Plant Symposium:

Stewards of the Land, which teaches traditional Tlingit plant knowledge. In Gambell, artist Lydia Apatiki created a St.

Lawrence Island Traditional

Sewing Curriculum that teaches traditional sewing and the related St Lawrence island Yu’pik vocabulary. Teachers purchase the curriculum online to use with their students.

Traditional art such as carving or skin sewing is a way for residents to earn money while staying in their community. Unfortunately, many artists struggle to access outside markets and receive fair prices for their work. The Alaska Native Medical Center Craft Shop and the Anchorage Museum Store both purchase art from artists who walk in, allowing artists to access a larger market. However, artists receive wholesale prices for their work, and the gift shop context makes Alaska Native artists more anonymous. The art is sold as a craft, and gift shop marketing does not celebrate the individual who made it in the same way an art gallery or museum does.

One possible route forward is for artists to sell their work online, but many artists are limited by lack of access to broadband. Community organizations such as The Sulianich Association, a partnership between NANA Regional Corporation, Maniilaq Association, and the Northwest Arctic Borough, purchase art from local artists and markets it through the Sulianich Arts Center’s gallery and online store.The center provides workspace that artists use free of charge and an educational and cultural center.

In the next economy, artist-owned cooperatives will pay living wages, provide equitable access to markets, and enable artists to focus on their art instead of promoting themselves. Galleries that allow artists to sell their art in a commission model, which provides fair compensation, will be the norm unlike the dominant wholesale model.

WHAT COMES NEXT? HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?

YOUR HOSTS

We know we haven’t covered it all. Can you help us add what’s missing?

Instagram: @justtransition_ak Facebook: @justtransitionak Email: info@justtransitionak.org

For more resources and to learn about our partners visit justtransitionak.org.

#RememberingForward #JustTransitionAK

Alaska Just Transition Logo by Apay'uq Moore Alaska Climate Alliance Logo by Dustin Newman

ALASKA JUST TRANSITION COLLECTIVE

is a group of Alaska-based organizations with a spectrum of focuses working to support Alaska along a path toward a postoil economy, an Indigenized Regenerative Economy. Alaska Just Transition facilitates intersectional collaboration to build critical thinking around economic and social transition. The Alaska Just Transition Collective is:

Native Movement Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition Alaska Community Action on Toxics Alaska Public Interest Research Group Native Peoples Action The Alaska Center Alaska Poor People’s Campaign ALASKA CLIMATE ALLIANCE

grew out of Alaska’s Just Transition movement and is a group of 30+ organizations and more than 120 participants united by our desire to align Alaska’s climate action community with Just Transition principles, addressing the climate crisis head-on at all levels of society and shifting our state towards a joyful, interdependent and Indigenous-led future.

The ACA Regenerative Economies Working Group is one of several ACA working groups. We seek to build and connect the economic arm of our Alaskan movement for a Just Transition. We are Alaskans creating long-term, meaningful jobs for Alaskans that sustain communities, lands and ways of life. We capitalize on our strengths to diversify economies and leverage our resourcefulness to grow resilient Alaskan-owned businesses. We envision economies that move us through the climate crisis that are both just and joyful.