BRAVO Native Alaska Magazine

BRAVO ALASKA

NATIVE MAGAZINE

The Inside Passage: Ketchikan, Sitka, Juneau, Haines

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AlaskaNativeArtists.com Contemporary + Traditional Native Art by Native Artists

www.alaskanativeartists.com When you buy Native Art from us...

Almost all proceeds go directly to Native artists The website www.alaskanativeartists.com was founded in 2003 to give Alaska Native artists an online venue for their work. It’s operated by the Native nonprofit Sealaska Heritage Institute, which serves the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian people of Southeast Alaska. Almost all proceeds from sales go directly to Alaska Native artists. And, we screen artWhat Customers Say... ists to ensure they are Alaska Native, so you know you are “There are no words to explain my gratitute. The piece you carved is so getting authentic Native art. precious.” —Massachusetts To learn more about us, see www.sealaskaheritage.org “Please pass along my sheer awe from or call 907.463.4844. one artist to another.” —Maine

Explore 2,000 years of Alaskan art, including ancient ivory carvings, Alaska Native artworks, paintings, photographs and contemporary sculpture.

Discover fascinating stories about Alaska’s cultures, places and wildlife.

Shop for handmade Alaska Native art, baskets, ivory carvings and more in the Museum Store.

www.uaf.edu/museum/ 907.474.7505

SUMMER HOURS: 9 AM – 9 PM DAILY OPEN YEAR ROUND IN FAIRBANKS, ALASKA

Discover Ketchikan’s history at the Tongass Historical Museum 629 Dock Street • Ketchikan, AK • 907-225-5600

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The Alaska Marine Highway A great way to travel through south east Alaska is by ferry, more appropriately called the Alaska Marine Highway. From Prince Rupert one can hop on board for a liesurely six hour ride to Ketchikan, through lush coastal forests and by-ways, past whales, bears - if you are lucky enough to see them and other marine life. The Alaska Marine Highway is a great way to visit First Nations villages throughout southeast Alaska and beyond.

In Ketchikan you can visit Totem Bight Park, Potlach Park, Cape Fox Lodge where you can see First Nations art in display cases in the hotel lobby; visit the Totem Heritage Museum and the Discovery Center and take a short drive out to (continued on page 16)

Yacutat

Skagway

Haines Pelican Hoonah Tenakee

Juneau Angoon

Sitka Petersburg

Kake Wrangell Ketchikan

Metlakatla Prince Rupert

to Bellingham

CONTENTS Top Eight First Nation’s Destinations 13

Inside Passage Ketchikan 21

Sitka 59

Metlakatla 43

Juneau 79

Prince of Wales Island 51

Haines 95

Wrangell 53

Skagway 113

Kake 55

Hoonah 115

Angoon 57

Yakutat 119

INDEX 121

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Native Alaska &

Nome

Yukon Guide 2024 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,without the prior permission in writing of the copyright holder.

All efforts have been made to provide updated information regarding businesses included in this publication.

Anchorage

Juneau Haida Gwaii

Vancouver BC Seattle Portland

Front Cover Photo: Icy Strait Point, Hoonah

Best, Christopher Native Alaska Guide

San Francisco

ISBN 978-0-9812574-0-2

Published and bound in China chris@metro-online.ca Warfleet Press 1038 East 63rd Ave. Vancouver BC V5X2L1

Dear Readers!

We hope you will enjoy your adventure into the fabulous world of the west coast First Nations people. Look for other adventure guides on our web page at: www.warfleetpress.com

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Top Eight Destinations

Top 8 First Nation’s Destinations in Alaska In Ketchikan visit: the Totem Heritage Center, Tongass Historical Museum, Southeast Alaska Discover Center, Cape Fox Lodge, Potlatch Park, Totem Bight State Park, Saxman Village and The Healing Art Collection in Metlakatla.

In Sitka visit the Sheldon Jackson Museum, the Sitka National Historical Park, the Sitka Cultural Center, Sheet’ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi Community House, Sitka Tribal Tours and the galleries downtown.

In Juneau take the Mount Roberts Tramway up to the gift shop and artisan gallery, visit the Juneau Douglas Museum and the Alaska State Museum, the Sealaska building and downtown galleries.Visit the U of Alaska art collection.

In Haines visit the Sheldon Museum and watch the carvers at Alaska Indian Arts. Visit the new Chilkat Indian Village in Klukwan and see the bald eagles.

A trip to Hoonah to Icy Strait Point is amazing. Come up on a cruise!

In Anchorage visit the Anchorage Museum, the Alaska Native Medical Center Heritage Collection and the Alaska Native Heritage Center. Also see the many galleries downtown and the airport exhibits.

In Fairbanks see the Museum of the North and the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center. Visit the galleries downtown.

In Whitehorse visit the new Kwanlin Dun Cultural Center and galleries.

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Barrow

ARCTIC OCEAN

Dead Point Hope

CHUKCHI SEA

Anaktuvuk Pass

RUSSIA

Kotzebue

Kobuk Valley National Park

Gates of the Arctic National Park Bettles

Shishmaref Wales

C

Teller

Gambell Savoonga

11

Pilgrim Hot Springs

A L A S K A

Council

Nome

nR

o Yuk

Shaktoolik

Manley Springs

Unalakleet ST LAWRENCE ISLAND

r

ive

Denali Park

St.Michael

Kantishna

Bering Land Bridge National Park

MT. MCKINLEY

Petersville 3

Anchora Bethel

Co o

Iliamna

Dillingham

BERING SEA

St.Paul

Aniakchak National Preserve

Cold Bay

ALE

UTI

ANS

Unalaska

ALASKA PENINSULA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

Homer

Seldovia

Katmai Park

Kodiak KODIAK NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

Coop Landi

1

King Salmon

BRISTOL BAY

St.George

let

Port Alsworth

Soldotna

k In

NUNIVAK ISLAND

15 B E A U F O R T S E A

Prudhoe Bay

Map

Kaktovik

dhorse

Ivvavik National Park of Canada

Old Crow Wiseman

Coldfoot Beaver

Fort Yukon

Y U K O N T E R R I T O R Y

1

2

Yukon- Charley Rivers National Park

6

Fairbanks Chena

Eagle

Hot Springs

3

s

2

Nenana

8

Cantwell

Talkeetna

Valdez

Girdwood

Whittier

5 Tok

Paxson

Mayo

Stewart Crossing 2

Beaver Creek

Wrangell-St.Elias National Preserve

1

4

Chitina McCarthy Kennicott

Cordova

Faro

Carmacks

Slana

1

Copper Center

1

Chicken

2

Glennallen

age

per ing

Delta Junction

Dawson City

9

Whitehorse Kluane Haines Jct. 1 National Teslin Park Carcross Tatshenshini -Alsek Park

Seward PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND

Ross River

Yakutat

Skagway

Haines

Hoonah

G U L F O F A L A S K A

Juneau Angoon

Sitka

Kake

Petersburg Wrangell

Prince of Wales Island Klawock Hydaburg

PACIFIC OCEAN

Ketchikan Saxman

Kassan Metlakatla IN

SI

Haida Gwaii

DE

PA

SS

AG

E

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Seldovia Port Lions

Homer Chenega Bay

Whittier Valdez Tatitlek Cordova

Kodiak

Saxman Village to see Tlingit Master Carver Nathan Jackson. Other short trips can be made to Metlakatla and Prince of Wales Island to see totem poles. Back on board the ferry, the next stop is Wrangell where you can visit Chief Shakes House and Museum. In Kake you can see the ‘Tallest Totem Pole in the World’ and visit Cedar House Gallery. There are several lodges to stay at in Angoon if you would like to stay overnight.

Be sure to check the ferry times for a listing of the seasons runnings, bearing in mind there is a summer and a winter schedule. The two hour ride to Ketchikan costs $54 one way for an individual and about $154 if you bring your own 15 foot vehicle.

Sitka is our next major First Nations destination. A must see in Sitka is the Sitka National Historical Park and Museum. There is a totem park in the back as well, and the South East Alaska Indian Cultural Center can be found inside where you will find Tlingit artists Tommy Joseph and Charlie Skultka Jr. at work. There are several galleries selling First Nations art downtown, as there is in Ketchikan. Back on board, our next stop on what I call the “Tlingit Trail,” is Juneau. If you are staying overnight try the Goldbelt Hotel which is First Nations owned. It is centrally located and in the spring/summer you can book a gondola ride up to the top of Mt. Roberts behind Juneau and visit a First Nations gallery inside the landing. A trip out to the U of Alaska, Juneau campus to see the First Nations art collection should be on your list of things to do. A day trip to the Tlingit village of Hoonah is always in order. Visit Icy Strait Point while in Hoonah and ride the longest ‘Zip line’ in the world. Back in Juneau, there are several First Nations galleries downtown and be sure to drop into the lobby of the Sealaska Corporation to view their native art collection and gift shop.

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Unalaska/Dutch Harbor Akutan Cold Bay King Cove False Pass

Chignik Sand Point

Alaska Marine Highway

Our next stop is wonderful Haines. A visit to old Fort Seward is a must. Located in one of the historic buildings at the fort is Alaska Indian Arts. You can see master carvers at work on totem poles and visit their gift shop. While in Haines you can take a 20 minute ride out through the Chilkat Eagle Preserve to the ancestral home of the Tlingit Nation, ‘Klukwan.’ In Klukwan, you can visit their new hospitality center and gift shop and see artisans at work nearby. The scenery is beautiful throughout southeast Alaska but spectacular in this area. Back on the Marine Highway we carry on to Yakutat once the center of Tlingit basket weaving.

When you reach Whittier you will want to get off the ferry and take a side trip to Anchorage. Anchorage is steeped in First Nations cultural things to see and do.

You can visit the world famous Anchorage Museum at Rasmusen Center and the Native Heritage Center. Take a bus ride out to the the Craft Shop and Heritage Collection at the Native Medical Center and visit the Heritage Museum at Wells Fargo.

Back on board the ‘Highway,’ you can carry on to Kodiak and the Alutiiq Museum and then on to Unalaska.

Inside Passage Ketchikan 21 Metlakatla 43 Prince of Wales Island 51 Wrangell 53 Kake 55 Angoon 57 Sitka 59 Juneau 79 Haines 95 Skagway 113 Hoonah 115 Yakutat

KETCHIKAN

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Salmon Capital of the World

Arctic Spirit Gallery Northwest Coast & Alaskan Native Art

310 Mission Street, Ketchikan, AK99901

www.arcticspiritgallery.com 907 225 6626

Ketchikan

Ketchikan comes from the Tlingit name for the creek, Kitschk-hin, the meaning of which is unclear. It may mean “the river belonging to Kitschk,” other accounts claim it means “Thundering Wings of an Eagle.” Ketchikan also has the world’s largest collection of standing totem poles, located at three major locations: Saxman Village, Totem Bight Park, and the Totem Heritage Center. Visit Potlach Park and watch the totem carver. Take a ride on the gondola up to Cape Fox Lodge and see the display cases of First Nations art. Visit five or six galleries downtown selling First Nations art. The local museum, has a good collection of First Nations items. There are several totem poles in the downtown area and out front of the entrance to Cape Fox Lodge.

Inside Passage

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The three indigenous Pacific Northwest Indian tribes are the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian who considered the areas throughout Northern British Columbia and Southeast Alaska their territory.

Chief Ka Ann’s totem pole in Ketchikan ca.1901, Alaska State Library photo # 44-03-079

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Crazy Wolf Studio

607 Mission Street, www.crazywolfstudio.com

Ketchikan

In a beautiful cove eight miles north of Ketchikan is Totem Bight State Park, where an historic collection of totems and a native community house can be visited. Ketchikan’s Totem Heritage Center displays a large collection of original poles retrieved from abandoned village sites and hosts classes teaching traditional art forms like weaving and regalia making. The Southeast Alaska Discovery Center houses contemporary poles, examples of native basketry and other crafts and a traditional Native fish camp exhibit. Native dance comes alive with regular performances by skilled groups, just minutes from Ketchikan, at the Saxman Tribal House and at the Metlakatla Long House. The Tongass Historical Museum displays many First Nations items from the area.

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Meet the artists of Ketchikan!

CREEKSIDE

Diane Douglas-Willard Diane has been weaving baskets for over 20 years

diane.douglaswillard@ facebook.com

Ken Decker Tsimshian Artist

www.crazywolfstudio.com

Marvin Oliver Alaska Eagle Arts

907 225 8365

www.marvinoliver.com

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Ketchikan

Carver at the Creek Norman Jackson 907 225 3018

www.NormanJackson.com

Brita Alander Wood Carver

Britaa@kpunet.net

Kathy Humpherville 907-225-3099 kathy@tribal-accents.com

Inside Passage

26 Ken Decker is a member of the Wolf clan one of the four clans of the Tsimshian People of Southeast Alaska.

Ken has been creating Northwest Coast design art for more than 20 years. He is a Master drum maker as well as prints, bentwood boxes, ceremonial hats, paddles, frontlets, halibut hooks, masks, regalia, rattles and spoons. He apprenticed under Master Carver Ernest Smeltzer. Ken is now a teacher and passes on what he has learned to others. Ken is the Grandson of James and Lillian Leask of Metlakatla, Alaska. He is very proud of his heritage and views his art as a way of keeping the culture alive. www.crazywolfstudio.com Marvin Oliver is one of the Northwest Coast’s foremost contemporary sculptors and printmakers. Oliver’s career spans over 40 years, and he has worked in a variety of media including cedar, bronze, steel and glass. The latest period of his work has been characterized by mixed-media pieces such as his blown glass ‘Salish Basket’ and ‘Spirit Board’ series with etched photographs and bronze ravens. He has also become renowned for the grand size of his sculptures such as the 26 foot long suspended steel and glass piece ‘Mystical Journey’ at the Seattle Children’s hospital. Oliver’s monumental public works have been installed throughout the state of Washington and the United States, Canada, Japan and Italy.

Diane Douglas-Willard

Elsie Gale I have delved in the arts, in beadwork, leather painting and fabrication (coats, vests, moccasins, purses, pouches. I am a novice cedar weaver, having learned from “Nana Tink” Natkong and “Aunty Delores Churchill.” Most recently it has been my honor to begin apprenticing with Master Weaver “Evelyn Vanderhoop” in the medium of textile wool weaving. I began with “Ravens’ Tail” and then moved to “Naaxin” weaving. It is the Naaxin that I have found a passion for and look forward to weaving. haidahuntress@hotmail.com Kathy Humpherville is a Southeast/Northcoast Tsimshian Native artist who will design and sew the most unique Leather Dress or piece of dance regaila for your wardrobe.

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Potlatch Park - Totems carved

by Brita Alander

Brita Alander Alaska is my home.

I grew up in Ketchikan & Hydaburg listening to the traditional Haida stories my mom and auntie told my sister, brother and me. It is rural, very country, full of wildlife, eagles, ravens and abundant salmon, even today.

I watched the carvers make stories come alive upon a red cedar log. It was like magic. I watched the skilled hands of my dad as he worked on the wooden hull ships that plied the Inside waters. It is no wonder that I had a fascination with carvings as woodworking was always a part of my life.

I had the privilege of studying under the master carvers of S.E. Alaska, which I did for many years before venturing off on my own to carve large totem poles for Potlatch Park.

The first was 42’ tall. It follows the stories that I heard when I was young about the Raven releasing the Sun back into the world from the bentwood box where it was hidden. The totem also shows the Raven finding a large clamshell on the beach where all of humankind were trapped inside until his powerful beak opened it up to the world. These are the kind of stories I heard that I now tell my two daughters upon a carved totem.

I am currently working on my 8th totem pole in the Carving Center at Potlatch Park.

Carving totem poles is what I do.

It is who I am. Britaa@kpunet.net

Ketchikan

Norman Jackson is a recognized Master Artist in metal engraving by the Alaska State Council on the Arts Master Apprentice Grant and has received numerous honors for his excellence in wood carving. He apprenticed with Master Artists, Dempsey Bob and Phil Janze, and has been invited to numerous symposiums on Northwest Coast Native carving. Norman’s work is held in major collections, and his work has appeared in exhibits in the US and abroad. “My style is Tlingit style. It’s bold and round. I try to keep it to the traditional level of Tlingit art.” www.normanjackson.com

Inside Passage

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The Cape Fox Lodge Art Collection Come visit the priceless artifact collection housed in the lobby of The Cape Fox Lodge. Gathered over 100 years, The Cape Fox Collection is one of the finest examples of Northwest Coast Native Art. View the “Council of the Clans” Totem Circle created and carved by Lee Wallace, a Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian native Alaskan, in front of the lodge. This totem circle is another example of the culture expressed by the Northwest Coastal people. www.capefoxlodge.com

The Cape Fox Lodge & Convention Center

www.capefoxlodge.com, 907-225-8001

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Ketchikan

ABOVE: The mezzanine level at Cape Fox Lodge BELOW: Basket collection near the hotel desk in the lobby

Inside Passage

30 Set amidst the Tongass National Forest, the Cape Fox Lodge offers hotel style accommodations, tour packages, a full service restaurant and lounge, catering and banquet services, conference rooms and a myriad of amenities in scenic Ketchikan, Alaska. Whether you are looking for a relaxing vacation in Southeast Alaska or are traveling on business, please join us on the Tongass Narrows for a unique vacation experience in Southeast Alaska.

Sweeping views of the Tongass Narrows, downtown Ketchikan and the Ketchikan Marina from our hotel are complemented by Alaska Native art, featuring a totem mural carved by Nathan Jackson at the second floor mezzanine.

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Bureau of Land Management, Geological Survey, Forest Service, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Tourism and the Department of Natural Resources. These centers, located around Alaska, provide one-stop access to visitor information on Alaska’s public lands, including interpretive programs, daily films, brochures, mail and phone requests and special events.

Southeast Alaska Discovery Center Visit Ketchikan, Alaska and travel through time to discover Haida, Tlingit, and Tsimshian cultures. Explore the coastal temperate rainforest, natural resources, and industries of the region.

Located downtown near the cruise ship docks.

50 Main Street Ketchikan, AK 99901 (907) 228-6220 www.alaskacenters.gov Open Daily May - September

Winter Hours October - April

Ketchikan

There is an Alaska Public Lands Information Center inside the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center.

Experts are available to help you learn about and plan your recreation throughout the state. The Center serves the public on behalf of eight federal and state agencies which manage public lands in Alaska. The agencies are the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service,

Inside Passage

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Potlatch Totem Park One of the best kept secrets in Ketchikan has to be Potlatch Totem Park. Bearing in mind that this guide is focusing on First Nations Tourism, Potlatch Totem Park has a lot to offer. It’s quiet secluded location next to Totem Bight State Historical Park offers the traveler a break from the usual downtown tourist scene. Besides having lots of totems to see, there are several longhouses as well. There is even a resident carver, “Brita Alander” who works on site full time. She is commissioned by the owners of the park to carve totems for them which are then erected within the parks boundaries. A state of the art heated carving shed was constructed for her so she could work year round. Brita Alander is only one of about three female carvers that I encountered on my trip up the coast through northern BC and Alaska.

The other two reside on Haida Gwaii. I know there are a number of seasoned carvers who would die for an opportunity to work in such conditions. Brita lives just across the street so she does not have far to go to get home to her family.

Besides totems and longhouses Potlatch Totem Park has a large gift shop with all sorts of Alaska made souvenirs and gifts.

An interesting feature of the park are the two museum quality collections they have on site. One is an antique car collection which is being restored. Some of the cars are very rare and most are in very fine condition and still run. A couple of the

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Ketchikan

Inside Passage

34 vehicles have found a home in the gift shop as part of the display and look quite content amidst the gifts and souvenirs.

The other collection is an old firearms collection which I was told contains some extremely rare pieces. Apparently the owners were approached by a couple of museums down south regarding the firearms collection, but they were reluctant to part with anything. Two very rare Gatling guns can be seen in the collection and are in one of the photos on the previous page.

Potlatch Totem Park is situated next to Totem Bight State Park.

Located on the oceanside, 14 miles north of town, it is an absolute, “make the effort,” you will not be disappointed. www.potlatchpark.com

907 225 4445

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Ketchikan

Totem Bight State Park In 1938 the United States Forest Service began a program aimed at salvaging and reconstructing the large cedar monuments (totem poles) left behind by native communities when they moved to communities where work was more available after 1900. By using Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) funds to hire skilled carvers from among the older Natives, two things took place: young artisans learned the art of carving totem poles, and totems which had been left in the woods to go back into the earth were either repaired or duplicated.

Alaskan architect Linn Forrest supervised construction of the model Native village for this site, then called Mud Bight. The fragments of old poles were laid beside freshly cut cedar logs, and every attempt was made to copy them traditionally. Tools for carving were hand-made, modeled on the older tools used before the coming of Europeans. Samples of Native paints were created from natural substances such as clam shells, lichen, graphite, copper pebbles, and salmon eggs; natural colors were then duplicated with modern paints. By the time WWII slowed down the CCC project, the community house and 15 poles were in place. The name of the site was then changed to Totem Bight. At statehood, in 1959, title to the land passed from the federal government to the State of Alaska, and the site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. Totems, skillfully carved by artists in southeast Alaska reflect the natural resources with symbolic characters carved on totem poles and on the community house at Totem Bight.

Inside Passage 36

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Delores Churchill

Delores Churchill is the mother of Evelyn Vanderhoop, April Churchill and Holly Churchill all weavers and standard bearers of traditional Haida culture.

Ketchikan

Over the last 30 years, Churchill has generously devoted her time to continuing the weaving traditions of her Haida heritage. She has also learned the cedar bark and spruce root weaving practices of the Tsimshian and Tlingit cultures and Chilkat and Ravenstail weaving. As one panelist commented, “She has been a teacher for all of Southeast Alaska, sacrificing her time to instruct others, ensuring that these endangered arts are preserved.

She is an inspiration to all who know her, a true culture bearer.”

Churchill has spent an incredible amount of time researching museum collections throughout the world, utilizing those resources, and sharing that knowledge with other weavers and the museum community. As remnants of baskets and older weaving examples turn up in Alaska, she has been a valuable advisor to museum curators and anthropologists.

In addition to receiving the National Heritage Fellowship Award from the National Endowment of the Arts in 2006, Churchill’s honors include the Governor’s Award for the Arts; The Lisle Fellowship in Guadalajara, Mexico; the Connie Boochever Fellowship; and the National Endowment for the Arts Creative Artists Residencies in Hull, Quebec. She also received an Alaska State Legislative Award in recognition of her commitment to Native art.

Churchill has traveled and is recognized around the world. She has lectured and demonstrated her talents in Canada, England, Washington D.C., West Germany, Honolulu, Kansas City, and Chicago to name a few.

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Hou

~ Weaving ~ TexTiles ~

Inside Passage

i da

728 Water Water St., AKak 728 st.,Ketchikan, ketchikan, www.haidahouse.com www.houseofhaida.com

f H

a

o e s

Elsieelsie Gale Haida~ Artist ~Owner gale Haida~artist~owner (907) 247-giFT 907 254 3007 (4438)

~ J e W e l ry ~ s o u v e n i r s ~

~ D r u m s ~ m a s k s ~ r e g a l i a ~ C a rv i n g s ~

~ Specializing in authentic alaSka native art ~ For above see section ?-? on map

?

LOOKING FOR AUTHENTIC ALASKA NATIVE STORES? HAIDA HOUSE

CRAZY WOLF STUDIOS

Studio/gallery operated by owner/artist/weaver Elsie Gale

Specializing in trad native art. native owned/operated

KETCHIKAN’S CARVER AT THE CREEK Owned and operated by Tlingit artist Norman Jackson

OUR LIVING LEGENDS 100% Authentic AK Native art Native owned CO-OP

SAXMAN VILLAGE

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A Living Link To A Rich Past

Cape Fox Tours Inc.

Visit Saxman Native Village and experience the rich living culture of southeast Alaska’s Native Americans. Get an exclusive look at the fascinating culture of SE Alaska’s original inhabitants www.capefoxtours.com

Saxman Village

In 1886, Tlingits from the old villages of Tongass and Cape Fox wanted a new site to construct a central BIA school and Presbyterian Church. The village subsequently was named for Samuel Saxman, a Presbyterian teacher who was lost at sea with a Cape Fox elder while searching for the new site. By 1894, the new village site was chosen, ideally located on a protected harbor off the Tongass Narrows. A small sawmill was built and construction of the school and houses began immediately. Fishing

Inside Passage

40 and cutting lumber for the growing towns of Saxman and Ketchikan is what the people were doing. In 1929, the community was incorporated as a city. During the 1930s, many totem poles and ceremonial artifacts, such as carvings and masks, were retrieved by the Civilian Conservation Corps from the abandoned villages at Cape Fox, Tongass, Cat Island and Pennock Island. Totem poles were restored and relocated to Saxman as part of a U.S. Forest Service program.

Cape Fox Village Cape Fox Village is a locality in the Alaska Panhandle near present-day Ketchican that is the site of a former village of the Cape Fox people of the Tlingit. The location of the village is on the east side of Revillagigedo Channel, four miles south of Boca de Quadra. The name was recorded in 1880 by Ivan Petroff during the 10th Census, who reported 100 Tlingit still living there. Many native artifacts were taken from this area during early American and European exploration of Alaska, and many of these items have since been returned, including a totem pole that had been on display at Field Museum in Chicago.

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Saxman Village

Nathan Jackson Nathan Jackson was born into the Sockeye Clan on the Raven side of the Chilkoot-Tlingit tribe. He was raised in Southeast Alaska, spending most of his time in the Haines area where he learned about his Tlingit heritage from his clan uncle and grandfather. After completing his military service in Germany, Jackson enrolled in the Institute of American Indian Arts where he specialized in fabric design, silk screen and graphics. Since 1967, he has been creating masks, panels, house posts, totem poles and jewelry using traditional Tlingit Northwest Coast formline design in his own unique style. In 1988 he received an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from the University of Alaska; and in 1995 was the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellowship Award. His work is in museums and private collections around the world. A visual artist, carver, mentor and jewelry maker he was named 2009 Rasmuson Foundation Distinguished Artist.

Jackson is perhaps best known for carving traditional totems, but he has also been tireless in his efforts to pass carving traditions on to new generations of artists. He currently resides in Ketchikan.

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Inside Passage

Donnie Varnell Haida carver Donnie Varnell grew up in Ketchikan and studied Visual Art at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. In 2002 Varnell attended the Ketchikan Totem Heritage Center’s Northwest Coast Native Arts Studies Program in Northwest Coast Design. Varnell has studied and worked with Native American master polecarvers Reggie Davidson and Nathan Jackson and his aunt Holy Churchill. Varnell has an impressive list of work, both carvings and baskets. He was the resident carver at the Edwin DeWitt Carving Center in Saxman from 1998-2001. Many of his pieces have been exhibited and are now part of museum collections in Zurich, Switzerland and Indianapolis, Indiana. Varnell has worked on two totem poles, one raised in the Bahamas in 2001 and another raised at the 2000 Expo in Hanover, Germany. Varnell has worked under the supervision of carver Will Burkhart on the 40x13’ Eagle/Raven panel for the Long House in Sitka, Alaska.

Stron Softi Stron Softi is a Ketchikan based artist who is blurring the distinctions between traditional Northwest Coast art and fine art in general. Softi is the adapted artname of Stephen Jackson, a Tlingit artist known for his totemic carvings, who has branched out in surprising new directions. Softi started carving with his wellknown father, Nathan Jackson, when he was 14. He quickly gained recognition for his skills and insight into traditional form. In recent years he has expanded the scope of his endeavors, working with cast resin materials, paintings and digital photography and prints, and posing questions about many of our artistic and cultural assumptions. He was awarded top prize in the biennial All Alaska Juried Art Exhibition last year for a photographic print that questioned issues of Native art versus non-Native, art versus craft and corporate and governmental support. www.museums.state.ak.us/online_exhibits/softi.html

METLAKATLA

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Only Indian Reservation in Alaska

A New Adventure Experience, Annette Island Hike Yellow Hill for a picturesque view of lakes, mountains and the Pacific Ocean. The natural phenomena of George Washington’s profile can be seen on Purple Mountain. Discover endless beaches, alive with sea plants and shellfish in the tidal pools as you picnic at Pioneer Park or other picnic beaches.

Charter a boat to salmon fish and take in the sites.

You may also tour the Annette Island Packing Company for up close observations of seafood processing, where they process abalone, sea cucumber, sea urchin black cod, halibut and four species of salmon. Visit their company gift shop and send home a sample of the finest salmon, packaged in keepsake wooden boxes decorated with Northwest Coast Tsimshian Art.

Metlakatla

Explore the Historic Native Village of Metlakatla Alaska only 30 minutes of scenic flight-seeing from Ketchikan to Metlakatla. Dinner of Fresh Alaska Salmon baked over an Alder Fire (all you can eat). Lively Tribal dance performance in full regalia at the long house. Alaska’s only tour of a major fish processing facility. Meet famous Tsimshian artists and craft makers.

Tour Alaska’s only native Reserve with a local Tribal member as your guide. www.metlakatlatours.com

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The Healing Art Collection The largest and most diverse collection of Tsimshian art in Alaska, the Healing Art Collection is on exhibit in the Annette Island Service Unit in Metlakatla, Alaska. AISU is a medical facility that serves Alaska Native and American Indians residing on Annette Island Indian Reserve. The Healing Art Collection is part of its initiative to promote community health and healing through instilling pride in Metlakatla’s culture, history, and artistic expressions. The Healing art collection highlights many of the traditional art forms practiced by local artists in Metlakatla today including woodcarving, basketry, textile weaving, beadwork, silver engraving, regalia and drum making. It also includes other artistic expressions such as quilt making, glass etching, and photography. The AISU’s Healing Art Collection features an exhibition titled “Looking to Our Past to Inspire Our Future: A Photographic Exhibit of Metlakatla’s history.” Selected from archives across the US, these historic photographs document the lifestyle, homes, and industries of the first generations of Metlakatlans from the 1890s to the 1940s. AISU hopes that their Healing Art Exhibit is not only beneficial to the health and well being of their community but that it also educates visitors to Metlakatla about its rich history and culture. Open to the public Monday through Friday 8:30am-4:30pm, AISU welcomes all visitors to Metlakatla to view its Healing Art Collection and experience the beauty of Tsimshian culture.

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Metlakatla

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Photos: AISUS Healing Art Collection

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Duncan Cottage Museum Metlakatla

The history that led to the founding of Metlakatla, Alaska is unprecedented anywhere in North America. It began with the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) establishing Fort Simpson in 1834 in an area of Tsimshian territory in British Columbia known to them as Lax K’walaams. Upon the HBC’s incursion, nine Tsimshian tribes from villages on the lower Skeena River moved to the area surrounding Fort Simpson to further secure and protect their prominent position in the trade-based economy. Those who lived and worked in the fort were threatened by the control that the Tsimshian had over trade at the fort and the intense rounds of potlatching that was occurring among them as a result of the influx of trade goods. Rather than following the HBC request to send the Canadian military in to overthrow the Tsimshian, Captain James Prevost of the British Royal Naval appealed to the Church Missionary Society of England to send a missionary to work among them. In 1857, a 22 year-old lay missionary named William Duncan arrived at the fort. Duncan (1831-1918) would subsequently work among the Tsimshians of British Columbia and Alaska for the next sixty-one years.

In 1862, Duncan initiated the move of a group of 50 Tsimshian converts to Metlakatla, British Columbia. His intent was to isolate his followers from the influences of their unconverted relatives and the vices introduced by the traders at Fort Simpson. Soon after, the population of Metlakatla tripled in size due to large amounts of people who were seeking refuge from the smallpox epidemic. From 1862 until the 1880s, it was sustained by revenue from the local industries, such as the salmon cannery and sawmill that were built and operated by Tsimshian people.

In 1887, after a series of land right disputes with the Canadian government over control of Metlakatla, 823 Tsimshians from Metlakatla, British Columbia migrated to the abandon Tlingit village named Twa’kwaan in the Territory of Alaska, as it yet had to reach state status. The Tsimshian called their new community “New Metlakatla” and Duncan aided their effort to petition the US government for the land rights that they were denied in Canada.

In 1891, a Congressional Act declared the island upon which Metlakatla is located the Annette Island Indian Reserve. It remains the only federally recognized Indian Reserve in Alaska. Duncan’s six-room cottage was built in the same year as this monumental decree. He dedicated each room to his work as Metlakatla’s religious leader, business manager, primary school teacher, and health care practitioner. Remaining virtually the same after his death in 1819, the Duncan Cottage was designated a national historic site in 1972 and was made the Duncan Cottage

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48 Museum. Its collection primarily consists of Duncan’s personal belongings, books, tools, photographs and documents related to Metlakatla’s history as well as ceremonial and utilitarian items significant to Tsimshian culture.

Duncan’s oppression of Tsimshian traditions, along with numerous other controversial acts he carried out during his lifetime, has caused him to be a highly contested figure in Metlakatla and other Tsimshian communities. The newly appointed Director of the Duncan Cottage Museum, Mique’l Askren, a Tsimshian of Metlakatla, Alaska and a PhD Candidate at the University of British Columbia, has started to address these issues by initiating public programs, classes, and exhibitions aimed at empowering the people of Metlakatla and the role of Tsimshian culture in their community. Under her direction, the mission of the Duncan Cottage Museum is “to promote Metlakatla’s unique status as Alaska’s only Indian Reserve and to foster the vitality of Tsimshian art, culture, and language in our community now and in to the future.” It also aims to educate museum visitors about the missionary William Duncan, Tsimshian culture, and Metlakatla’s unique history. The Duncan Cottage Museum is open from May through August from 9am-5pm Monday-Friday. Other times of the year may also be available by appointment, please email Mique’l at: miaskren@yahoo.com.

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Metlakatla

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Festivals In Alaska

www.alaska-travel.de/Activities/Culture/Festivals.aspx

Feasts and ceremonial gatherings have always been integral to Native culture.

These are often occasions of both social and economic importance to the community.

Although certain rituals are unique to specific cultural groups and regions, many ceremonial traditions are common to all Alaskan Native communities. Typically, these gatherings involve dancing and singing, feasting, a gift exchange, and the wearing of clan regalia, which might include elaborately ornamented tunics or robes, intricate headdresses or masks, and jewelry or tattoos and body paint, depending on the traditions of the particular Native culture.

The feasts and ceremonies are usually held in qasgiqs, or community houses.

Traditionally, many occurred during late fall and early winter, after the necessary food had been gathered and stored and before the winter solstice, “when the sun sits down.”

The Messenger Feast of the Inupiaq is an example of a festival that was an opportunity for distant kin to reestablish ties as well as to exchange gifts and trade for food, implements or materials not easily available nearby. Different Inupiaq groups took turns hosting the feast, which was held in early winter.

PRINCE OF WALES ISLAND

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The Ancient Village Of Kassan

Helen Morrison hats, baskets bottles handcrafted from red and yellow cedar bark beadwork and crocheted pieces black seaweed P.O.Box 74, Hydaburg, AK 99922

907 285 3292

Prince of Wales Island

The Tlingit people were the first to settle on Prince of Wales Island and nearby islands. The Haida people came from Haida Gwaii, as well, in the 1700s. In 1911 they had five multiclan villages at Hydaburg. In summer they gathered. In winter they stayed in villages with carved cedar clan houses fronting the beach.

Tall totem poles faced the sea. The poles told creation myths, recounted historical events and honoured families. There are poles to see in Klawock, Hydaburg and Craig. Be sure to visit the ancient village site of Kassan. The best way to get to Prince of Wales Island is by ferry. It is a three hour ride from Ketchikan to Hollis.

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Joe Young I was born into the Yaadaas Clan from the Eagle Moiety, but was adopted into my Grandfathers Clan, The Yawhk’laanaas clan on the Raven side, and received my name “Gidaawaan”. I am Haida and born in Hydaburg, Alaska. I was for the most part self taught, with influences from local artists, as well as my grandfather. I started drawing in early grade school, and did my first carving when I was 12 years old. I have worked on all my major projects with my younger brother, including a 40 foot totem in the Sitka National Park, and a 36 foot pole in Juneau alaska on the U.A.S campus. I work in mostly wood, but also have worked with silver. twoxaadas@hotmail.com

907 229 3903 TJ Young I feel it’s a privilege to be part of the Haida Nation and consider it an honor to carry on the traditions of my ancestors. My name is Sgwaayaans and I’m from the Yaadaas Eagle Clan of the Kaigani Haida, in Hydaburg, Alaska. When I was a teenager my grandfather Claude Morrison first showed me the proper way to carve a functional halibut hook.

Since then he’s been a major influence on my progression as a Haida artist. I’ve also been lucky to have had an older brother, Joe Young, teach me the basics of Haida Art. My brother and I work on all major projects together which serves us well as we bounce ideas and techniques around constantly. I’m very grateful to have been associated with such leaders as Claude Morrison, and artists like Joe Young, Don Alander, and now Dan Wallace. stillhaida@hotmail.com

WRANGELL

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Chief Shakes Tribal House Wrangell

Tlingit name is Khaachxhaana.áak’w, and the Tlingit people residing in the Wrangell area call themselves the Khaachxhaana.áak’w Khwáan, or alternately the Shtax’héen Khwáan after the nearby Stikine River. Wrangell is one of the oldest non-Native settlements in Alaska. In 1811, the Russians began fur trading with area Tlingit at the site of present-day Wrangell. In 1834, Baron Ferdinand Petrovich Wrangel, then head of Russian government interests in Russian America, ordered a stockade built near the Tlingit Naanyaa clan house PHOTO: ASL # PC171-045

Tribal House of the Bear If history and cultural influences are your pursuit, visit the Tlingit Chief Shakes Island and Tribal House Historic Monument, and Petroglyph Beach State Historic Park. Replica of Chief Shakes tribal house with artifacts, photos, totems

Foot of Shakes Street, PO Box 868 Wrangell AK 99929

907 874-3747

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54 of Chief Shakes that was located about 13 miles (21 km) north of the large Tlingit village of Kotzlitzna. The Tlingits had used the Stikine River as a trade route to the interior since ancient times and they protested when the Hudson’s Bay Company began to use their trade routes. The town has always been a major home to people of the Tlingit Naanya.aayi clan, and a 70 year old Chief Shakes tribal house still stands on the original location of the Shakes house, a small island now inside of the Wrangell harbor. Until it was built, the Naanya.aayi had occupied the island since time immemorial. Today the Wrangell Cooperative Association, a Tlingit IRA, maintains the site as well as the Totem Park near the city center.

The renowned Bear Totem Store, built in the 1920s by Walter Waters, housed innumerable examples of Tlingit arts and crafts, as well as a number of irreplaceable totem poles. Waters began his business career carrying mail by boat from Wrangell to Sulzer. During this period, he traveled throughout southeast Alaska as a fur buyer. While on business travels, Waters began to acquire Indian artifacts and make valuable contacts with Indian artisans. These contacts eventually enabled him to open his curio shop, The Bear Totem Store.

Ria was born in Wrangell, Alaska to Juanita and Marcus Larsen and her paternal Grandfather was Chief George Shakes VI. She is of the Eagle (Moiety) and Killer Whale clan of the Tlingit Tribe and also of Norwegian, Spanish and Scottish descent.

Her Tlingit given name is Duk aákch wúská; meaning “the man knows.”

Ria Designs Traditional & Contemporary NW Coast (Tlingit) Jewelry Designs POBox 856 Wrangell AK 99929 907 874 4288 www.riadesigns.com

KAKE

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Tallest Totem In The World Kake

The name (pronounced just like English cake) comes from the Tlingit word K̲éix̲’.

The Kake War involved the United States and the tribe of the Tlingits, on Kupreanof Island.

These tribes had already experienced minor conflicts with European explorers and settlers in the 18th and 19th centuries. They ran afoul of Captain George Vancouver during his voyages and sometimes had conflicts with trappers. In 1869, a sentry in Sitka shot a Kake.

The Kakes killed two Sitka traders in revenge for the shooting. This act began the Kake War. The United States Navy vessel USS Saginaw destroyed, by bombardment, three Kake villages during successive reprisals for the shooting of the traders. The Kakes did not rebuild their villages for many years, but finally settled around 1890 at their present site of Kake. Kake is the site of a 128-foot totem pole, the world’s largest, carved in 1967 for the Alaska Purchase centennial.

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Traditionally a Tlingit village, Kake’s population reflects a number of other cultures today: Tsimshian, Haida, Yupik as well as some of the ‘Lower 48’ native cultures.

Cedar House sells jewelry that Mike and I make. Mike carves ivory and shell using traditional Northwest formline patterns. I do jewelry with beads of all sizes. We sell salves and ointments that we make from plants. I make handmade soaps that incorporate seeds, seaweed and ground plant material as exfoliants.

We sell Coppers that are individually etched by Mike on a backgrund of my handmade paper. The shop sells various shell items, such as bracelets, necklaces, boxes, eggs, buttons.

The Keex’ Kwaan Lodge is a new, 12 room, modern lodge -- built and managed by the Organized Village of Kake. 907-785-6471

CEDAR HOUSE The ivory carving is a Kake legend of the Origins of Keet (Killer Whale). Mike carved the walrus ivory and inlaid with abalone shell. I did the beadwork which includes tourmaline, pearls, seed beads.

The blue seed bead necklace seen above, is one I did using the basketry symbols for tides. It is hung on a sterling silver neck ring and has sea otter fur at the top. Beads: swarovski crystals, seed beads, glass beads.

P.O.Box 163, Kake, AK 99830 907 785 4177 tlingit50@yahoo.com

ANGOON

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Largest Permanent Settlement On Admiralty

RIGHT: Drummer/Singer Gilbert Fred

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907-788-3262 www.angoonartists.org

Angoon

The name in Tlingit, Aangóon, translates roughly to “isthmus town.” Angoon is the largest permanent settlement on Admiralty Island. It is located on an isthmus at the mouth of Kootznahoo Inlet on the west side of the island. Admiralty Island has long been the home of the Kootznoowoo Tlingit group, or Xootsnoowú Ḵwáan in Tlingit. Kootznoowoo means “fortress of brown bears”, literally xoots-noow-ú “brown.bear-fortresspossessive.”Angoon has a less-rainy climate than most of southeastern Alaska and was valued by the Tlingit for that reason.

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58 Angoon has a long history of artistry and economy. The people here have been carving, sewing, beading, painting and weaving for generations upon generations.

Shgen doo tan George - Artist, Weaver, teacher makes regalia and this is her daughter Gabby pictured to the right wearing one of the regalia and dancing. www.shgendootan.com/shgendootan_creations/Bio.html

Jamie Daniels carves elaborate Tlingit totemic crests out of wood, into skillfully crafted paddles, plates, rattles, and dishes. He carves in the “Angoon style,” in which eagle and raven designs can be mixed, and different crests influence each other greatly. www.angoonartists.org/gallery_site/jamie_daniels/jamie_daniels_gallery_page. html

JoAnn George - Painter, Alaska

Artist of the Year www.angoonartists. org/gallery_site/joann_george/joann_ george_gallery_page.html

Ray Peck (Tlingit), Raven Designs Northwest Coast totemic carvings in cedar totems, plaques, paddles, panels, etc Some prints carvings depict clan emblems, legends and history. Member of Alaska Silver Hand program; use of logo certifies item made by an Alaska Native.

Mail or telephone orders accepted. www.alaskanativeartists.com/ray_peck. htm P.O. Box 312, Angoon, AK 99820, 907-788-3262

SITKA

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“People on the Outside of Shee” Sitka

Sitka is a wonderful destination to explore First Nations tourism. Once you have booked into the Shee Atika Totem Square Inn, head off on a walking tour down the main street of town. Across from the Inn you will see Sitka Tribal Tours. This is a great place to plan your time in Sitka. Also visit the Sheet’ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi Community House located nearby.

If you want to visit some of the artists in Sitka seen below just give them a call and book an appointment. They are all very approachable.

Don’t miss the new gift shop at the Inn and be sure to visit their new dining room for either/or lunch and dinner.

Photo Right: Sitka totem ASL # P14-200.

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60 Sitka is rich in First Nations ‘things to see and do.’ On the main street in downtown Sitka there are three or four galleries you can visit, Fishermen’s Eye, Artist Cove Gallery, and Sitka Rose. The Sheldon Jackson Museum is on the way out to the Sitka National Historic Park.

It has a marvelous collection of First Nations artifacts and a great gift shop featuring Alaska artists. The Sitka National Historical Park is wonderful. Besides having a museum inside, there is a totem park walk behind the building complex for a mile. Back inside the complex you will also find the home of the Southeast Alaska Cultural Center. Here you will find First Nations artists at work daily.

ARTIST COVE GALLERY

Authentic basketry, sculpture, dolls, and jewelry from Inupiat Eskimos, Northwest Coast Natives, www.artistcovegallery.com

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Sitka

Reggie Peterson Sr. Reggie Peterson. Sr. grew up in territorial Juneau of Southeast Alaska. By matrilineal descent, Reggie is Wooshketaan, Chaak (Shark clan of the Eagle phraty); his Tlingit name is Tluk nut la heet lee. As the eldest child of thirteen siblings, Reggie began hunting and fishing with his father at a young age. He delivered newspapers, cut halibut cheeks on the docks and purse seined. He was raised in the culture of his Tlingit ancestors, trained by his maternal uncle, Jack Allen Austin.

His “back yard” is the northern part of Alexander Archipeligo (northern Southeast Alaska: Juneau, Chatham Straits, Gustavus, Icy Straits, the Inian Islands and his ancestral home, Hoonah). Reggie presently resides in Sitka, Alaska with his family, where he creates his artwork from his home studio. Reggie specializes in NW Coast Totemic woodcarving, precious metals engraving, tool making and designs.

Reggie is a respected teacher, demonstrator, and lecturer of traditional Northwest Coast Totemic Art.

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Native Artist Demonstrators Program For more than 20 years, the Sheldon Jackson Museum has welcomed Alaska Native artists to demonstrate their art in the museum. From mid-May through midSeptember, our visitors see that traditional art forms are still part of contemporary Alaska Native cultures. Examples of art include ivory, mask, and wood carving, basketry, beadwork, and skin sewing.

Dr. Sheldon Jackson established the museum in 1887 so that “coming generations of Natives can see how their fathers lived.” Many of our Native artists have commented on the benefits of studying the museum’s fine collection of artifacts representing Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Inupiaq, Yup’ik, Athabascan, Aleut, and Alutiiq cultural groups.

Since 1996 the non-profit organization, the Friends of Sheldon Jackson Museum, has applied and received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts for the Native Artist Demonstrator Program. Contributions from individuals, businesses, and Native corporations are also vital to the future success of this program.

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Sitka Tommy belongs to the Kaagwaantaan clan, eagle moiety. He has been actively engaged in Northwest Coast carving for over thirty-five years as an instructor, interpreter/demonstrator and as a commissioned artist. He has produced a wide range of artwork including 35’ totems, smaller house posts, carved and inlaid masks, and a wide range of bentwood containers. He has also replicated a wide range of Tlingit ceremonial at.oow and armor.

For the past 14 years, he has been in charge of the carving shop at the Sitka Cultural Center, demonstrating and interpreting Northwest coast art for the many thousands of tourists that visit during the summer months. He has been employed by the National Park Service to restore and replicate some pieces in the Park’s extensive collection of totem poles.

Tommy Joseph’s Artist Statement “My Art connects me to my culture…

My Culture connects me to the people in my community…

My Art and Culture connect my community and Tlingit History to museums around the world.”

Tommy Joseph 620 Merrill St., Sitka, AK 99835 tommyjoseph286@hotmail.com

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64 Sitka National Historical Park, Alaska’s oldest federally-designated park, was originally set aside as public land by the federal government in 1890. It was designated Sitka National Monument by President William Howard Taft in 1910, to commemorate the Battle of 1804 between the Russians and the Kiks.adi clan of the Tlingit. All that remains of this last major conflict between Europeans and Natives of the Northwest Coast is a forest clearing at the site of the Kiks.adi Fort.

The temperate rain forest and a display of totem poles combine to offer stunning views along the Park’s trails. Alaska District Governor John Brady originally collected totem poles from Southeast Alaska villages to display at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. These histories carved in cedar were returned to Alaska in 1905, and sited at the Sitka park. Today, many of the poles in the Park are replicas. The Park’s Visitor Center houses some of the original poles, as well as ethnographic displays, and hosts the Sitka Cultural Center and its resident Tlingit artists. (www.nps.gov/ sitk. Image by E.W. Merrill, SITK 3829, Collection of Sitka National Historical Park.)

Carved History Walk.....

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Sitka

Sitka National Historical Park The Tlingit, Russians, and Americans found prosperity in Sitka. The dynamic blending of these cultures shaped the history of the country.

Learn more about this little known chapter of American history and the modern day legacy.

103 Monastery Street Sitka, Alaska 99835

(907) 747-0110 www.nps.gov/sitk/index.htm

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Sitka Cultur

106 Metlakatla Sitka, AK 9983

ͻͲ͹Ǧ͹Ͷ͹ǦͺͲ͸ͳ 907-747-8122 St 907-747-8189 F Ǥ The Sitka Cultural Center was founded in 1969 by the Ala Brotherhood (ANB) and Center in collaboration Sitka Cultural Inc. with the Sitka Na Park. The ANB and the Park saw a need to develop a cent sharing Northwest Coast Art. In 1970 the Cultural Center profit corporation.

The Sitka Cultural Center was founded

in 1969 by the Alaska Native Brotherhood (ANB) inThe collaboration withof thethe SitkaSitka Na- Cultural Center is to sustain and mission tional Historical Park.

The ANB and the of Southeast Alaska in a manner and culture of the tribes park sawanceteral a need to develop a center forprovide Northwest Coast Art demon values.

We teaching and sharing Northwest Coast instruction and interpretation.

Art. In 1993 the Cultural Center became a non-profit corporation.

The Sitka Cultural Center is located in the Sitka National Visitors Center. We are comprised of 3 studios, fiber arts, The mission of the Sitka Cultural Cen-

ter is to sustain and perpetuate the art and culture of the tribes of Southeast Alaska in a manner which honors ancestral values.

We provide Northwest Coast Art demonstrations, instruction and interpretation.

Sitka National Historical Park Centennial 2010

The Sitka Cultural Center is located in Cultural Center the Sitka National Historic Park Visitors Sitka

Center. We areiscomprised of 3 studios, fi106 th Metlakatla Street Comme ͳͲͲ ber arts, wood and metal.

Sitka, Ak 99835

e a y. We i ite you to 907 747 8061 Office p 907 747 8122 Studio o t 907 747 8189 Fax ou t to Sitka, Alaska. www.sitkaculturalcenter.org Visit ou website http:ȀȀ Ǥ sǤ Ȁsitk/100 Ǧ a Ǥ tm Ǥ

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Sitka

Teri Rofkar Teri Rofkar has been weaving baskets and ceremonial robes since 1986, using the traditional Tlingit styles and techniques passed down to her by her Elders.

Ms. Rofkar stated, “Harvesting roots and spinning the wool are all part of creating the final pieces. I believe it was my parents that pointed out that hundreds of years ago the definition of a “Master” was someone who worked professionally in their art for 10,000 hours. I am there....”

The National Endowment for the Arts awarded Teri the highest honor in the traditional arts, the National Heritage Fellowship for 2009. Ms. Rofkar feels she has been empowered to continue her work with more enthusiasm, and a broader path. She stated, “The traditional Native arts reflect the relationship with the great lands we live in. It is an honour to be a part of these living arts.”

Tlingit traditional weavings: spruce root baskets, recently revived Tlingit Ravenstail wool weavings. retail and special commissions.

Raven Art Studio 820 Charles St, Sitka, AK 99835 E-mail: ravenart@alaska.net.

Website:www.terirofkar.com

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The Shee Atiká Totem Square Inn puts you at the heart of Sitka, Alaska - only steps from world-class fishing and water sports, fascinating history and charming shops - all set against the striking backdrop of Mt. Edgecumbe, a 3,200-ft. dormant volcano. We are the ideal Southeast Alaska fishing lodge and vacation spot.

Totem Square Inn Waterfront Hotel in Historic Downtown Sitka

Dock Shack Cafe Serving Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Airport Shuttle Charter Dock Alaska Airline Miles WiFi Fitness Room High Speed Wireless Internet

866.300.1353 totemsquare.com

AKMMG_110600_SheeAtika.indd 1

Our Sitka, Alaska hotel sits on the spot of the Sheet’ka Kiks. adi Tlingit’s sacred Herring Rock, a portion of which can be seen across Katlian Street adjacent to the Sheet’ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi Community House. It also is the site of the original New Archangel Shipyard, where the first Pacific Coast steamship was built in 1806.

Katlian street is one of the original pathways of the Native Sitkans, with an estimated age of more than 5,000 years.

11/29/11 2:12:29 PM

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The Hungry Bear Deck is available for special occasions and seats 68.

The deck has its own special menu and will also have merchandise available soon.

Sitka

The Dock Shack Cafe is now open at the Shee Atika Totem Square Inn. Stop in for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner. We offer new and exciting specials every day at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Here are just a few of our regular specials: Lunch: Baranof Beach Burger, Smoke Prime Rib Sandwich; Dinner: Wednesday & Friday Night: Smoked Prime Rib offered in 8, 10, 12 oz portions (and you can go bigger just ask your waitress!) * Come in and check out the daily special when in Sitka.

The Dock Shack Cafe does cater to special events including wedding receptions, dinner and parties, etc.

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70 Susan (Edenso) Canipe was born in Anchorage. Her maternal Tlingit ancestors (Cooney) originated from Kake, Alaska, and she is of the Eagle Moiety, belonging to the Tsaagweidi clan of the Killer Whale House.

Her paternal Haida ancestors (Edenso) originated from Haida Gwaii, B.C. Canada.

She believes it is important to share. “It has only been recently that I’ve come to appreciate my rich heritage.” She was an adoptee and raised by a very loving family in the lower 48.

A couple of years ago, she was finally brave enough to start her quest of looking for her biological family. Through research and a bit of luck (thanks to Facebook) Full Circle she was able to locate her biological Haida & Tlingit mother, two half sisters and a great Creations number of wonderful and helpful family and clan members. She has also returned to live in Anchorage.

Southeast AK Badgeholders & Jewelry She had never really considered herself an artist (not in the true sense anyways) and it was purely out of necessity that she created her first badge holder (Lanyard). There simply wasn’t any on the market, none that coincide with her interpretation of Haida and Tlingit symbolism. So became her desire to create a badge holder that embraced old traditional elements and synchronized with today’s modern society. Since then she has created a great number of different styles and colors. A couple of her favorites are the Traditional Red and Black Button Blanket Susan (Edenso) Canipe and another is her interpretation of the Chilkat Blanket. She also added neck907.887.4477 sfcanipe@live.com laces and earrings to her inventory.

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Dance Show

Sitka

30 minute Tlingít Native Dance Performance Cost: $8.00/adult, $5.00/child (Includes City Sales Tax) This authentic Native dance performance is both educational and entertaining. All who attend are left with a lasting impression of the Tlingit people. Held in a traditional style Tlingit Clan House, the performance begins with the sound of a resonating box drum and the aroma of burning cedar as it fills the room. Tlingit dancers enter with beautiful regalia, mesmerizing the audience with ancient songs handed down through generations.

The performance consists of one story and five traditional songs.

Made In Sitka (Merchandise) Devil’s Club Ointment $20 / 1 oz. container Shipping and handling $5 for up to 4 jars

Capture the Love Handmade Drum 10” Drum made by local artist Denise Roy 204 Katlian Street, Sitka, Alaska 99835

(907) 747-7290 www.sitkatribe.org

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72 In traditional Tlingit society, there was a “community house” that provided a place for clan families to gather during special occasions. In the tradition of the Tlingit People, the Sheet’ka Kwaán Naa Kahídi is “The Community House for the People of Sitka”. It is an ideal gathering place for clan families, the Sitka community, and anyone who needs a unique and inspiring location for their event. The Sheet’ka Kwaán Naa Kahídi is utilized by Tlingit groups to share the Native Culture through dance, storytelling, and other traditional events. The building helps to perpetuate the language, values, and customs of the Tlingit People.

Please enjoy our website, and may you take with you a deeper knowledge and respect for the culture and history of our great land. www.sitkatours.com

Sheet’ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi Community House

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Sitka Tribal Tours Explore Sitka in a comfortable 25 or 37 passenger coach while a knowledgeable, local guide narrates your drive. You will see many of Sitka’s historic sites including Mt. Edgecumbe Volcano, the Alaska Pioneer’s Home, St. Michael’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral, and the Russian Bishop’s house, while you hear the fascinating history of these locations.

Tlingit ancestry and culture, Russian history and local statistics are just a few of the topics that will be explored.

204 Katlian Street, Sitka, Alaska 99835

(907) 747-7290 www.sitkatours.com

Sitka

Most historical tours treat Sitka’s remarkable past as a testimonial to a bygone people- a window to an era that shaped the present, but is somehow extinct. On Sitka Tribal Tours, however, history is a living thread from the past to the present.

The events of the last two-and-a-half centuries are important, but part of a much larger story. Tlingit Indians have lived continuously in Sitka since the end of the last Ice Age- an unbroken course of civilization that stretches the very definition of “history.” Seen through the eyes of the Tlingit, Sitka’s history is a steady drumbeat, a rhythm, a song ten thousand years old.

Meet the artists of Sitka!

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Sitka National Historical Park

Ed Malline www.fishermenseye.com

Galanin Silverworks

Dave Galanin 907 738 9486 galaninsilverworks@gci.net

Cathleen Pook 907 738 1255 nahoo@gci.net

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Sitka

Willis Osbakken 907 747 3901

Hummingbirds Delight

Jada Katherine Smith 907 738 0765

katherinejada@yahoo.com

Charlie Skultka Jr.

www.FarNorthSurfShop.com (click on the “All Things Haida”)

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76 Ed Malline Ed is a Tlingit and a member of the Kag wan taan clan.

There is a picture of his great great great grandmother in the Sheldon Jackson Museum. She was Katlian’s sixth wife. Ed carves in the Kag wan taan style. His brother Alex taught him how to make tools. He continues to learn to be creative within the limits of the form-line.

Dave Galanin is a Tlingit Silver Carver form the Eagle Nest House of the Kogwaantaan Clan. He comes from a family of carvers. He began carving under elder Louis Minard. His work currently combines both traditional and contemporary design. Dave owns Galanin Silverworks in Sitka. Dave also plays guitar and is known as STRUM N. DOGG

Cathleen Pook was born and raised in Sitka, Alaska. She is a member of the Eagle/Killer Whale Clan from the Keet Hit House in Angoon, Alaska.

Cathleen is proud to carry on the traditions both in her family and her people. She has taught beading to students at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall and demonstrated at the Southeast Alaska Indian Cultural Center as well as the Sheldon Jackson Museum.

Cathleen works with vintage beads which were hand made in Venice, Italy and Bohemia, now known as the Czech Republic. This small size (20/0) has not been produced since WWI. The intermingling of traditional culture, craftsmanship, and contemporary design make these unique pieces of art.

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Nicholas Galanin was born in Sitka, Alaska, Nicholas Galanin has struck an intriguing balance between his origins and the course of his practice. Having trained extensively in ‘traditional’ as well as ‘contemporary’ approaches to art, he pursues them both in parallel paths. His stunning bodies of work simultaneously preserve his culture and explore new perceptual territory. Galanin comes from a long line of Northwest Coast artists – starting with his great-grandfather, who sculpted in wood, down through his father, who works in both precious metal and stone.

All Things Haida Northwest Coast Artwork by Charlie Skultka Jr. (Mahto-ska) Kai-Gani Karver Charlie Skultka Jr. uses multi-medias including, Argillite, Ivory, wood, precious metals and digital imagery to create priceless museum quality pieces in both his traditional and contemporary work.

You can visit his studio in person in the Sitka National Historical Park’s Culture Center (Totem Park) or for more info on purchasing or viewing his art work on-line visit: www.FarNorthSurfShop.com (click on the “All Things Haida” Tab) C.Skultka, 3114 M.P.R. Sitka 99335

Sitka

Willis Osbakken was born in the house that now contains the Sitka Rose Gallery. One quarter Aleut by birth, his parents were John Osbakken, a full blooded-Norwegian, and Margaret Hanlon Osbakken, a Sitkan of Aleut and English ancestry. Willis pursued a career in Geology getting a degree from Washington State. He entered the civil service and spent 28 years in geophysics at the Sitka Magnetic and Seismological Observatory. Today he is a commercial fisherman and has lots of time to pursue his art. He researches all his pieces of art in order to maintain a high degree of authenticity yet still displaying originality in his work.

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Juneau - Douglas City Museum

Montana Creek Fish Trap was first spotted in 1989 on the banks of Montana Creek in Juneau, Alaska. Radiocarbon dating (Washington State University) indicates the trap is 500-700 years old.

Located at 4th and Main Streets

907 586 3572 www.juneau.lib.ak.us/parksrec/museum

JUNEAU

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Chief Kowee and the Gold Rush

Hummingbird Hollow GIFT SHOP

at Juneau International Airport 907 789 4672 www.hummingbirdhollow.net

Juneau

Long before European settlement in the Americas, the Gastineau Channel was a favorite fishing ground for local Tlingit Indians, known then as the Auke and Taku tribes, who had inhabited the surrounding area for thousands of years. The native cultures are rich with artistic traditions including carving, weaving, orating, singing and dancing, and Juneau has become a major social center for the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian of Southeast Alaska. There are two museums, the Alaska State Museum and the Juneau-Douglas Museum, as well as galleries, artists and totems to see and visit. Photo: Chief Anotklosh of the Taku tribe. 1913, MOHAI SHS14163

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Goldbelt Hotel Juneau’s finest hotel

Located directly across from the cruise docks, the seven-story, 105-room Goldbelt Hotel is adjacent to Centennial Hall Convention Center and a short walk to the capitol building, state legislature, state offices and museums. Juneau’s historic shopping district and a wide choice of restaurants are only minutes away. The hotel lobby features a permanent display of museum-quality traditional Alaska Native artwork, while guest rooms, dining and meeting facilities provide all modern amenities and conveniences. Juneau’s finest hotel offers a convenient downtown location with commanding waterfront or mountain views and complimentary airport transportation, free wireless Internet and free onsite parking.

The onsite restaurant Zen, creates a rare combination of Asian fusion and Alaskan specialties, while Jaded, the adjoining lounge, offers big-screen TV and one of the best wine lists in Juneau. It’s a great place to relax with an appetizer and beverage after an exciting day in Alaska’s capital city. www.goldbelt.com

june au’s top at tr ac tion

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Juneau

r i d e o u r a e r i a l t r a m w ay to hiking, shopping, dining, Native culture & spectacular views high above downtown Juneau. a t t he t op: Timberline Bar & Grill Raven Eagle Gift Shop & local artisan gallery Nature Center Chilkat Theater complimentary showing of Seeing Daylight

sssssss

See, learn & experience the rich, ancient Tlingit history.

Wildlife Viewing Platforms Wildflowers & Birding Hiking & Interpretive Information

w w w.mountrober t s tr amway.com 1- 8 8 8 -461- 8726 Watch local Native artisans at work in the gift shop and gallery.

Timberline Bar & Grill—featuring Alaskan seafood, locally brewed beers and a Dungeness crab feed in season.

The slopes of Mt. Roberts offer visitors a unique opportunity to enjoy wildlife, flowers and breathtaking views.

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Goldbelt Heritage Foundation Goldbelt Heritage Foundation was formed in 2007 to document the Tlingit language and stories, which will help to preserve our culture and history for future generations. The Foundation seeks to translate the Tlingit oral language into a written language. Because of the complexity of the Tlingit language the process involves years of effort and research with Tlingit elders.

The Seadrome Marina The Seadrome Marina is the ideal homeport while exploring Alaska’s Inside Passage. Convenient to downtown Juneau and close to its top attractions, restaurants and services, the Seadrome Marina is a private, full-service docking facility providing 560 feet of transient yacht and boat moorage. Vessels up to 300 feet long can be accommodated on the Seadrome Marina’s floating docks.

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Nations art, masks and jewellery. The Urban Eskimo is another good place to visit as is Peer Amid Beads. If you walk to the right up to the corner coming from the lobby of the Goldbelt, make a right at the corner and walk down to the end you will see a couple of totem poles and a wall mural as seen in the photo. There are lots of totems in and around Juneau. Be sure to take a bus out to the University of Alaska, Juneau campus and see the wonderful First Nations art displayed in the William A. Eagan library.

Peer Amid Beads & Custom Made Jewelry

tly Presen

Closed Gema Thomas

213 Ferry Way Juneau, Alaska 99801

907 463 4438 peeramidbeads@hotmail.com

Juneau

There are lots of First Nations things to see and do in Juneau. The Goldbelt Hotel downtown is First Nations owned and there are several pieces of art inside the lobby. Take a ride up the mountain on the tram and visit the First Nations art gallery on top. Back down below visit the Mt. Juneau Trading Post, full of First

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84

Sealaska Heritage Institute Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) is a regional Native nonprofit organization founded for the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian people of Southeast Alaska. SHI was established in 1981 by Sealaska Corp., a for-profit company formed under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). SHI, formerly Sealaska Heritage Foundation, administers Sealaska Corp.’s cultural and educational programs. SHI was conceived by Clan Leaders, Traditional Scholars and Elders at the first Sealaska Elders Conference in 1980. During that meeting, the Elders likened Native culture to a blanket. The late George Davis (Kichnáalx—Lk’aanaaw) of Angoon, spoke these memorable words: “We don’t want what you did here to only echo in the air, how our grandfathers used to do things…

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These wise traditional leaders told the new leaders that their hands were growing weary of holding onto the metaphorical blanket, this “container of wisdom.” They said they were transferring this responsibility to the Corporation. In response to this directive, Sealaska Corporation created its non-profit arm, Sealaska Heritage Institute, to administer cultural and educational programs for the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian.

(See the beautiful art in the lobby of Sealaska Corporation in downtown Juneau.)

www.sealaskaheritage.org

Juneau

Yes. You have unwrapped it for us. That is why we will open again this container of wisdom left in our care.”

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Alaska Native Artists.com AlaskaNativeArtists.com is a virtual art program serving Alaska Native artists.

The website was established by Sealaska Heritage Institute, a regional Native nonprofit founded in 1981 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures.

The goal of AlaskaNativeArtists. com is to give Native artists a new venue to sell their art, to promote traditional and contemporary Native art, to educate the public about Native art and culture and to help support Sealaska Heritage Institute (a portion of all proceeds is used to fund language and culture programs offered by the institute, which operates AlaskaNativeArtists.com as a nonprofit vendor).

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Sonny Grant

Florence Sheakley Florence Sheakley Florence learned to do beadwork at an early age from her mother, Emma Marks, a wellknown bead artist. Emma created the White Raven, a totemic design and piece of at.óow (clan property), for the Marks family.

Florence now makes this design for her relatives. Florence has an extensive background in education and teaching. She works with the University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau as the Tlingit Language Instructor and is self-employed as an artist. In the past she has worked with the Juneau-Douglas School District as a teacher, Sheldon Jackson in Sitka as a Lecturer, and for Sealaska Corp. as a Canvasser.

Florence’s beadwork has been exhibited in state museums across Alaska. florencesheakley@yahoo.com

Juneau

My sources of inspiration have always been from nature.

I am Tlingit from the Chilkat Valley. I focus on stone carving. I apprenticed with master carver Simon Koonook an Inupiak Eskimo from Point Hope.

I work in soapstone, alabaster and marble. In Anchorage I studied with George John and Patrick Mezzana. I have travelled extensively and lived in many places in the US, Europe and Belize. chilkat.wolf.studios@gmail.com sonnygrantstudios.blogspot.com

Meet the artists of Juneau!

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Friends of the Alaska State Museum Store www.foasm.org

Gene Chilton Silver and Gold Jewellery gchilton@hotmail.com

Doug Chilton

silver, gold, wood, ivory, bone, soapstone. www.chiltonsilverandgold.com

Brian Chilton

totems, paddles, masks, plaques

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Juneau

Percy & Ed Kunz koowaa@hotmail.com seitaan @hotmail.com

Rick & Mick Beasley Mick: silvereye@gci.net Rick: J99801@gci.net

907 209 7400

Donald Gregory ivory, wood and metal

907 789 2681

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90 Gene Chilton is a Tlingit from “Tlingit Aani.” He is of the Raven moiety and from Deisheetaan clan, whose crest is the Beaver. His early years were spent in Angoon and then he moved back to Juneau. He began his career as a silver engraver in 1978, studying under master carver Ed Kasko of Klukwan. He was certified in stone setting and repair by the Gemological Institute of America in 1988. Gene is a prolific and wellknown artist, working in both silver and gold and he has a great interest in perpetuating the art form through teaching.

Gene currently lives in Juneau with his wife Jennifer, and their five children. gchilton@hotmail.com Doug Chilton, Yaa nak.ch, is a Tlingit Indian. He is of Raven moiety, Yéil, and a member of the Deisheetaan Clan, Beaver Clan, and is from the Raven House, Yéil Hit, of Angoon, Alaska. He carves primarily in silver, gold, wood, ivory, bone and soapstone. Doug’s designs are Tlingit style and are traditional in form. In 1979 Doug began his wood carving apprenticeship under Ray Peck a member of the Deisheetaan Clan of Angoon and an established carver of totemic and panel carvings and then with Walter Bennett also a local well-known carver. In 1990, Doug began to work with silver and gold engravings under the watchful eye of his brother, Gene Chilton, Sgunax yaa. Read about his visit to the Smithsonian. www.chiltonsilverandgold.com

Gene Chilton

Brian Chilton is Tlingit from “Tlingit Aani.” He is of the Raven moiety and from the Deisheetaan clan, whose crest is the Beaver. Brian has been wood carving for twenty years, learning much from his brothers. He also learned through an Indian Studies Program in the Juneau schools. He has developed his own unique style producing three dimensional totems, paddles, masks, plaques and panels.

Brian began engraving training in 1985 from his brother Gene Chilton.

He then focused on woodcarvings until 2002, when he completed his engraving training. He works in both copper and silver.

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Donald Gregory

Percy & Ed Kunz Percy was born in Sitka. Rachel Johnson taught Percy how to bead. Cecilia Kunz taught her to make button blankets and moccasins.

She also learned how to do Ravens Tail Weaving and how to make cedar bark baskets and hats. Ed took carving classes at Mt. Edgecumbe with Horace Mauks and leatherwork and metalwork with AP Johnson. Ed carved small totems until he was 30. He was introduced to silverwork by Smith Katzeek in Klukwan. He now mostly works in gold and silver.

Both have strong Tlingit family traditions and live in Juneau.

Donald Gregory is a Tlingit from Southeast Alaska. He is of the Raven Moiety and the Deisheetaan clan, whose crest is the Raven/Beaver, and comes from the Deishu Hit (End of the trail House) in Angoon, Alaska. His tutors and mentors include Amos Wallace, Ray Peck, Michael “Mick” Beasley, Richard “Rick” Beasley, Ed Kunz, Walter Bennett and Barry Smith, all well-known Tlingit artists from Southeast Alaska. He also studied form line and silver engraving under Master Artist Steve Brown from Washington State. Don uses a variety of mediums including ivory, wood and metal to create trade bead necklaces with pendants, rattles, traditional halibut hooks, scrimshaw, cribbage boards, totem poles, figurines, whalebone figurines, ivory and trade bead earrings, Tlingit wood paddles, plaques and wall panels, traditional carved headdresses.

Juneau

Rick & Mick Beasley are Tlingit/Tsmshian born in 1957. Richard Beasley (Rick) grew up in Juneau, Alaska and presently lives there. He graduated in 1983 from the UW with a BFA in Metal Design. They produce manufacture and sell Southeast Native Artworks. We give custom tours and manufacture jewelry, and totem poles. Visit Beasley’s Art Gallery, authentic Alaskan art and artists. Tlingit originals by the Beasley brothers. (907) 586-3988 8853 N Douglas Hwy, Juneau, AK 99801

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Pacific Coast Native Art

in the William A. Egan Library University of Alaska Southeast JUNEAU CAMPUS

Long before the University of Alaska Southeast William A. Egan Library opened its doors on January 15, 1990, the process of selecting the building’s art work was well under way.

The Alaska Percent for Art committee began recommending artwork for the library in 1988 after soliciting proposals from 14 artists.

The committee’s work was approved by the UAS chancellor and the University of Alaska Board of Regents, and a total of $72,114 in art commissions was awarded.

All of the artwork in the library is from the Northwest Coast region.

William A. Egan served as Alaska’s governor for 12 years between 1959 and 1974, and he devoted nearly 50 years of his life to Alaska politics. In overseeing many of the changes that swept Alaska from territiorial status to statehood to booming oil producer, he became one of the state’s most respected leaders.

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Juneau ABOVE: Head Canoe by Steve Brown. This red cedar panel symbolizes that all humans and animals share in the spirit of life. The canoe carries some of the animal spirits of Tlingit mythology, representing each side of Tlingit society and some clans. The prominent figure is Raven holding the moon in his beak.

BELOW: Midwinter Ravenstail Robe by Cheryl Samuels. The Ravenstail style of weaving was a predecessor of the technique used in making Chilkat robes and tunics. Ravenstail Apron by Delores Churchill. The design incorporates Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian art forms.

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Anna Brown Ehlers Tlingit Chilkat blanket weaver, Anna Brown Ehlers was born and raised in Juneau, Alaska. Her textiles are hand-woven cedar bark and wool pieces that incorporate totemic clan designs and range from dance leggings, bibs and vests to full-size blankets. In addition to using traditional cedar bark and wool, Ehlers experiments with silk and gold. She is dedicated to passing on the traditions and has taught in universities and at Indian youth culture camps and cultural centers, and has trained numerous apprentices. She has demonstrated weaving at museums around the world and currently makes a living exhibiting her craft on cruise ships around Alaska. In 2006, she received the Alaska Governor’s Award for the Arts and the United States Artists Foundation (of New York and Los Angeles) Inaugural Award, the largest and most important award of her career. Anna has won 4 awards from the First Peoples Fund, since 2000. thechilkat@yahoo.com

HAINES

95

“end of the trail”

Sheldon Museum

& Cultural Center

11 Main Street, Haines, AK 99827

907 766 2366 www.sheldonmuseum.org

Haines

The area around present-day Haines was called “Dtehshuh” or “end of the trail” by the Chilkat group of Tlingit. It received this name because they could portage (carry) their canoes from the trail they used to trade with the interior, which began at the outlet of the Chilkat River to Dtehshuh and save 32 km (20 miles) of rowing around the Chilkat Peninsula. In 1881, the Chilkat asked Sheldon Jackson to send missionaries to the area. S. Young Hall, a Presbyterian minister, was sent. He built the Willard mission and school at Dtehshuh, on land given the church by the Chilkat. The mission was renamed Haines in 1884 in honor

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96 F. E. Haines, the chairwoman of the committee that raised funds for its construction. In 1947, a group of former army officers, purchased Fort Seward from the US government. One of the officers named Heinmiller began a scout troop made up of Tlingit youth. He was able to get elders from the area to teach them the almost lost Tlingit arts of dancing, song and wood carving. What he started became known world wide as Alaska Indian Arts. Many famous Tlingit artists have passed through Alaska Indian Arts and it is still active today, some 50 years later. Visit AIA and see totems being carved and artists working on jewellery. There is a gift shop as well. Not far from Haines, about 20 miles through the Chilkat Eagle Preserve is the ancestral home of the Tlingit Nations, “Klukwan.” Their new hospitality house opened in the Spring of 2010. Be sure to visit!

PHOTO: Yukon Archives, H.C.Barley fonds, #4772

Silver Cloud Art Center

907-766-3045 www.silvercloudart.com

97 Chilkoot River Lodge

PO Box 145 Haines AK. 99827 907-766-2654 chilkootriverlodge@gmail.com

Sue Folletti I am a Tlingit Indian; boasting of Scottish, English and Irish heritage and have lived in Haines all of my life. Along with raising a family; I have had a prolific career in Northwest Coast Native silver carving; opened a gallery “Chilkat Valley Arts” in 1986 which is now closed with the rise and fall of Haines’ economy but I have always maintained a wonderful collection of artwork from Alaska. In the spring of 2009; Chilkoot River Lodge opened and for the first season, we had many happy guests enjoying the comforts of the lodge. suefolletti@aptalaska.net

Haines

The lodge is located on a bluff overlooking the famous Chilkoot River Corridor where visitors flock to see the many brown bears that feed on the summer and fall runs of salmon *3 Rooms available * $150 per night (up to 4 people per room) * Pets OK * smoking outside.

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Alaska Indian Arts The man responsible for keeping alive a tradition on the verge of extinction was Carl Heinmiller with a handful of talented Natives working together as Alaska Indian Arts, Inc. When Heinmiller arrived at Port Chilkoot-Haines in 1947, he found fewer than a hundred members remaining of two Tlingit villages that a century ago numbered around 3,500. Decimated by foreign disease and demoralized by cultural shock, the Tlingits could not cope with 20th century progress. The survivors lapsed into hopeless poverty and renounced an artistic heritage considered to be the richest and most highly developed of any aboriginal group in North America.

But Heinmiller, who had worked with tribesmen in the Fiji Islands, befriended the Tlingits. To give the children something to do, he formed a Boy Scout troop.

As a project, he assigned them to learn the dances and ceremonies by which tribal history and mythology were expressed. He persuaded the tribe’s elders to teach their young the ancient and almost forgotten skills of dance and art which would have perished with them. Thus, the Chilkat Dancers came into being. Performing for tourists traveling to Port Chilkoot from Juneau or Skagway, they soon achieved nationwide fame for the unusual beauty and authenticity of their performances and costumes.

In creating their costumes, the young Tlingits had to learn to carve the wooden masks by which various roles are symbolized. Their extraordinary aptitude for handicrafts led Heinmiller to start a program to teach craftsmanship to the

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Haines

unemployed and handicapped Natives of the area. In 1957, Alaska Indian Arts was incorporated with funds from the Indian Arts and Crafts Board of the Department of the Interior, the Alaska Rural Development Agency, and the Manpower Development and Training Administration. By 1972, over 40 Natives had learned valuable skills in the program; of these a gifted half dozen have developed into artists of unusual ability. Their output ranges from totem poles (including a 132-foot skyscraper, the tallest in the world) to block prints of traditional motifs. Achieving a high degree of expertise, the artisans of Alaska Indian Arts produce carvings which the tribe’s elders say equal the work of master carvers of bygone years.

Their accomplishments led Heinmiller to suggest still another project to recapture and invigorate Native culture; reproducing Northwest Coast Indian Art contained in Russian collections. “The best and most authentic examples in the world are in Russian museums,” says Heinmiller, who has examined the collections personally. “The Russians owned Alaska from 1741 to 1867,” Heinmiller points out.

“Their explorers and traders assembled some superb collections when aboriginal Alaskan art was at its peak. We felt that if Alaska Indian Arts could reproduce these masterpieces, we could bring back some of our lost heritage to Alaska.”

A grant from Humble Oil & Refining Company made it possible for Heinmiller to realize his ambition. Working from a reference work by a Russian ethnologist, Heinmiller selected for reproduction seven masks and a halibut hook from a collection housed in the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography of the Academy of Sciences in Leningrad, and two masks from the Anthropological Museum of the Lomonosov State University in Moscow. He decided to add two unusual masks of Chilkat origin to provide variety in motifs and ethnic traditions.

Completed, the 12-piece collection was exhibited throughout Alaska, and was on display at selected museums in the Lower 48 for several months.

Masks were important in the social and ceremonial life of the Northwest Coast Indians,” Heinmiller says. “Artists who created them were among the most honoured (continued on page 103)

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Meet the artists of Haines!

Alaska Indian Arts

Clifford Thomas lee@alaskaindianarts.com

Photo: Old Fort Seward

John Hagen

lee@alaskaindianarts.com

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Haines

Don Hotch

donald.hotch@gmail.com

Greg Horner www.ravenswindow.com

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103 Clifford Thomas was involved in

John Hagen Alaskan master carv-

er John Hagen oversaw apprentice carvers-Wayne Price, David Svenson, Greg Horner and Clifford Thomas in the carving of the Founders Pole at the Pilchuck Glass School near Seattle. in 2001. Preston Singletary, the 38-year-old Tlingit artist of Seattle directed fabrication and installation of the glass elements.

Don Hotch is Tlingit of the Raven

clan Gaanaxteidi of the Salmon Hole house Ishka Hit. He is also a child of the Thunderbird house Shangukeidi yadi.

Donald apprenticed under the guidance of several master carvers, Sue Folletti, Greg Horner, Jenny Smith, John Hagen and Clifford Thomas. Donald is working mainly in silver and wood.

Greg Horner A life-long Alaskan,

Greg was introduced to carving at Alaska Indian Arts in 1974. Apprenticed to some of the finest Native and non-native artists in Alaska, he developed a foundation to further explore this art form in wood, metal and print media. Greg was

(continued from page 99) personages

of the tribe. They were exempt from military service and other tribal responsibilities.” Carving red cedar or birch with wooden hasps tipped with shell, stone, or beaver teeth, artists ornamented their work with natural pigments, beaten copper strips, abalone shell, walrus and seal whiskers, feathers, fur and sometimes human hair.

The masks represented totem animals, spirits, and mythological beings, and were handed down from generation to generation within each clan. Secret societies performed dances to enliven the winter months and commemorate events. The dancers used masks to represent specific animal and spirit characters. The clan’s shaman, or medicine man, had a particularly large number which he would use in healing ceremonies. Some masks covered the wearer’s face, while others were attached to ceremonial headdresses or to helmets worn in battle. Art motifs stressed the close relationship between man and animal, and masks frequently combined both human and animal features. Symbols characterized animals: A long straight beak indicated a. (see page 166)

Haines

creating the 40-foot yellow cedar Friendship Pole at Haines Elementary School some 28 years ago dedicated to the children of the Chilkat Valley; along with Ed Kasko, John Hagen, Wayne Price, Greg Horner and Dave Svenson. It was like the original Friendship Pole carved in the 1920s for Haines storekeeper Steve Sheldon.

given a Tlingit name, “Skin Dei,” at a Potlach memorial in honor of his mentor, Tlingit elder George Lewis.

Greg is currently working in Haines on private commissions and a series of glass sculptures with neon.

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104 Silkscreen Prints The silkscreen prints are designs by the master carvers at Alaska Indian Arts in Haines, Alaska. The designs are hand drawn and cut and screen printed in the graphics studio by Chris Nowicki, a master printmaker who visits each summer to print a new edition. The proceeds from the prints help support ongoing programs such as workshops and apprenticeships. Alaska Indian Arts is a not for profit corporation dedicated to the preservation and continuation of the artistic traditions of the Northwest Coast.

Gift Shop at Alaska Indian Arts

www.alaskaindianarts.com 907-766-2160 PO Box 271, Haines Alaska 99827

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907-766-2160

www.alaskaindianarts.com

Keet Gooshi Tours Keet Gooshi Means Killer Whale!

For the first time ever, the Tribal Elders Council is allowing non-native visitors to enjoy the wonders of the Tlingit Village of Klukwan. Our historic tour takes you through the Bald Eagle Preserve and along the banks of the Chilkat River where you will find the village of Klukwan. We offer visitors the first look ever inside a native tribal house and world famous collection of centuries old art.

P.O. Box 997, Haines, AK 99827 (907) 766-2168 Fax: (907) 766-2513 877-776-2168 info@keetgooshi.com, www.keetgooshi.com

Haines

Workshops AGENDA: To study the art and culture of the Tlingit people first hand. To understand how these people with an elaborate social structure developed such an elaborate art form.

To reinterpret these ideas as individuals and observers, and develop ones own direction by sculpting in wood, using tools and techniques that are traditionally used on the Northwest Coast. Some tools are commercially available; some will be custom made to fit each individual hand.

To visit the wilderness by hiking, beach combing and picnics. We will share ideas, intermingle with the locals, and enjoy a rare opportunity that most tourists will never experience.

AIA

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Wayne Price (Master Carver) Accomplished Native Alaskan artist Wayne G. Price creates master quality fine art in the traditional Northwest style of the Tlingit Indian tribe. Wayne uses his master carver/art skills to create traditional artifacts, including totem poles, canoes, masks, drums, regalia, and jewelry. Wayne is held in high esteem for his unrivaled adzing capabilities in the finishing process of his carvings, and is able to duplicate the adzing patterns used by the old master carvers of his ancestors. Northwest Coast formline art is an intricate and complex style of totemic design, proportion, and space, and Wayne is an elite grand master of this ancient art. Wayne has carved 24 traditional totem poles and several non-traditional poles. They can be found throughout the world, especially in Alaska and the Northwest Coast USA. His most recent traditional totem pole, the 40 foot “Kooteeyaa”, was designed and carved for an Alaska Native Health Facility to tell the story of Native Wellness. Wayne is the owner and Art Director of Silver Cloud Art Center in Haines, Alaska. Silver Cloud promotes Sobriety Lifestyle, using native culture, art, and community.

KLUKWAN

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Oldest Of The Tlingit Villages

Bentwood Box Gift Store

masks, bowls, paddles, wall panels, or woven spruce root or cedar bark baskets in a variety of shapes and sizes, woolen weavings from small medicine bags to full size robes www.visitklukwan.com

Klukwan

The original settlement of the Tlingits, Klukwan translates into “Eternal Village.” This is a flourishing Alaska Native Community known for its rich cultural history and legacy of artwork. The new Klukwan Tribal Tour is the best and encouraged way to see and learn more about the village and its people. See native artists in action.

Interact with the Chilkat people as they process salmon in traditional ways, carve totem poles and more.

Please call ahead.

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108

Chilkat Indian Village Every fall thousands of Bald Eagles congregate in the Chilkat Valley to feed on a late run of Chum Salmon. Viewing is superb on a three-mile stretch of the Haines Highway that parallels the Chilkat River. Eagles can be seen feeding on the river flats and perched by the dozens on the tall Black Cottonwood trees that line the riverbank. The scenery is beautiful, and the environment is pristine - an awesome setting for an unforgettable experience.

Amidst this beautiful setting the Jilkaat Kwaan Cultural Heritage Center and Bald Eagle Observatory is being built, consisting of a museum, hospitality house, restaurant and gift shop, traditional knowledge camp, and Bald Eagle Observatory.” The museum complex is called The Jilkaat Kwaan Cultural Heritage Center.

The museum will display the many treasured artworks in the village, and those that are currently stored in other museum facilities. Among these are the Whale House Collection, the Frog House totems (currently stored in the Alaska State Museum in Juneau), several artifacts that have already been returned to Klukwan through the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), and various works of art, and historically significant pieces that have been designated by families and clans. Included in the complex will be an Arts & Crafts Studio. There are a significant number of native artists and crafts people who live in the village. These individuals now have a permanent workspace in the facility with adequate storage facilities for materials and equipment. A replica tribal house/longhouse will also be included as a part of the facility.

In Tlingit the Hospitality House is called “Likoodzi Kaayuwateen Hidi” which literally translates as “generous reception house.” The Hospitality House offers casual dining for our visitors in a comfortable manner. Hospitality and generosity are at the heart of Tlingit Culture.

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Klukwan Native artwork is displayed and sold in the facility’s Bentwood Box Gift Shop and gallery. More than 20 local artists sell their work in the gift shop. The Chilkat Indian Village works closely with tour operators to provide quality cultural tours for visitors from around the world.

Jilkaat Kwaan Cultural Tours The tours focus on the history and culture of Klukwan and offer visitors a first hand look at cultural practices centered upon traditional architecture and construction methods, traditional fish processing methods, traditional arts such as wood carving, basketry, beading and Chilkat week and an occasional group tour during the weekends.

Traditional Knowledge Camps

Perpetuation of subsistence lifestyle skills and traditional fine arts are the main focus of the Klukwan Traditional Knowledge Camp. Seasonal Klukwan Traditional Knowledge Camps include demonstrations of traditional salmon harvesting, moose preparation, and hooligan processing with Tlingit language and cultural instruction integrated in each of the activities. Fine arts such as carving, basket weaving, Chilkat/Ravenstail Weaving and sewing/beading are some additional activities of the camp.

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Inside Passage

ARTISANS OF KLUKWAN 1. Burattin, Sally, Beading, Felt Appliqué Sewing, Carving, Vests, Hat’s and Tlingit Christian Song’s 2. Burattin, Val, Felt Appliqué Sewing and Wood Carving 3. Gamble, Johnnie, Painting, Skin Sewing & Wood Carving 4. Hotch, Andrew, Wood Carving 5. Hotch, Donald, Wood Carving, and Silver Work 6. Hotch, Ella, Basketry, Beading, Felt Appliqué Sewing, Skin Sewing and Weaving 7. Hotch, Jones, Wood Carving 8. Hotch, Katrina, Wood Carving, Woolen Weaving 9. Hotch, Lani, Basketry, Beading, Felt Appliqué Instructor, Skin Sewing, and Woolen, Weaving Instructor 10. Hotch, Rose Ann, Basketry, Beading, and Skin Sewing 11. Kasko, Lorraine, Beading Instructor, Basketry, Felt Applique Sewing, Woolen Weaving 12. Klanott, Bev, Beading, Felt Appliqué Sewing, Skin Sewing and Woolen Weaving 13. Klanott, Daniel, Wood Carving 14. Klanott, Jeffery, Wood Carving 15. King, Joe, Wood Carving 16. Morris, Alice, Beading 17. Morris, Denise, Basketry, Beading, Felt Appliqué Sewing, Skin Sewing, Woolen Weaving

18. Stevens, Andre, Wood Carving 19. Stevens, Jim, Wood Carving 20. Strong, Kim, Basketry, Beading, Felt Appliqué Sewing, Skin Sewing, Woolen Weaving 21. Valentine, Carrie, Basketry, Beading, Felt Appliqué Sewing, Skin Sewing and Woolen Weaving 22. Valentine, Mary Jane, Basketry, Beading, Carving, Felt Appliqué Sewing, Skin Sewing and Woolen Weaving To contact any of the above artisans please contact: mjval@chilkatindianvillage.org (Mary Jane Valentine) www.chilkatindianvillage.org

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Kwaan Cultural Heritage Center opened in 2011.

The hospitality center and gift shop are also open. The longhouse shown here is open.

Chilkat Village Longhouse

Klukwan

The Jilkaat

Inside Passage

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ABOVE: Fire Bringer Mask and Sings of the Rising Sun by Jim Heaton (Bentwood Box) BELOW: Traditional Canoe

SKAGWAY

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a windy place with ‘white caps on the water’

Inside Passage Arts World class promoter/gallery of ethnic arts from around the word that specializes in Native Northwest American Art and Asian Arts and antiques.

7th Ave, Skagway, AK 99840

(907) 983-2585

www.insidepassagearts.com

Skagway

Skagway (originally spelled Skaguay) is from the Tlingit name for the area, “Skagua” or “Shgagwèi” meaning a windy place with ‘white caps on the water.

The area around present-day Skagway was inhabited by Tlingit people from prehistoric times. They fished and hunted in the waters and forests of the area. A few of these Native Americans settled in the quieter areas of Smuggler’s Cove, Nahku Bay and Dyea.

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Jim Heaton has been studying and carving Northwest Coast style art since

1984. He carves totem poles, house posts, and many other types of smaller-scale objects. He has taught Northwest Coast art as adjunct faculty at the University of Alaska, Southeast, and was hired by the Chilkat Indian Village to lead the traditional knowledge camp building projects in 2001. He has also taught for the Klukwan Artist Training Program in which carvers and weavers earned a University of Alaska certificate of merit in Northwest Coast Art. Since 2005, Jim has taught exclusively in the Village of Klukwan through the University of Alaska outreach program, administered from the Sitka Campus. He is currently the president of the Board of Directors of the Sheldon Museum and Cultural Center and a board member of the Chilkat Valley

Skagway Museum & Archives

Renowned for its fine Alaska Native Heritage Collection of baskets, beadwork, and carvings 907 983 2420 info@skagwaymuseum.com

HOONAH

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The Principal Village For The Huna

Lisa’s Art Store

382 Garteeni Hwy, Hoonah, AK 99829

(907)723-0618 www.lisasartstore.com

Hoonah

Hoonah is a Tlingit community on Chichagof Island. Its name means “village by the cliff” in the Tlingit language. Legend tells of an original home of the Huna in Glacier Bay that was destroyed by a glacial advance, at which time many Huna moved to the location of present-day Hoonah. In 1912 - The Hoonah Packing Co. built a large cannery north of town. The Thompson Fish Company still operates the cannery today as Hoonah Cold Storage. The Alaska Marine Highway serves Hoonah and offers residents a slower but more dependable and cheaper option to travel to and from Hoonah to Juneau. The Hoonah Airport also offers service via bush carriers Wings of Alaska which offer five flights a day between Hoonah and

Inside Passage

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Icy Strait Point Since its opening in 2004, Icy Strait Point has brought life back into this wilderness area on Chichagof Island. Our privately owned port has drawn thousands of cruise ship passengers each year, and in 2008, we began welcoming independent travelers as well.

Located just over a mile down the road from Alaska’s largest Tlingit village, our sustainably managed port is centered around a restored historic cannery facility.

Our mission is to show off the best of Alaska culture, nature and history without unduly impacting the lands that provide for our people.

There’s so much to do here you can see whales, brown bears, eagles, visit the rainforest or walk the beach, go halibut fishing, enjoy a salmon burger or Dungeness crab, tour the village of Hoonah. You can go on a bike trek, ATV expedition or a hike, take a thrill ride on the ZipRider or stroll through the historic salmon cannery and museum. You can experience the Tlingit dancers and tribal stories, go shopping or kayaking. At Icy Strait Point, Alaska’s only wilderness port, the options never end. We hope you’ll take the time to experience all that the real Alaska has to offer.

Zip Rider In May 2007, North America’s longest and highest zip-line tour and the highest and longest ZipRider™ zip line in the world opened at Icy Strait Point, giving guests a panoramic view of Port Frederick, Icy Strait and the surrounding

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Tribal Dance and Cultural Legends Tlingit culture comes alive during this interactive, hour-long performance in a traditional long-house-style theater. The eight-member Huna Tlingit cast is dressed in their regalia, hand-carved masks and colorful headdresses, as they share their heritage through storytelling, songs and dance. Upon entering the theater, each guest receives a small card with an image on one side and a Tlingit word on the other. The card represents a Tlingit clan in the area. During one of the songs and dances, the cast calls out the clan names, and audience members holding those cards are invited to join in the dance.

Whale and Marine Mammals Cruise Humpback whales, orcas, Steller sea lions, harbor seals, sea otters and porpoise are just a few of the marine mammals visitors see on this two-hour cruise. And because the waters of Port Frederick and Point Adolphus are a prime feeding area for humpback whales, guests haven’t missed a whale sighting in the cruise’s history. A naturalist onboard the 86-foot vessel provides commentary about the area, marine mammals and wildlife in the area. It’s also common to view Alaska coastal brown bear and deer on shore, as well as eagles soaring above.

Hoonah

islands and wilderness. As in all of Icy Strait Point’s tours, guests will learn about Hoonah history and culture from their local driver/guide as they travel by bus to the zip line start at 1,330 feet above sea level. Within seconds, guests are securely buckled in, and the magnificent view unfolds as they soar silently nearly 5,330 feet to the base near the beach below.

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Inside Passage

Spasski River Valley Wildlife and Brown Bear Search On this two-and-a-half-hour tour, visitors travel by bus for 20 minutes through the Tlingit village of Hoonah to designated paths and viewing platforms in the Spasski River Valley in search of Alaska coastal brown bear. It is estimated that there are three brown bears for every resident on Chichagof Island, where Icy Strait Point is located, making the odds of spotting the magnificent creature quite high. Bald eagles, land otters, Sitka black-tailed deer, mink and marten are among the other wildlife that may be spotted. The local driver/guide shares Hoonah’s history and culture and highlights areas of interest along the route.

Forest and Nature Tram A local guide educates guests on Chichagof Island’s geology and flora and fauna on this one-and-a-half hour wheeled tram tour through ancient second-growth forests and along the beach. Visitors will view a bald eagle’s nest along the route and guests often report seeing other wildlife such as Sitka black-tailed deer, Alaska coastal brown bear and humpback whales.

The 1912 Icy Strait Point cannery is home to 12 shops and kiosks owned and staffed by Alaskans, many of whom live in the nearby village of Hoonah. The shops offer a wide range of souvenirs, including Alaska Native arts and crafts; handmade soaps, candles and beads; wild Alaska smoked salmon; and Icy Strait Point logo items. www.icystraitpoint.com

YAKUTAT

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The Tlingit Eagle Clan And The Tlingit Raven Clan

a crossroads of sorts since its earliest human habitation. Yakutat Bay, as one of the few protected bays along the northerly edge of the Gulf of Alaska, has always attracted people coming from Southeast Alaska toward the northwest, from Prince William Sound toward the southeast, or toward the coast from inland. It is not known when the first Native peoples settled in the Yakutat area. In the latter part of the 1700s, when Russian explorers first came to the area (see page 122). PHOTO: Maka Monture by Jocelyn Larsen

Fred Bemis

Tlingit wood carver, Raven, coho clan, frog house. He has been carving off and on for over 30 years, canoes, masks, paddles, mural, paintings, large wall carvings, bent wood boxes. Works with yellow and red cedar, alder, spruce wood. He lives in Yakutat year round and is also a commercial fisherman.

907-784-3669

Yakutat

The City and Borough of Yakutat has a rich history of multiple Native cultures and languages, including Athabaskan, Eyak, and inland and coastal Tlingit, with influence from the Chugach Eskimo and others. Yakutat has apparently been

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Index Admiralty Island 57 Alander, Brita 25, 27, 32 Alander, Don 52 Alaska Indian Arts 98, 100 Alaska Native Brotherhood 66 Alaskan Dream Cruises 65 ANGOON 57 Annette Island 43 Annette Island Packing Company 43 Arctic Spirit Gallery 21 Artist Cove Gallery 60 Auke Tribe 79 Austin, Jack Allen 61

B Bald Eagle Observatory 108 Bear Totem Store 54 Beasley, Rick & Mick 89, 91 Bemis, Fred 119 Bentwood Box Gift Shop 107, 109 Brown, Steve 93 Burkhart, Will 42

C Canipe, Susan (Edenso) 70 Cape Fox Lodge 21, 29, 30 Cape Fox people 40 Cape Fox Tours Inc. 39 Cape Fox Village 40 CARVER AT THE CREEK 38 Cedar House 56 Chief Anotklosh 79 Chief Ka Ann’s totem pole 22 Chief Shakes Tribal House 53 Chilkat 37 Chilkat Eagle Preserve 96 Chilkat Indian Village 108 Chilkat River 108 Chilkat Village Longhouse 111 Chilkoot River Lodge 97 Chilton, Brian 88, 90

D Dangeli, Askren, Mique’l 48 Daniels, Jamie 58 Davis, George 84 Decker, Ken 24, 26 Diane Douglas-Willard 24 Dock Shack Cafe 69 Duncan, William 47 Duncan Cottage Museum 47, 48

E Edwin DeWitt Carving Center 42 Ehlers, Anna Brown 94

F Festivals In Alaska 50 Fishermen’s Eye Gallery 59 Folletti, Sue 97 Forrest, Linn 35 Fort Simpson 47 Friends of the Alaska State Museum Store 88

G Galanin, Dave 74, 76 Galanin, Nicholas 77 Gale, Elsie 26, 38 Gastineau Channel 79 George, Gabby 58 George, JoAnn 58 George, Shgen doo tan 58 Goldbelt Heritage Foundation 82 Goldbelt Hotel 80 Grant, Sonny 87 Gregory, Donald 89, 91

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Chilton, Doug 88, 90 Chilton, Gene 88, 90 Chugach Eskimo 119 Churchill, April 37 Churchill, Delores 37, 93 Churchill, Holly 37 Craig, Alaska 51 Crazy Wolf Studio 23 Crazy Wolf Studios 38 CREEKSIDE 24

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Index

H Hagen, John 100, 103 Haida 22, 37 Haida Gwaii 51 HAIDA HOUSE 38 Haida people 51 HAINES 95 Heaton, Jim 112, 114 Heinmiller, Carl 98 HOONAH 115 Horner, Greg 101, 103 Hotch, Don 101, 103 Hudson’s Bay Company 47 Hummingbird Hollow G I F T S H O P 79 Hummingbirds Delight 75 Humpherville, Kathy 25, 26 Hydaburg, Alaska 51, 52

I Icy Strait Point 116 Inside Passage Arts 113

J Jackson, Dr. Sheldon 62 Jackson, Nathan 30, 42 Jackson, Norman 25, 27 Jackson, Stephen 42 Jilkaat Kwaan Cultural Heritage Center 108, 111 Jilkaat Kwaan Cultural Tours 109 Joseph, Tommy 63 JUNEAU 79 Juneau 83 Juneau - Douglas City Museum 78

K KAKE 55 Kassan 51 Keet Gooshi Tours 105 Keex’ Kwaan Lodge 56 Ketchikan 21, 23 Kiks.adi Fort 64 Klawock, Alaska 51 KLUKWAN 107 Klukwan 96, 105

Klukwan Tribal Tour 107 Kotzlitzna 54 Kunz, Percy & Ed 89, 91

L Lax K’walaams 47 Lisa’s Art Store 115

M Made In Sitka 71 Malline, Ed 74, 76 METLAKATLA 43 Metlakatla 44, 47 Metlakatla Long House 23 Morrison, Claude 52 Morrison, Helen 51 Mount Robert’s Tramway 81 Mt. Edgecumbe Volcano 73 Mt. Juneau Trading Post 83 Mud Bight 35 Murray, Ronn 50

N Nathan Jackson 41 National Heritage Fellowship Award 37 Native Artist Demonstrators Program 62

O Old Ft. Seward 100 Oliver, Marvin 24, 26 Osbakken, Willis 75, 77 OUR LIVING LEGENDS 38

P Peck, Ray 58 Peer Amid Beads 83 Peterson Sr., Reggie 61 Petroglyph Beach State Historic Park 53 Pook, Cathleen 74, 76 Potlatch Totem Park 32 Price, Wayne 106 PRINCE OF WALES ISLAND 51

R Raven Art Studio 67 Ravenstail 37

243 Ria Designs 54 Rofkar, Teri 67 Russian Bishop’s house 73

Samuels, Cheryl 93 Saxman Native Village 39 Saxman Tribal House 23 SAXMAN VILLAGE 39 Sealaska Heritage Institute 84, 85, 86 Sheakley, Florence 87 Shee Atika Totem Square Inn 59, 68, 69 Sheet’ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi Community House 59, 68, 72 Sheldon Jackson Museum 60, 62 Sheldon Museum & Cultural Center 95 Silver Cloud Art Center 96, 106 SITKA 59 Sitka Cultural Center 63 Sitka Cultural Center Inc. 66 Sitka National Historical Park 60, 64, 65, 74 Sitka Rose Gallery 60 Sitka Tribal Tours 73 SKAGWAY 113 Skagway Museum & Archives 114 Skultka Jr., Charlie 75, 77 Smith, Jada Katherine 75 Softi, Stron 42 Southeast Alaska Cultural Center 60 Southeast Alaska Discovery Center 23, 31 Spasski River Valley Wildlife and Brown Bear Search 118 St. Michael’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral 73 Stikine River 53, 54

T Taku tribe 79 The Alaska Marine Highway 10 The Cape Fox Lodge Art Collection 28 The Healing Art Collection 44 The Kake War 55 The Messenger Feast of the Inupiaq 50 The Seadrome Marina 82 Thomas, Clifford 100, 103 Thomas, Gema 83 Tlingit 22, 37, 40 Tlingít Native Dance Performance 71

U United States Forest Service 35 Urban Eskimo 83

V Vanderhoop, Evelyn 37 Varnell, Donnie 42

W Wallace, Dan 52 Waters, Walter 54 William A. Eagan library 83 William A. Egan Library 92 WRANGELL 53

Y YAKUTAT 119 Young, Joe 52 Young, TJ 52

Index

S

Tlingit people 51 Tongass Historical Museum 23 Tongass Narrows 30 Tongass National Forest 30 Totem Bight State Historical Park 32 Totem Bight State Park 23, 34, 35 Totem Heritage Center 23 Traditional Knowledge Camps 109 Tribal House of the Bear 53 Tsimshian 22, 37

Discover fascinating facts about the Yukon’s unique history and culture at the many museums, interpretive centres and cultural centres throughout the Yukon 1

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Stop by & Visit These

Amazing Yukon Attractions!

WATSON LAKE & SOUTHERN LAKES REGION 1 Northern Lights Centre is home to the Yukon’s only visitor facility dedicated to the science and folklore of the aurora borealis.

2 George Johnston Museum & Heritage Park in Teslin is named after a venerated Tlingit Elder, fur trader and entrepreneur, who uses his rare photographs, Tlingit ceremonial robes and traditional objects to tell the story of the Teslin people.

3 The Teslin Tlingit Heritage Centre welcomes visitors to participate in the day-to-day life of the Tlingit people whose traditions are reflected in every aspect of the facility.

WHITEHORSE REGION 4 The Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre The lost sub-continent of Beringia dates back to the last great ice age. It was a land of ice, giant mammals and the First People of North America. Highlights of the Centre include the reconstruction of the largest woolly mammoth ever recovered in North America, a real mammoth tusk and the remains of a 26,000 year old Yukon horse.

5 The Yukon Transportation Museum, A Moving Experience. True Yukon stories live here. Come & experience big, impressive modes of transportation – dramatic, authentic, and personal stories of Yukon ingenuity & self-sufficiency. The Yukon Transportation Museum is home to CF-CPY, a restored DC-3 on a pedestal, the world’s largest weathervane.

6 Yukon Historical & Museums Association Offers a 45-minute walking tour of Whitehorse. Guides in period costume take visitors on a journey back in time, revealing more than a century of the city’s heritage through fascinating stories about its historic buildings, unique architecture and local landmarks.

7 The Old Log Church Museum Experience Yukon’s spirited history within one of the oldest buildings in Whitehorse. Carry away a sense of the passion, conviction and determination of the early pioneers and missionaries who helped shape Yukon’s story.

13 Dä Ku (Our House) Cultural Centre in Haines Jct. welcomes you to experience the culture and traditions of the Southern Tuchone First Nations people.

Come see the exhibits and listen to the First Nations interpretation of traditional lifestyles.

8 The Miles Canyon Historic Railway preserves Yukon railway and mining history. Visitors to downtown Whitehorse can ride the scenic trolley while chatting with our informative staff. The Copperbelt Railway and Mining Museum is located on the Alaska Highway heading just north of Whitehorse and offers Loki rides and mining history.

CAMPBELL REGION 14 The Campbell Region Interpretive Centre is the place in Faro to go for information and interesting displays on the Campbell Region’s history, geology and wildlife.

9 MacBride Museum of Yukon History Yukon adventure starts here at MacBride Museum, a half city block of history. Our exhibits illustrate the fascinating people and groundbreaking events that shaped Canada’s Yukon. Pan for Klondike gold, visit our 1898 saloon, and discover the real Sam McGee. SILVER TRAIL REGION 10 Binet House in Mayo is home to displays on area history, early medical instruments, wildlife, geology, &local permafrost studies& the Na-Cho Nyäk Dun First Nation.

KLONDIKE REGION 15 Tagé Cho Hudän Interpretive Centre Centre showcases the past and present culture of the Northern Tutchone with many fascinating exhibits and guided tours based on our oral tradition.

16 Big Jonathan House the Selkirk First Nation cultural centre in Pelly Crossing has a range of exhibits, interpretive programming and locally made crafts for sale.

17 The Dawson City Museum is housed in the beautiful Old Territorial Administration Building National Historic Site, one of the premier heritage attractions in the Klondike. The exhibits provide an in-depth look at Dawson’s social and mining history, the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nations, the Gold Rush and the development of the Klondike.

11 The Keno City Mining Museum building is Jackson Hall, Keno City’s old community centre built in the 1920s. This museum is filled with relics from the gold and silver mining history dating as far back as the early 1900s.

18 Dänojà Zho Cultural Centre (Long Time Ago House) celebrates and shares the traditional and contemporary experiences of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in.

KLUANE 12 Kluane Museum of Natural History nestled in the heart of Burwash landing, offers a world-class wildlife exhibit along with displays on the Southern Tutchone people and the many plant species that make their home in the national park.

NORTH YUKON 19 The John Tizya Centre is located in Old Crow, the only Yukon community located north of the Arctic Circle.

The facility has an exciting new exhibition area, with displays of the Vuntut Gwitchin’s dynamic culture, the Porcupine Caribou herd, the landscape and oral history.

For more information on Yukon Heritage Attractions, please call (867) 667-4704 or visit www.yukonmuseums.ca or www.heritageyukon.ca. For a Portable Copy Pick Up a Bell’s Yukon Map.

Yakutat Glacier

An island of artists. It has been many months now since I returned from the mist-shrouded ‘Island of Artists’ off the west coast of British Columbia, and the vast land to the north known as the Alaskan Panhandle. I have had time to reflect on the wonderful people I met along the way, and how I finally found myself on a ten seater float plane high above Hecate Strait on my way to the mystical village of Masset, some seven weeks after my departure from Vancouver. What happened to me during those seven weeks and the two weeks that followed on the ‘Island of Artists,’ was nothing short of amazing and an experience that I will cherish forever.

My original plan had been to visit the new Haida Heritage Centre at Kaay Llnagaay in Skidegate but the morning after I arrived in Prince Rupert on Air Canada Jazz Flight 203 my plans changed drastically. I found myself about to embark on another adventure of a lifetime. The Alaska Marine Highway Ferry arrived in Prince Rupert the next morning and I stepped on board.

I saw more than Alaska. I had always wanted to see Alaska and see Alaska I did!

I spent a week each in Ketchikan, Sitka, Juneau, Haines and finally Anchorage. I left Anchorage on October 30 and arrived back in Prince Rupert on November 1. Once back in Prince Rupert, the weather was still quite mild, so I took a chance and headed east to Terrace for a week and then to Hazelton. I had in mind that I wanted to be on the ‘Island of Artists’ for my birthday (November 22), but how could I get back to Prince Rupert and then to Haida Gwaii safe and sound, with the least amount of wear and tear on my body and soul? That was the challenge. I decided to take the train.

After all my other adventures on this trip, I was so happy that I wasn’t going to miss out on finally going to Haida Gwaii. So I affectionately dubbed the train: ‘The Train to Haida Gwaii’ www.warfleetpress.com

Your Northwest Coast cultural adventure begins with original 19th century totem poles

Totem Heritage Center

601 Deermount St. • Ketchikan, AK • 907-225-5900