Sealaska Heritage Institute

Celebration 24 Hoodies!

Order deadline: Sunday July 28, midnight
Cost: $40 each, all sizes, grey color only


Merchandise sold out quickly last Celebration. If you missed out, here’s your chance to order grey hoodies featuring the Celebration 24 artwork.

Purchase here:

PRE-ORDER Merch - Celebration 2024 Hoodie LAST CHANCE Missed out on merchandise from Celebration 2024? Now is your last chance to purchase a Gray Celebration 2024 Hoodie! Available in Sizes Small - 4XL Ordering period closes on Sunday July 28th at Midnight AKDT and will take approximately 2 weeks to ship or pick up in store

Celebration 2024 Juried Art Show Sewing Division Winner - Xixtc’ i see Ruby Hughes (Tlingit/Tsimshian).

Ruby Hughes was born in Juneau, where she took Tlingit culture classes with Sandy Samaniego and Emma Marks as a high school student. As a high schooler in Hoonah, she also learned from Katherine Mills and F***y Hanlon. Though the blanket featured in this exhibit reflects who she is and where she’s from, it is also made from her memories of those precious years, as well as her widely known love for Marilyn Monroe.

Read more on KTOO: https://www.ktoo.org/2024/07/23/tongass-voices-xixtc-i-see-ruby-hughes-fuses-pop-culture-and-tradition-in-her-sewing/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0OTxDNvENaBwoiym9b7NPc0a0p5e7B2PkqT3a1AP7WgcqVTHeD6F5NgrU_aem_LjbGLVIeEHOfOwE1p5VsrA

SHI President Rosita Ḵaaháni Worl, Ph.D., and the Sealaska Heritage team are proud to be a part of Google Play's campaign.

SHI: Language Games uses interactive games and recorded voices to engage learners. Widely used in schools and by adults reconnecting with their heritage, the app was initially offered in Tlingit, with Haida and Tsimshian versions released in 2023. SHI also produced apps to teach vocabulary and phrases in all three languages.

"Learning to fully accept our culture, art, and language has only come about in the last decade. It's a beautiful thing that we are now preserving our language and making it part of the public sphere," said Rosita.

Download the SHI Language apps:
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Sealaska+Heritage+Institute&gl=us
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/developer/sealaska-heritage-institute/id1144218131

Read more stories of people from all over the United States building apps: https://play.google.com/console/about/weareplay-us/

We are so sad to mark the passing of our friend and Tlingit Elder Marvin Kadake of Kake. We last saw him at Celebration 2024, when he performed with his group, Ḵéex’ Ḵwáan Dancers (Mouth of the Dawn People).

Marvin was a warrior who served our country honorably in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War. Recently, he was chosen for the Last Frontier Veterans Honor Flight, which celebrates Alaska war veterans with trips to Washington D.C. to visit those memorials dedicated to honor their services and sacrifices.

Condolences to his family and clan. We will miss him. Semper Fi.

Photo of Marvin at Celebration 2024 by Molly Briggs and Mircea Brown for Sealaska Heritage Institute.

Journey provided stories of healing - KSTK Last month, canoe paddlers from Wrangell and other Southeast Alaska communities ventured north on a journey through the Inner Passage from Wrangell to Juneau. They were gathering for Celebration – a biennial festival that honors Southeast Alaska Native tribes.

Visit the Demonstrating Artist in Residence, Wren Sgóonwaan Holzinger from July 22 - 26

Ch’áak, Kaagwaantaan, Ch’áak Kúdi Hít


Wren Holzinger was born and raised in Alaska and
maintains a strong connection to the natural world
due to this early environmental influence. Growing
up in a place that often feels isolating, community
is vital, and her work encompasses this duality,
speaking to the human experience of solitude and
the desire for connection with others.

Schedule: Weekdays 9 am - 12pm and 1 - 4pm
Where: Walter Soboleff Building, Delores Churchill Artist Studio

Wolf study taps Indigenous knowledge

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has given Steve Langdon, Ph.D., Jeffrey Brooks, Ph.D., and SHI senior ethnologist, Chuck Smythe, Ph.D., its 2023 Excellence Award for Partnerships for completion of an Indigenous Knowledge (IK) study of the Alexander Archipelago wolf in Southeast Alaska.

Dr. Langdon conducted 16 interviews with expert wolf hunters and trappers in Craig, Haines, Hydaburg, Kake, Ketchikan, Klawock, Klukwan, and Yakutat that provided the IK presented in the report. Dr. Jeffrey J. Brooks co-authored the final report along with the IK experts. SHI provided administrative support for the project.

After weighing both Western science and Indigenous knowledge, the agency found that the listing of the Alexander Archipelago wolf under the Endangered Species Act was not warranted. Indigenous knowledge directly contributed to the evaluation in the following areas:

• Wolf health and abundance
• Territories and travel circuits (dispersal and distribution)
• Denning and hunting behaviors
• Habitat use and prey
• Wolf pack characteristics (e.g. sizes, social organization)
• Impacts from land use activities (e.g. timber harvest and road development) and wolf harvest
• Overlap with interior (timber/Yukon) wolves
• Balancing subsistence priority and wolf population management

As Native people who have been on this land for more than 10,000 years, we are happy to see scientists tapping Indigenous knowledge in an effort to better understand this place.

APPLY: Art, museum studies scholarships

Sealaska Heritage is offering Fall 2024 scholarships to undergraduate or graduate students who are pursuing:

- Arts and science degrees with a focus in studio arts, performing arts, cinematic arts and technology, or creative writing and who incorporate Northwest Coast Arts (NWC) studies in their degree; or,

- A degree with a concentration in museum studies with focus in one or more of the following: collections management, exhibit design, and conservation.

Apply: http://bit.ly/FallScholar-24

Application deadline: July 31, 2024

Art students must be enrolled in NWC arts courses at the University of Alaska Southeast or arts courses at the Institute of American Indian Arts. Museum studies students must be enrolled at any U.S. college.

Our Ancestors' Echoes - Fall 2024 Language Course Scholarship Application

To apply for Fall 2024 language course scholarship funding, please review the eligibility requirements below and fill out this application no later than August, 2024. This application is only for scholarship funding; student must register for UAS courses independently.

Our Ancestors' Echoes: X̱aad Kíl, Sm'algyax, and Lingít is a 3-year language project through Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) that began in 2022. In this project, SHI will fund University of Alaska Southeast students interested in receiving credit for a X̱aad Kíl, Sm'algyax, and Lingít language course.

APPLY:

Google Forms: Sign-in Access Google Forms with a personal Google account or Google Workspace account (for business use).

It’s with great sadness that we mark the passing of our dear friend Daanax̱.ils'eiḵ Gheistéen Chuck Miller.

Gheistéen was of the Raven moiety, L’uknax̱.ádi clan, Kayaashka Hít of Sitka. He was a kind man who truly cared about people. He was known for holding people up and for sharing his traditional knowledge. He was a true Tlingit leader who left this world the way a great tree falls. His passing is a great loss to our cultural community.

In the midst of medical treatment, he made it to our last Celebration, which he posted about on social media:

“Gunalchéesh to everyone who gave me strength beyond measure this Celebration 2024. I got more medicine from being here amongst the drumbeats of my people and the multiple hugs and prayers than any hospital could offer.”

Condolences to his family, clan, and to the many people he touched. We are especially thinking about his community of Sitka, where he lived generously and left his footprints. For such a young man, he left an indelible mark on our society. Now he is with our ancestors. Yee gu.aa yáx̱ x'wán L'uknax̱.ádi (Have Courage).

Photo: Gheistéen Chuck Miller at Celebration 2024 last month. Photo by Brian Wallace for Sealaska Heritage Institute.

Graduate Spotlight!

Congratulations to Sealaska scholarship recipient Shakagóok Marlis Boord, who just earned her master's degree!

Marlis is from the Teikweidée clan with Angoon roots through her mother, Séetlein, Melonie Boord and grandmother Gaaw, Pauline Duncan (Kookesh). Her father is Clancy Boord, Duk. aan, an Aleut adopted into Kiks.ádi by Marlis’ maternal grandfather Albert F. Duncan. Marlis was born and raised on Tlingit Aaní in Sitka, Alaska.

"My family would tell me 'It took a village to raise you.' And it’s true, it took a village of role models to help me get to where I am today, graduating from the University of Alaska Anchorage with a master’s degree in public health. I’m so thankful to my brother Mitchell Boord, aunts, uncles, parents, grandparents, cousins, and family friends for all your love and support. I’m truly grateful to my corporations and tribal entities for the scholarship support as well. Gunalchéesh!"

Congratulations Shakagóok!

SHI TO OFFER PRE-CONFERENCES ON NATIVE LITERATURE, ARTFUL TEACHING

Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) will offer two pre-conferences on Native literature and artful teaching prior to its annual culturally responsive education (CRE) conference in August.

Raven Writes: Native Literature Pre-Conference

SHI, in partnership with NACA Inspired Schools Network (NISN), is offering a pre-conference for K-6 educators. The two-day session, scheduled for August 5–6, will focus on developing high quality reading lessons for Native literature. The pre-conference will take place at the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) from 8 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. each day.

Register now: http://bit.ly/RavenConf-Reg24

Voices on the Land: Artful Teaching Pre-Conference

SHI, in partnership with the Juneau School District’s Artful Teaching program, is offering an Arts and Literacy Integration Pre-Conference, which will take place at Thunder Mountain School from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on August 5–6. This pre-conference is free and open to K-12 teachers.

Register now: bit.ly/arts-literacy-preconference

Read more in the Press Release: https://sealaskaheritage.org/shi-to-offer-pre-conferences-on-native-literature-artful-teaching/

Join us at the Raven Writes Native Literature Pre-Conference

Sealaska Heritage Institute, in partnership with NACA Inspired Schools Network (NISN), is offering a PD opportunity for K-6 teachers leading up to SHI’s annual CRE Conference. Teachers will learn about Indigenous Genius by Design, explore how to select quality mentor texts, and develop a reading lesson plan based on state
standards and the science of reading.

A stipend will be paid to each teacher that satisfactorily completes the two-day Pre- Conference. Teachers coming from outside of Juneau will have the opportunity to apply for a travel stipend and stay through the CRE Conference, August 7-9.

Dates: August 5-6
Time: 8 am-3:45 pm
Location: University of Alaska Southeast

Learn more: http://bit.ly/RavenConf-Info
Register now: http://bit.ly/RavenConf-Reg24

Join us at the Arts and Literacy Pre-Conference!

Voices on the Land and Juneau School District Artful Teaching Program are hosting an Arts and Literacy Integration before SHI’s annual Culturally Responsive Educator’s Conference (August 7-9).

Instructors from the Kennedy Center will present multiple workshops to K-12 teachers including: observational drawing, designing classroom spaces, creating comics, and a variety of subjects relating to curriculum, assessments, and academic engagement.

COST: Free
Location: Thunder Mountain School
Date: August 5 & 6
Time: 8 am- 3 pm

Register now: bit.ly/arts-literacy-preconference

UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA STUDENT AWARDED 2024 JUDSON BROWN SCHOLARSHIP

Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) has chosen a Tsimshian student from Ketchikan as the recipient of the 2024 Judson L. Brown Leadership Award.

Torah Zamora, who is a student at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, was selected for her outstanding leadership in promoting Tsimshian culture and language revitalization. Her passion has been evident throughout her apprenticeship in SHI’s Voices on the Land Program, where she worked under the mentorship of Shaakindustóow Ed Littlefield for the last two years.

“The dedication Torah has shown in her teaching is exactly what is needed to energize our communities to continue to bring our culture with us into the future,” he wrote.

Zamora is currently pursuing a master’s degree in education and Indigenous language revitalization. Her commitment to teaching the language of her Tsimshian grandmother has become a lifelong goal. She believes that being a good leader is synonymous with being a good relative—continually learning, sharing skills and uplifting the community.

Learn more about Torah and the Judson Brown Scholarship: https://sealaskaheritage.org/university-of-victoria-student-awarded-2024-judson-brown-scholarship/

What a special day! We were honored to welcome the Mellon Foundation to Juneau to witness the Kootéeyaa Deiyí Totem Trail. Their support through the Mellon Foundation’s Monuments Project is invaluable to SHI’s effort to help make Juneau the Northwest Coast Arts Capital of the world and to enlist the talent and knowledge of Indigenous artists and craftspeople in the process.

Since April 2023, Kootéeyaa Deiyí has transformed the waterfront to be a more authentic representation of Indigenous culture and history.
Aatlein gunalchéesh, háw'aa, nt'oyaxsn for spending time with us Julie, Emma, Ehsan, Justin, and TJ Young (Sgwaayaans).

Learn more about our partnership with the Mellon Foundation: https://www.mellon.org/grant-story/explore-kooteeyaa-deiyi-totem-trail

Come Learn: Open metal labs!

SHI will begin hosting free, weekly open metal labs every Tuesday at the Sealaska Heritage Arts Campus.

Apply: bit.ly/OpenMetalLab

During the supervised Metal Lab hours, participants will work on one or more NWC metal arts projects of their own choice, with the possibility of seeking technical advice from the lab supervisor.

Some experience in engraving and jewelry making, ability to draw own designs.

We do not supply metals for the Metal Lab sessions.

Call for Artists for SHI's 7th Culturally Responsive Education Conference!

Sealaska Heritage is coordinating an Artist Market at the CRE Conference featuring both vendors and demonstrating artist booths. Stipends are available for those who are willing to have ongoing demonstrations of their practice.

Register to be a vendor or demonstrating artist: https://bit.ly/artist-market-cre

Attend the Raven Writes Summer Writing Seminar!

A stipend will be paid to each teacher that satisfactorily completes the Seminar and will have the option to take the Seminar for 3 credit hours through the University of Alaska Southeast. There will be reading assignments and reflections as homework. Teachers coming from outside of Juneau can apply for a travel stipend in the
registration form.

Intermediate Seminar for 3-5 Teachers: July 8-19
Primary Seminar for K-2 Teachers: July 22-August 2

Time: 8:30am-3pm
Location: Kax̱dig̱oowu Héen Elementary School

Raven Writes is a Sealaska Heritage program funded by the US Department of Education.

Register now:

Summer Writing Seminar Registration Sealaska Heritage, in partnership with SERRC: Alaska's Educational Resource Center and the Juneau School District, is offering a Summer Writing Seminar for elementary teachers. Teachers will receive professional development (PD) in the best practices in writing instruction, culturally responsive tea...

Come Learn: Open wood labs!

SHI will begin hosting free, weekly open wood labs every Tuesday at the Sealaska Heritage Arts Campus.

Apply: bit.ly/OpenWoodLab

During the supervised labs, participants will work on one or more Northwest Coast carving projects of their own choice, with the possibility of seeking technical advice from the instructors/supervisors.

SHI will provide the facility, some carving tools, and wood at the practice sessions, but participants are encouraged to bring their own tools and supplies for their projects.

Stop by and visit SHI’s Walter Soboleff Building to see Demonstrating Artist X'usyee Naa Kaneit Mackenzie Gray. She will be weaving a Chilkat/Ravenstail 9-to-11-inch bag.

She is Kaagwaantann from the Kook Hit Tlein, the Big Box House of Sitka and grew up surrounded by the various art mediums, like jewelry making, weaving, carving and formline. The medium she focuses most on is weaving.

For Mackenzie, weaving Ravenstail is the first art form she felt connected to and from there, just fell in love with it. She has been weaving Ravenstail for the last eight years.

Artist Resident from June 24 – 28th; Delores Churchill Studio in the Walter Soboleff Building
Monday – Friday, 8 am–3 pm

Learn more: https://sealaskaheritage.org/shi-digital-residency-for-alaskan-native-artists/

SHI TRUSTEES NAME LEAD DANCE GROUP FOR CELEBRATION 2026

The Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) Board of Trustees has named Lepquinm Gumilgit Gagoadim Tsimshian Dancers (Our Own Dance in Our Hearts) as the lead dance group for Celebration 2026.

Lepquinm Gumilgit Gagoadim Tsimshian Dancers, a multigenerational group from Anchorage, formed in 2005. “This is such an honor. We were excited and still in shock,” Asicksik said a few days after hearing the news while still in Juneau for Celebration 2024.

“We all met up in my hotel room, screamed, cheered, hugged and cried. We’re all so happy for this opportunity.”

The honor is given to one dance group every two years. The lead dance group is responsible for leading the Grand Entrance and Grand Exit songs, during which every participating dance group dances across the stage to mark the beginning and end of Celebration. That requires the lead group to drum and sing for up to three hours straight during both processions.

Read the Press Release: https://sealaskaheritage.org/shi-trustees-name-lead-dance-group-for-celebration-2026/

This week is the last chance to see the Sealaska Heritage Institute’s Juried Youth Art Exhibit and the Art Lab Showcase!

The Juried Youth Art Exhibit includes 12 objects made by eight middle and high school students from Anchorage, Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka, Yakutat and Mesa, AZ.

The Art Lab Showcase features a small sample of work by students and instructors at Atnané Hít. SHI has hosted open wood labs since 2017 and metal labs since 2023, and will launch weaving and skin sewing labs in the fall of 2024

Come visit the exhibit and showcase at the Juneau Arts & Humanities Council (JAHC).

We are heartbroken to share that Tlingit clan leader, traditional scholar, and gifted orator Kaax̱ḵaatuklag̱é Ken Grant has passed away.

Kaax̱ḵaatuklag̱é was Raven and the leader of the T’aḵdeintaan clan and from the G̱aanax̱áa Hít in Hoonah. He was the long-time chair of Sealaska Heritage’s Council of Traditional Scholars.

Time and again we turned to Kaax̱ḵaatuklag̱é to help lead ceremonies held by SHI and to bring balance as a Raven along with his Eagle counterpart. Time and again we turned to Kaax̱ḵaatuklag̱é to learn about our cultures and the Tlingit language because his knowledge was vast and he was always willing to teach us.

If not for Kaax̱ḵaatuklag̱é, we might not know the Tlingit word for “art.”

SHI receives guidance from its Council of Traditional Scholars, which includes Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian members. The meetings are conducted in Tlingit with simultaneous translations provided by SHI’s linguists. During one meeting, Kaax̱ḵaatuklag̱é uttered the word “atnané,” and a linguist asked him what that meant. “Art,” Ken replied.

“We were all astounded,” said Rosita Ḵaaháni Worl, SHI president and anthropologist. “We all thought we didn’t have a word for art. He said it referred to an iconic event between a spiritual being and an ancestor. When the iconic event is graphically displayed, it is called ‘art.’ When the art is put on a ceremonial object or regalia and a clan ceremoniously presents the object to clans of the opposite moiety and tells the story of the iconic or legendary event, the object is transformed into at.óow (a sacred object).”

When we built our Sealaska Heritage Arts Campus, we gave it the Tlingit name Atnané Hít.

As a member of our scholars’ council, Kaax̱ḵaatuklag̱é posed challenging questions. One of the council’s major responsibilities is to ensure SHI’s programs maintain cultural integrity. While our cultural values remain constant, the practices that embody these values may change. Adaptation has been one of our strengths, but Kaax̱ḵaatuklag̱é—in his kind and gentle way—often asked, “How much change can we accept before we are not Tlingit?”

Kaax̱ḵaatuklag̱é also helped pave the way for changes that benefit our children. For example, the council at one point made the decision that shamanic objects could not be exhibited, which was congruous with cultural protocols. When a group of students attended one of the scholars’ meetings, one asked, “How are we to learn about shamanism if we can’t see or study the objects?” The council deliberated on this question and ultimately developed a series of protocols under which shamanic objects could be safely exhibited.

Kaax̱ḵaatuklag̱é taught Tlingit to many learners in an effort to perpetuate the ancient Indigenous knowledge that is alive in the language. With his passing, we are down to six fluent Tlingit speakers, according to Dr. X̱’unei Lance Twitchell, professor of Alaska Native languages at the University of Alaska Southeast.

Kaax̱ḵaatuklag̱é lived in this modern world steeped in our ancient language and culture, and he was a generous teacher to us all. As we grieve the loss of Kaax̱ḵaatuklag̱é, the Sealaska Heritage Board of Trustees, staff, and members of the Council of Traditional Scholars extend their deepest condolences to the family and the T’aḵdeintaan clan. He will be greatly missed.

Photo of Ken Grant by Nobu Koch, SHI's language summit, 2018.

NWC Art Class at UAS: Woolen Weaving (UAS Community Robe)

The University of Alaska Southeast in partnership with Sealaska Heritage is offering in-person Northwest Coast Woolen Weaving. Students will be part of creating a UAS community-owned robe to worn by faculty, staff, and students of UAS during significant Native and non-native Juneau events. This course is designed for students with an intermediate-advanced level of Ravenstail Weaving. This class is taught by instructor Rae Mills.

Non-credit AKLA S003.
For credit INT. ART S386 or ADV ART S486.

When: June 26 - August 21
Register: Contact [email protected] or visit https://uas.alaska.edu/registrar/

Job Opportunity at the Bill Holm Center

Sealaska Heritage is excited to share that the Bill Holm Center at the University of Washington's Burke Museum is seeking a "Program Assistant" to support their Connections to Culture programming. This 70% FTE position works with the BHC Program Manager and coordinates with the Burke Museum's Heritage department.

Responsibilities include:
- Collaborating with Native and First Nations artists and researchers
- Facilitating and scheduling access to the Burke Museum’s Northwest Native collections
- Assisting in the preparation, implementation, and facilitation of Bill Holm Center grant programming
- Supporting applicants through the Bill Holm Center grant application process
- Developing and coordinating social media and in-person promotional efforts
- Traveling with BHC Program staff to local communities and cultural centers to promote grant opportunities and support community events

Applications close on 6/27!

For the complete job description and to apply, visit UW Hires: https://theburke.info/jobs/235489

Questions? Email [email protected]

🎉WE'RE HIRING!🎉
We are pleased to announce that the Bill Holm Center is currently seeking a Program Assistant to support in all planning and implementation of our Connections to Culture programming.

Responsibilities include:
✨Working with Native and First Nations artists and researchers
✨Assisting with facilitation of and scheduling access to the Burke Museum’s Northwest Native collections
✨Assisting in the preparation, implementation, and facilitation of Bill Holm Center grant programming
✨Assisting applicants for Bill Holm Center grants through the application process
✨Developing and coordinating social network messaging, in-person promotion, and other means of advertising Bill Holm Center grant opportunities and events
✨Traveling with Bill Holm Center Program staff to communities and cultural centers in the local region to promote Bill Holm Center grant opportunities and/or to support community events

Applications close on 6/27! Complete job description and application can be found on UW Hires: https://theburke.info/jobs/235489

Questions? Email [email protected]!

Sealaska Heritage Institute would like to thank the many volunteers, moderators and friends who helped make Celebration 2024 a success.

A special thank you to the local businesses and organizations that granted administrative leave to their employees for Celebration volunteer shifts. This biennial Native festival would not be possible without the hundreds of people who donate their time, many of whom have participated in every Celebration since its inception in 1982. SHI staff worked hard for months to prepare for Celebration, however the success of this monumental event is attributed to the many community partners and individuals who did their part. We salute their dedication and generosity of spirit.

Celebration also would not be possible without our corporate and individual sponsors. Many thanks to Sealaska; Goldbelt, Inc.; City and Borough of Juneau; Alaska Airlines; Alaska Committee; Alaska State Commission for Human Rights; Coeur Alaska Kensington Mine; GCI; Northrim Bank, Member FDIC; Rasmuson Foundation; Royal Caribbean International; SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC); Travel Juneau; University of Alaska Southeast; Elgee Rehfeld, LLC; Native American Bank; Earthjustice; Juneau Chamber of Commerce ; Southeast Conference; Tlingit & Haida; Van Ness Feldman LLP; Juneau Arts and Humanities; Toni Mallott, in memory of Byron Mallott, Albert Kookesh and Clarence Jackson; Bob and Rita Moore; Rick Harris and Pat Tynan; Suzi Jones; Rachel Tobin; Lee Wallace and Teresa Schimanski. We also thank the individuals and businesses that purchased ads in our print program.

Participants may also make contributions during the event in memory of departed loved ones. We would like to thank the following memorial donors: Mona Swanson, in memory of Kenney Swanson and Vivian Lewis; Samantha and Ivan Ramey, in memory of Mason Joseph Ramey; Alberta Shields, in memory of Toreen Shields; Karen Kane, in memory of Irene Jimmy (Kiks.ádi); Deacon Charles and Paula Rohrbacher, in memory of Dick and Nora Dauenhauer, Irene Cadiente and Father Michael Oleksa; Veronica and kids, in memory of Isabel and Paul Chulik’ and Stanley Wesley, in memory of Amoretta Wesley. Anonymous donors made contributions in memory of John Duncan Sr., Ralph Knudson Jr., Timothy Lindoff, and Amy Nelson.

We also thank the following for their contributions: Dance Group participants, Juried Art Show participants, Juried Youth Art Exhibit participants, Native artist vendors, food contest entrants, Juried Film Festival participants, judges for our competitions, children in the Toddler Regalia Review and their families, Native Youth Olympics athletes, storytellers, Gold Town Theater, lead dance group , and personnel at Centennial Hall and Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall.

We also thank and for organizing and sponsoring the Everyday Indigenous Fashion Show.

We appreciate the extensive coverage by news outlets, particularly the Juneau Empire, KTOO and KINY, and the hard work of the excellent crew at KTOO 360TV, which ran our live broadcast of Celebration. We also thank the community of Juneau for supporting Celebration and for being so welcoming to participants.

We especially want to recognize , which has supported Celebration since its inception more than 40 years ago.

Thanks for helping make Celebration 2024 one of the best yet!

—SHI President Rosita Ḵaaháni Worl, Ph.D., on behalf of Sealaska Heritage trustees and staff

ANCHORAGE: A Magical Weekend with Baby Raven Reads!

This past weekend, Baby Raven Reads program celebrated literacy and cultural enrichment at the Cook Inlet Head Start's family holiday event in Anchorage. It was a day filled with joy, learning, and community spirit!

Our activities weren't just fun; they were educational too! From coloring in formline ornaments to engaging in fine motor skill activities, we provided tools to support children's developmental journey towards writing. We even gave away hundreds of books, spreading the joy of reading to young learners.

The event was a true cultural celebration with delicious reindeer stew, dog sledding, heartwarming pictures with Santa, Yupik dancers, hands-on ornament making, and cookie decorating.

We are incredibly proud to have been part of this wonderful event and to have shared the Baby Raven Reads experience with so many families. A big thank you to everyone who joined us and made this event a huge success!