opposite - sealaska heritage

OPPOSITE: Graphics of core cultural values by Robert Davis Hoffmann.

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DURING OUR 10,000 YEARS or more of occupation of Southeast Alaska, the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian people developed cultural traditions that have been modified by rapid culture change that began in 1867 after the Treaty of Cession between the United States and Russia. Our ancient values allowed our People to adapt to the changes and to survive as a distinct cultural group. Today, we are also seeking to integrate our cultural values into the institutions that directly serve our People. The values in Tlingit are:

Haa Aaní: Our Land (Haida: Íitl’ Tlagáa; Tsimshian: Na • Yuubm)Haa Latseen: Our Strength (Haida: Íitl’ Dagwiigáay; • Tsimshian: Na Yugyetga’nm)Haa Shagóon: Past, Present, and Future Generations • (Haida: Íitl’ Kuníisii; Tsimshian: Na Hlagigyadm)Wooch Ya• x: Balance (Haida: Gu dlúu; Tsimshian: Ama Mackshm)

At Sealaska Heritage Institute, these values help to define our path, guide us along the way, and develop programs to perpetuate the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures.

—Rosita Worl, Yeidiklas’okw, Kaa haní President

Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian Kusteeyí The Real People’s Way of Being

SHI President Dr. Rosita Worl.

Copyright © 2010 Sealaska Heritage InstituteAll rights reserved.

SEALASKA HERITAGE INSTITUTEOne Sealaska Plaza, Suite 301Juneau, Alaska 99801907.463.4844www.sealaskaheritage.org

ISBN 978-0-9825786-3-6

Cover: Haa Shagóon by Robert Davis Hoffmann, Xaashuch’eet, Tlingit of the Tsaagweidí clan, Xaay Hít.

Design and composition by Kathy Dye. Tlingit words edited by Linda Belarde. Haida words edited by Dr. Jordan Lachler. Tsimshian words edited by Donna May Roberts.

PHOTO CREDITS All photos made by Kathy Dye except the following: Rosita Worl by David Sheakley, page iii; Celebration Grand Entrance and children in regalia by Brian Wallace, page 2; dancer in mask by Bill Hess, page 2; toddler in regalia by Brian Wallace, page 3; Tlingit regalia with military uniforms by Frank La Roche from Sealaska Heritage Institute collections, page 20; “Jan-clet-jah” by Case and Draper from Sealaska Heritage Institute collec-tions, page 20; Auk village by William Partridge from Sealaska Heritage Institute collections, page 20; ANB/ANS representatives by Brian Wallace from Sealaska Heritage Institute collections, page 21; photos of illustra-tions and books by Zachary Jones, page 22; photo of painting by Zachary Jones, page 23; students holding model clan houses and students looking to the right by Sarah Dybdahl, page 26; Byron Mallott by Dixie Hutchin-son, page 29; Juried Art Show by Brian Wallace, page 30; cedar tree by James Poulson, page 35; Southeast Alaska by Todd Antioquia, page 36; John Marks by Richard Dauenhauer, page 48.

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Contents

Donors 38Financials 46Staff, Board of Trustees, Council of Traditional Scholars 49

Wooch Yax: Balance Social and Spiritual Balance 7

Haa Shagóon: Past, Present and Future Generations Honoring our Ancestors and Future Generations 15

Haa Latseen: Our Strength Strength of Body, Mind, and Spirit 25

Haa Aaní: Our Land Honoring & Utilizing our Land 33

About Sealaska Heritage Institute 1About Sealaska Corporation 5

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Sealaska Heritage Institute Who We AreSEALASKA HERITAGE INSTITUTE (SHI) is a regional Native nonprofit organization founded for the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian people of Southeast Alaska. SHI was established in 1980 by Sealaska Corporation, a for-profit company formed under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). SHI, formerly Sealaska Heritage Foundation, ad-ministers Sealaska’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’aanáaw) 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…Yes. You have unwrapped it for us. That is why we will open again this container of wisdom left in our care.” These wise traditional leaders told the new leaders that their hands were growing weary of holding onto the meta-phorical 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. During its first decade of operation, under the leader-ship of David Katzeek, SHI began to administer its scholar-ship program from funds set aside by Sealaska Corporation for this purpose. The second major focus at that time was the documentation of oral traditions, a project led by Tlingit scholar Dr. Nora Marks Dauenhauer and her husband, Dr. Richard Dauenhauer. Over nearly a twenty-year period, these efforts led to several major publications by the institute of the Dauenhauers’ work, including: Because We

SEALASKA HERITAGE INSTITUTE: WHO WE ARE 1

OPPOSITE: A sampling of books on Native languages, cultures, and history published by the institute over the years.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Grand Entrance at Celebra-tion 2008 in Juneau, Alaska; Children dressed in regalia; Children smile at a dancer wearing Eagle Transformation Mask at Celebration 2006.

2 SEALASKA HERITAGE INSTITUTE

Sealaska Heritage Institute sponsors a Toddler Regalia Review during its biennial Celebration, a dance-and-culture festival held every even year in Juneau. Since its inception in 1982, Celebration has grown into one of the largest events in the state.

Cherish You…Sealaska Elders Speak to the Future (1981); Haa Shuká, Our Ancestors, Tlingit Oral Narratives, Vol. I, (1987); Haa Tuwunáagu Yís, for Healing our Spirit: Tlingit Oratory, Vol. 2 (1990); Haa Kusteeyí, Our Culture: Tlingit Life Stories, Vol. 3 (1994); the third edition of Beginning Tlingit (1991); and Aan Aduspelled X’úx’, Tlingit Spelling Book (1999). A number of these publications were co-published by the institute and University of Washington Press. During this period, the institute also created Naa Kahídi Theater, which won national acclaim for its dramatic presentation of Native legends. Soon after SHI was founded, the institute sponsored the first United Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian traditional Celebration, held in Juneau. Celebration 1982 was so popular that our Board of Trustees decided the festival should become a biennial event. New dance groups began to form in response to Celebration, and every other year, the festival grew. Today, nearly every community in South-east as well as Anchorage, the Seattle area, and Canada, are represented by roughly two-thousand dancers in more than fifty dance groups. During Celebration, workshops on various aspects of traditional culture and history also occur. Because SHI is the only major, region-wide organiza-tion dedicated to cultural preservation, its Board of Trust-ees has mandated that Celebration be dedicated solely to honoring our traditional culture. Today, Celebration is one of the largest events in the state. It’s broadcast live on statewide television and streamed live on the internet. In 1997, while continuing to honor the Institute’s mis-sion statement, “To perpetuate and enhance the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures,” the Trustees adopted lan-guage restoration as the foremost priority of the institute. Few funds were available initially for this objective, but the institute launched an aggressive effort to implement federal initiatives and increase funding to support language resto-ration. Today, SHI sponsors and supports numerous lan-guage and culture programs across Southeast Alaska. The institute also sponsors archival projects, historical research, and new publications.

SEALASKA HERITAGE INSTITUTE: WHO WE ARE 3

SEALASKA CORPORATION: FOUNDING SPONSOR OF SHI 5

SEALASKA CORPORATION is a for-profit, regional Native corporation founded under the Alaska Native Claims Settle-ment Act (ANCSA) of 1971. Sealaska is the founding sponsor of Sealaska Heritage Institute, a Native nonprofit formed to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures. Sealaska Corporation established Sealaska Heritage Institute in 1980 to operate its educational and cultural programs. Sealaska is owned by more than 20,000 tribal member shareholders and guided by traditions of environmental stewardship and positively impacting our communities. Sealaska shareholders are legendary traders who are deeply connected to the lands and have successfully adapted to constantly changing environments and global economies. They bring together the wisdom and foresight of their combined heritage to create an enduring corpora-tion that provides business opportunities, benefits, and cultural strength for the people. Today Sealaska is the largest private landowner and the largest for-profit private employer in Southeast Alaska. It is a diverse company with investments in forest prod-ucts, construction aggregates, machining and fabrication, environmental remediation, information technology, plas-tics injection molding and manufacturing, global logistics, wood products, and financial markets. Its status as a Minority Business Enterprise and Small Disadvantaged Business adds to their strength as a govern-ment contractor and commercial diversity supplier.

OPPOSITE: Sealaska Plaza. The headquarters of Sealaska Corporation is in Juneau, Alaska.

Sealaska Corporation Founding Sponsor of SHI


Wooch Yax: Balance

WOOCH YAX: BALANCE 7

WOOCH YAX MUST BE MAINTAINED to ensure social and spiritual harmony lest ill will goes wandering and causes harm.

Wooch Yax governs:

Interrelationships between Eagle and Raven clans •

Interrelationships between the Tlingit and others, in-• cluding tribes, nations, and institutions

Wooch Yax includes Kaa yaa awuné or Respect for Others and Át yaa awuné or Respect for All Things.

Wooch Yax requires that our People and our organizations conduct business with Yán gaa doonéekw or “Dignity”—realizing that everything has its rightful place and that all action and business must be done with integrity.

OPPOSITE: Wooch Yax graphic by Robert Davis Hoffmann.

Social & Spiritual Balance


SHI uses a technique called the Developmental Language Process to instill academic terms and Native language into students’ long-term memory. The process incorporates games to make learning fun. It was field tested in 2009 at the institute’s annual Latseen Leadership Camp.


Bringing Balance to Education

Haida instructor Ben Young checks on a student during a test. The students on average received high scores on the tests. Haida language students on average scored ninety-four percent.

MANY NATIVE STUDENTS IN ALASKA gradu-ate from high school and go on to have suc-cessful careers. However, Native students struggle with mandated tests and drop out of high school at higher rates than non-Native students. At Sealaska Heritage Institute, we believe we know some of the reasons why, and in 2009, we published a major series of instruc-tional materials that will help.

The Developmental Language Process In 2009, the institute field-tested a teach-ing program called the Developmental Lan-guage Process. The institute in 2009 outlined the process in a series of books, which were field tested at SHI’s annual Latseen Leadership Camp for high school students. The books cover science, literature, and math for high school, plus Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian languages for all grades. The program is based on the premise that students struggle in school—not because they don’t understand the concepts—but because they don’t remember the words used to describe the concepts. The words are not going into long-term memory. This philosophy was pioneered by SHI Education Direc-tor Jim MacDiarmid, author of the book Replacing Thing-a-ma-jig—The Developmental Language Process. MacDiarmid recalls an incident that happened in Alaska in 1990 that illustrates the problem. “High school kids in grade eleven were asked to circle the congruent shapes on a test. Ninety-eight percent of kids


The institute’s developmental language series released in 2009 includes exer-cises for science, literature, and math (high school), and Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian languages (all grades). The language materials include CDs with audio of Native words and phrases.


In this exercise, images representing Native words or academic terms are taped to a wall. The teacher says a word, and the student uses a flash-light to identify the image associated with the word. Often, two students compete to identify the image first.

did not answer it correctly,” MacDiarmid said. “The teacher said ‘I don’t understand it. It’s a simple concept.’ Had the teacher said ‘Circle the shapes that are exactly the same,’ they would have got it right. It was not a math problem. It was a language problem. They could not retrieve the mean-ing of the word congruent.” The problem is, education today is predominantly abstract—a new word is introduced, the teacher will write it on the wall, tell kids what it means, then they’re into reading and writing. “Today’s education for the most part goes from abstract to abstract,” he said.

Using Games to Instill Words into Long-Term Memory The institute’s book series includes instructions on how to make sure students remember academic terms. It relies heavily on games and other fun exercises to engage the students. The process outlined in the books begins with listen-ing—a teacher says a word and shows an image associated with the word. Eventually, the students recite an academic term when the teacher points to an image. The abstract phases—reading and writing—are the last elements woven into the process. Staff evaluated students at its 2009 Latseen Leadership Camp and students’ test scores were phenomenal. The average score for Haida language students was ninety-four percent, and the average for Tlingit language students was eighty-nine percent, said MacDiarmid, noting the same suc-cess rates applied to science and literature students. “Too bad school’s not really like this,” said student Cody Allphin. “If it was, I think more people would be passing. It’s easier to learn.” “Kids are having fun while they’re learning,” said Haida teacher Ben Young. “I think that’s why it’s so effective.” The series is available through Sealaska Heritage Insti-tute and at www.sealaskaheritage.org.

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Joe and T.J. Young begin work on the totem at the UAS campus; T.J. Young using an adze; Joe Young. The artists are Sealaska shareholders who have carved other totems, including a forty-foot pole for the Sitka National Historical Park and a thirty-two foot crest pole for the Hydaburg Totem Park.


Bringing Balance to Campus SOUTHEAST NATIVE CULTURES are founded on balance. For example, Tlingit people are divided into two moieties: Raven and Eagle. One brings balance to the other. Tradi-tionally, a person of Raven moiety was expected to marry someone of the Eagle moiety, thus ensuring balance and harmony. In the 1990s, a Raven totem pole was raised at the University of Alaska Southeast campus in Juneau. It was a beautiful pole, but there was a problem—the Raven was missing an Eagle. “We have to have both an Eagle and Raven pole to have social and spiritual balance,” said SHI President Rosita Worl. In 2009, the institute managed a project to carve an Eagle pole for the campus. Sealaska Corporation donated a forty-five foot, red-cedar log, and a selection commit-tee comprised of SHI and university representatives chose brothers Joe and T.J. Young of Hydaburg to carve a thirty-six foot totem. Elders of the Aak’w Kwáan met with Wooch.éen, a Native student club on campus, to identify the Eagle clan crests to be featured on the totem. They wanted to give special recognition to the Wooshkeetaan, an Eagle clan from the Juneau area. The pole features Eagle to represent all Eagle clans plus Shark, Wolf, and Thunderbird, with Shark representing the Wooshkeetaan. “But it’s more than just a Shark, it’s an anthropomorphic figure signifying the students who are attending the univer-sity,” said Worl. The pole will be raised on campus in 2010. “It’s really nice to get an all-Eagle totem pole to comple-ment the existing all-Raven totem pole,” said Aak’w Kwáan Elder Marie Olson. “The Raven is going to be happy.”

Model of theEagle totem.

Haa Shagóon: Past, Present & Future Generations

HAA SHAGÓON: PAST, PRESENT, & FUTURE GENERATIONS 15

Honoring Our Ancestors & Future Generations

WE MAINTAIN STRONG BONDS with our ancestors whom we honor through our lives and in our ceremonies.

We also have responsibilities to our future generations, and we must ensure that we protect our land and culture for our children and grandchildren and those who will follow them.

OPPOSITE: Haa Shagóon graphic by Robert Davis Hoffmann.


The institute’s fourteen-book Haida curriculum series was released in 2009 and distributed to public schools. It is available at www.sealaskaheritage.org.


Revitalizing the Languages of our Ancestors for Future Generations

SHI’s new dictionaries are sched-uled for release in 2010.

ONE OF THE TOP PRIORITIES of Sealaska Heritage Insti-tute is the documentation and revitalization of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian languages. Since the institute began focusing on Native languages in the 1990s, some of its early language students have gone on to teach Native languages in public schools across Southeast Alaska, and many com-munities now have their own language programs.

We Document Native Languages In 2009, the institute continued a multi-year effort to document Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian and to compile the most comprehensive dictionaries of the languages ever published. The dictionaries will be available in paperback books, on CD-ROM, and on the Internet. The online and CD-ROM versions will include audio of fluent speakers saying words and phrases. All versions feature English to Native language sections and Native language to English sections. Many fluent Elders contributed to the dictionaries, which are scheduled for release in 2010. The institute in 2009 also continued an ongoing effort to videotape casual conversations in Tlingit. The oral histories project documents fluent speaker Clarence Jackson inter-viewing other fluent Elders in Tlingit.

We Create Tools for Language Students Through our documentation efforts, the institute cre-ates tools to teach Native languages. In 2009, SHI released a major curriculum series for the Haida language in hopes of weaving more Native lessons into the public school system. The curriculum is a series of elementary-level, thematic units featuring the Haida language, culture, and history. It includes fourteen units and resources on topics such as


Latseen Basketball Camp in Juneau. CLOCK-WISE FROM TOP LEFT: Coach Ralph Wolfe guides a student; A student uses a remote car to drive to an image that depicts a Tlingit word spoken by the teacher; Tlingit teacher Jessica Chester says a Tlingit word and points to an image that represents the word.


beach, cedar, sea mammals, and salmon. It includes CDs with Haida audio. The series was distributed to public schools that offer language programs and posted on the institute’s website for download by teachers. The Haida audio also may be played on the Internet. SHI also regularly creates online, interactive language tools. In 2009, the institute posted an interactive tool that teaches Tlingit words for basketball terms.

We Teach Native Languages Our approach to teaching Native languages is simple: we make it fun! One way we do this is by integrating Na-tive words into basketball—a popular sport in Alaska. In 2009, SHI sponsored its third annual Latseen Basketball Camp for kids in Juneau, Yakutat, and Kake. Almost one hundred kids attended. Staff assessed students to determine how much their language skills improved during the camps and found on average students improved by fifty-seven percent. “It’s fun,” said student Isaiah James John. “They have lots of drills, and you learn Tlingit.”

We Teach Others to Document and Teach Languages The institute sponsored the following language work-shops in 2009:

Language documentation and videography• Language workshop in Ketchikan• Heritage language development workshop•

This online, interactive language tool teaches kids how to say basketball terms in Tlingit. SHI’s interactive language tools are available at www.sealaskaheritage.org in the language resources section.


Richard Wood Collection. TOP: This photo depicting Tlingit regalia and military uni-forms is inscribed “Interior of Capt. Jakes house, Killisnoo”. By Frank La Roche, circa 1900; RIGHT: Inscribed “Jan-clet-jah, a Yakutat Native”. By Case and Draper, circa 1900 ABOVE: Auk village with houses and canoes. By William Partridge, 1886.


Caring for our Past for Future GenerationsTHE INSTITUTE OPERATES a Special Collections Research Center which houses more than 5,000 publications, approx-imately 35,000 photographic images, roughly 1,000 cultural objects, nearly 3,500 audiovisual recordings, and more than 1,000 linear feet of manuscript material that document the history, culture, heritage, and language of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian people.

2009 Banner Year for Photographs In 2009, the institute’s photograph collection grew by more than 3,500 images, thanks largely in part to a dona-tion by photojournalist Brian Wallace of Juneau. The Wallace collection includes several hundred images of the Alaska Native Brotherhood (ANB) and Alaska Native Sisterhood (ANS) taken from 1965 to 1995. He made the donation in memory of his late parents, Dorothy (Natstklaa) and Amos L. (Jeet Yaaw Dustaa) Wallace. “Both my parents were lifetime members of the ANB and ANS respectively. They devoted most of their lives fight-ing for Alaska Native rights. By donating all the photos of the ANB and ANS to Sealaska Heritage Institute, I wish to honor their memory and accomplishments, as well as the other ANB/ANS Elders past and present,” Wallace said. SHI also acquired twenty historical images dating be-tween 1883 and 1941 from collector Richard Wood. One of the more unusual photos shows a display of Tlingit regalia and American military uniforms, which were adopted as crests by several clans for debts owed to the Tlingit by the United States Navy.

SHI Library, Collections Go Online In 2009, the institute posted a searchable catalog of its archival collections on the Internet, a major breakthrough

Brian Wallace Collection. From left: Percy Hope, Joanne Riley, Ole Olsen, and Ed Halverson. ANB/ANS Grand Camp Convention in Juneau, 1983.

In 2009, the institute acquired 750 additional books, including four rare books. Some of the books include drawings of Native life. The top photo caption reads “Chilcat (sic) woman sewing, with her babe leaning against the wall. From a drawing by Mrs. Willard.”


that will help researchers easily identify the types of materials the institute houses. The institute also began adding its book collection to the local library consor-tium’s searchable database, making it the only private library to do so. The projects are part of an effort to foster greater schol-arship on the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska, said SHI Archivist Zachary Jones. “There’s a lot of opportunity for study because some aspects are unstudied. There are a lot of dated studies that need to be revised, and it’s only by looking at these fresh sources that people can get the information to rewrite history,” Jones said. Before the archival catalog went online, people had to physically go to the insti-tute’s Special Collections Research Center in Juneau to peruse it. The change, funded by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, allows people to search and view the catalog online. The databases are available in “Collections” at www.sealaskaheritage.org. SHI also acquired four rare books in 2009—the oldest dating to 1798. Some of them were written and illustrated by tourists in the 1800s, when it was common for visitors to publish their travel accounts as books. Some of the books also include illustrations of Native life and old photos taken in Southeast Alaska.

Old Recordings Dubbed to CD In 2009, the institute dubbed to CD thirteen audio cas-settes of oral histories recorded by the late Tlingit leader Judson L. Brown. The project means the public now has access to the recordings, which comprise one of the insti-tute’s best oral history collections. SHI also acquired 1,750 additional audio recordings.

The late Tlingit leader Judson Brown, who was a Killer Whale from Haines. Painting by Herbert “Herb” Kawainui Kane.


Haa Latseen: Our Strength

HAA LATSEEN: OUR STRENGTH 25

Strength of Body, Mind, & Spirit

THE “WAY OF THE WARRIORS” PATH is to achieve physical and inner strength. Above all, young men and women are taught to protect and to care for their families and clans. They are taught to seek truth and knowledge and to adapt to changing times while maintaining the integrity of our ancient values.

OPPOSITE: Haa Latseen graphic by Robert Davis Hoffmann.

Students who attend the institute’s Latseen Leadership Camps learn about their heritage and history during the two-week program in Juneau. They also learn how to introduce themselves in the traditional way.


Strengthening our Future LeadersTHE INSTITUTE SUPPORTS higher educa-tion through its annual Latseen Leader-ship Camps and through annual scholar-ship awards. The Tlingit word Latseen translates to “strength” and refers to strength of body, mind, and spirit.

Camp Draws Forty Students The institute’s fifth annual camp drew forty high school students and Sealaska interns from across the region. The goal is to cultivate the art of leadership through camp activities and coursework which are based on tradi-tional and scientific knowledge. “This is for young people—to teach them the skills they will need as they assume leadership roles and to learn that leaders serve their communities. They learn who they are, their place in the Native community, and why it’s important to get a higher education,” said SHI President Rosita Worl. Students attend classes on topics such as Native lan-guages, oratory, Native art, and Native culture and history. They also participate in exercises such as butchering seals —a traditional food—and basketball games. “I can’t believe this opportunity—it’s so awesome,” said student Heather Biehl. “I feel closer to my culture.”

SHI Distributes $446,000 in Sealaska Scholarships The institute awarded approximately $446,000 in scholarships to Sealaska shareholders and descendants in 2009. The awards, funded by Sealaska Corporation, helped students pursuing graduate and undergraduate degrees and voc-tech training. A portion also helped fund heritage studies, language studies, and culture camps.

Every year, Latseen Leadership stu-dents learn how to prepare a seal, an important traditional food.


CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: in 2009, SHI supported a ku.éex at Glacier Valley Elementary School; The cast of Kóoshdaa kaa takes a final bow; A child participating in a ku.éex supported by the institute.


Strength in Knowing Who We AreTHE INSTITUTE SPONSORS programs to perpetuate Native art, to teach Native cultures in schools, and to educate the public about Native cultures.

SHI Supports a Ku.éex In 2009, the institute supported a ku.éex at Glacier Val-ley Elementary School in Juneau. The event is spearheaded by semi-fluent Tlingit language learner and teacher Hans Chester. The goal is to teach Native and non-Native stu-dents about formal ku.éex (a ceremony sometimes called a potlatch). Nearly ninety children participated, including students from Harborview Elementary.

SHI Sponsors Performing Arts SHI in 2009 sponsored a theater production of Kóosh-daa kaa, which was based on a Native story. The summer play was performed by young actors and produced in part-nership with Perseverance Theatre. Sealaska has commissioned and funded a play for the past five years through the Summer Theatre Arts Rendez-vous (STAR) program.

SHI Sponsors November Lecture Series SHI sponsored a lecture series in November for Native American Heritage Month. The series included lectures about Native cultures, languages, and history by nine people, including Tlingit leader Byron Mallott, authors Rich-ard and Nora Marks Dauenhauer, Haida linguist Dr. Jordan Lachler, historian Wally Olson, author Daniel Lee Henry, University of Alaska professor Jeane Breinig, and Ethel Lund and Selina Everson, who share a long history of public ser-vice with the Alaska Native Sisterhood.

Tlingit leader Byron Mallott giv-ing a lecture on the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) for the institute’s November lecture series sponsored in 2009.

Art exhibited at the institute’s most recent Juried Art Show in Juneau.


SHI Perpetuates Native Art The Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian people have a history of creating incredible works of art (called haa at.óowu in Tlingit). Their work rivals the best pieces found in any museum. One of the goals at Sealaska Heritage Institute is to perpetuate Native art forms and formline, and to ensure endangered art traditions are passed to future generations.

SHI in 2009 sponsored the following art work-shops:

Alaska Native Art by Donald Gregory• Formline Design by Steve Brown• Wood Carving for C.H.O.I.C.E. by Donald • Gregory

The institute also continued operation of Jinéit, a Native art store in Juneau that opened in 2008. Through Jinéit, the institute purchases Native art directly from the artists. In 2009, the institute continued to operate a Native art website at www.alaskanativeartists.com. The site was launched to give artists a virtual market for their work and to ensure customers were getting authentic Native art. All artists on the website are screened to ensure they are enrolled tribal members. Eighty percent of all proceeds go to the artists. The institute also sponsors a biennial Native Artist Mar-ket and a Juried Art Show and Competition during Celebra-tion, a dance-and-culture festival held every even year by Sealaska Heritage Institute. Celebration also encourages the production of hundreds of new regalia.

A student artist shows a paddle she made during an art class by Donald Gregory sponsored by Sealaska Heritage Institute.


Haa Aaní: Our Land

HAA AANÍ: OUR LAND 33

Honoring & Utilizing Our Land

OUR ANCESTORS, WHO HAVE LIVED in this land for more than 10,000 years, taught us that everything has a Spirit.

When we utilize our resources, we must acknowledge the Spirits of the Land, Sea, and Air and tell them the benefits that their use will bring to our People.

Our ancestors protected the ownership of our land for their children and grandchildren just as we must do for future generations.

OPPOSITE: Haa Aaní graphic by Robert Davis Hoffmann.


The institute’s Tlingit Wood Carving series was published in 2009 and is available through Sealaska Heritage Institute.

Trees on the Land

FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, NATIVE PEOPLE have utilized the trees in Southeast Alaska for canoes, houses, and cer-emonial objects. The forest provided the raw materials for clans’ at.óowu (sacred objects). When Westerns arrived, they denounced Native art as a manifestation of pagan religions and sought to suppress it. Today, there are only a few Native artists producing muse-um-quality carvings. “What I’m worried about is that this will be eventually lost, and then it will have to be picked up and reinterpret-ed,” said Tlingit artist Richard A. Beasley. “We don’t want to pass that hurdle on to our future generations.” In an effort to perpetuate the techniques that make Tlin-git art Tlingit, the institute in 2009 released Tlingit Wood Carving, a three-volume series written by Beasley. In the series, Beasley reveals how to make a Tlingit tray, hat, and mask from wood. He also shows how to make Tlingit paint and paintbrushes and how to inlay abalone and operculum into wood. The books are unique because the projects are broken down into detailed steps and each step includes a color photo. The institute published the books to help aspiring artists who don’t have access to teachers. “I think an aspiring artist is going to be able to take this book and go through the step-by-step process and pro-duce a good quality object,” said Worl, noting teachers also may use the series as a curriculum. “I haven’t seen any book out there that gives all the hints, the tricks, and the secrets that I know,” Beasley said. “And I’m willing to share them with everybody.” The project was funded through a grant from the Administration for Native Americans.


Southeast Alaska—the ancestral homeland of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian.

HAA AANÍ: OUR LAND 37

Native Claims to the Land

THE INSTITUTE SUPPORTS PROJECTS that study and pro-tect Native land and explore Native uses of the land and its resources.

SHI Sponsors Study of Native Land Claims Act In 1971, President Richard Nixon signed into law the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, the largest land claims settlement in United States history. The act, known as ANCSA, created twelve regional Na-tive corporations (a thirteenth was added later) and more than two-hundred local village corporations across the state. Almost one billion dollars was distributed to the corporations, which were authorized to select forty-four million acres of land. The settlement was revolutionary and a complete departure from Lower 48 Native land settlements, which established reservations. In 2009, the institute launched a study to evaluate whether the ANCSA corporate model was successful in inte-grating cultural values into modern corporations. “Have we been successful in terms of implementing this new model that both Native people and Congress wanted?” queried SHI President Rosita Worl. Worl, an anthropologist, and Dr. Tom Thornton conduct-ed numerous interviews in 2009 with Native people who helped to secure the land claims settlement.

Two Researchers Partake in SHI’s Visiting Scholars Program The institute in 2009 sponsored visiting scholar Daniel Strong, who conducted research on subsistence activities on the land. SHI also sponsored visiting scholar Swapna Mukhopadhyay, who conducted research on woven basket-ry and was particularly intrigued by the mathematical skills required to weave Native baskets.

FROM TOP: Harvey B. Marvin, Marlene Johnson, Clarence Jackson and other Native people in 2009 consented to interviews about the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971.

38 SEALASKA HERITAGE INSTITUTE38

Alaska Humanities ForumAlaska USA FoundationAmerican SeafoodsAssociation of American Indian AffairsBoyer Towing, Inc.British Petroleum (BP)City and Borough of JuneauColumbia Helicopters, Inc.Eagle Capital ManagementElgee Rehfeld Mertz

Major—$500 and up (Corporations and Government)

Major—$500 and up (Individuals)

First Alaskans InstituteInstitute of Museum and Library ServicesJuneau Arts and Humani- ties CouncilManaged Business Solu- tions (MBS)U.S. Department of the In- terior (NAGPRA)National Science Founda- tion

Native Rural Student Cen- ter SupportRasmuson FoundationUniversity of Alaska South- eastU.S. Department of Educa- tion (ANEP)Wings of Alaska

Amy GulickAmanda MallottAnthony MallottCarla KleefeldCarolyn KleefeldCharles W. Smythe

Christopher W. GulickDawn DinwoodieLee KadingerMindy TeolisPat Tynan Paul Edwards

Richard HarrisRod WorlRosita WorlSam LandolSimon Teolis

DONORS 39 39

Donors

Abby MoralesAdrianne DavisAgnes JohnsonAileen CurtisAlanna WoodAlbert FrankAlbert KookeshAlbert WilsonAlbert AmesAlbert EmeryAlexandria BowenAlice BugniAlonzo AuslerAmanda SchlechtAmber BlatchfordAmelia GageAndra CrippenAndrew BeierlyAndrew DaughertyAndrew PetersAndrew TotlandAnna M. VolturaAnne ClarkAnnette ThompsonAnthony LindoffAntoinette Mallott

Antone AraujoApril HackneyArlene FloresArlene TrippArnold WalkerAshlyn EagleAstelle AukerAudrey MearsAugusta WeisnerBarbara ChittendenBarbara ChurchillBarbara LamanBarbara LewisBarbara NelsonBecky AdamsBenjamin SchultzBeth KetahBetty AllenBetty MurphyBetty SkartvedtBeverly KerrBeverly StearnsBeverly WithrowBilly BackfordBradley FluetschBranden Rickard

Friends—up to $500 (Corporations and Organizations)

Friends—up to $500 (Individuals)Brandon DerenoffBrian AckermanBrian StanleyBrooke StewartBruce JonesBruce WardBuck AckermanByron MallottCallen RichertCandida FanshawCarl MukpikCarlene NewmanCarmel WalderCarol BorchersCarol MartinezCaroline BashonCaron ClayCathleen NeversCharlene DundasCharles GordonCharles PeeleCharles RenvilleCharlie CarleCheri MoyCheri ThomasCheryl Anderson

Juneau Electric Juneau Lions Club


Dori LynnDoris BergeronDoris StevensDorothy GrantDuane WeedmanDwayne LeeEarl ThompsonEdna BoothEdna HenryEdna PetersEdward BrakesEdward Davis Edward HambletEdward Kahle Edward MelhartEdward MercadoEdwin JensenEileen BaustianEinar HaasethElaine FrankElena WiseElizabeth CheneyElizabeth CookElla TiedemannEllen ClarkEllen GeorgeEllen GreigErika Mc ConkeyErin ConleyErnest KarrasErnest MillsErwin Anselm

Cheryl BlanchardCheryl MellickCheryle EnloeChloe FrenchChris Mc NeilChristien BoydChristine BeanChristopher BazChristopher CropleyChristopher SargentClaire HensonClara GarciaClarence JacksonClaudette CurtisConner DavisConnie LambertConstance PaddockCorinne GurneyCorrine GarzaCourtney FleekCraig MerrillCynthia IhdeCynthia KitoD. LeaskDaniel KingDaniel LittleDaniel PlummerDaniel WalterDaniel WilliamsDanny JorgensenDarin BainesDarlene Brevick

Darlene SouveDarold PetersDarrel VerneyDarrell MontaDavid ChurchillDavid GoadeDavid GrantDavid LawrenceDavid LeaskDavid OehlerDavid WeathersDawn YoungDayna Carlson-ArnoldDeborah Mc LaveyDeborah WhiteDeborah WilliamsDebra BolanosDeena LaRueDella CoburnDelores ArmijoDelores ChurchillDerek DuncanDesmona StevickDevyn HowardDiane KyttaDiane MillerDonald BremnerDonald KasbohmDonald SmithDonna KnightDonna MartinsenDora Jacobson

DONORS 41

Donors

Esther BinghamEsther ManshipEthan NickolaiEthel LundEugene WilliamsEunice James LeeEva BradleyEvelyn CarterEvelyn HatmakerFlorence MooreFlorence ReynoldsFloyd BlueFloyd FulmerFrances CummingsFrancine LloydFrancis MaagFranklin WilliamsFrederick BennettFredrick GardnerGail CheneyGarrett WaltersGary AustinGene CraigGenevieve SchmidtGeorge BennettGeorge Elmore George EsquiroGeorge ObertGeorge M. ObertGeorge SumnerGerald SloverGerald Weston

Geri LindemannGilbert BradleyGloria KeeneGloria MiddletonGonzalo PelayoGus NelsonGwendolyn HallHarlan JohnsonHarris MukpikHarris SkillieHarry SamatoHeather PeeleHelen RodriguezHelene SimpsonHenrietta HoytHilary MartinHilmer JohnsonHope FarmerIlya Mc VeyIrene ScriverIrene SheaJack LyonsJacqueline JohnsonJacqueline KookeshJade AraujoJaeleen AraujoJaime ProvencioJames BolimaJames BremnerJames CharlesJames MasonJames Matthews

James PriceJames WaltonJanet BurnettJanet LincolnJanet SumeyJanice Del Prado Janice Heaton SheufeltJanice WeiserJasmine Bayou-YoungJason BigelowJason MorganJason PrattJean GamacheJeane BreinigJeanne BerrettaJeannette B. NewlandJeannette RomeroJeffery JohnsJeffrey DavisJeffrey MoranJeffrey MorrisJenafer DelaneyJennifer MerrillJeremy TutiakoffJerome DuruzJim MacDiarmidJoan DaileyJoan MasonJoanne TriggsJoanne WestJoaqlin EstusJoe Nelson


Laura WilliamsLaurel BrouilletteLaurie MillerLavina GuyLawrence JorgensenLeah JanisieskiLeanndra BergeronLee SpearsLeonard BariquitLeonard NielsenLeonard WalkerLeroy DemmertLewis ZastrowLiana CharleyLillian ArnettLillian WorlLinda BarenieLinda MillerLinda MinarcinLinda QuallsLinda SchrackLinda ThomassenLinda WynneLisa BauscheltLisa CookLisa DundasLisa GeorgeLois ThadeiLola FossLonnie DemmertLorene TaylorLoretta Ness

Johanna MitchellJohn BirdJohn BrainardJohn DexterJohn GilbertJohn GubatayaoJohn MasonJohn Mc VicarJohn PhippsJon DuncanJonathan WeaverJorge PachecoJoseph DrellishakJoseph EmeryJoseph LondonJoseph OrazioJoseph RossJoseph WilliamsJosephine PattersonJosere CarrilloJuanita FullerJudith AndristJudith DriverJudson KokotovichJudy HaffnerJudy TabafundaJulianne TumulakJulie Strickler-ThorntonJune MayKaren CaindecKaren FrarieKaren Giroux

Karen KropfKarissa DemmertKarl DemmertKarla Olsen SmithKatherine McallisterKathleen SmithKathleen WardenKathleen WhiteheadKathryn HoytKathy DyeKay SimmonsKeely LinnKellie GoodwinKelly GreeneKelly MartinKenneth HoytKevin LambertKevin PattersonKevin ThompsonKim SeierupKimberly MacloudKimberly Mc CallKimen MetzgerKimi BoalKirsten DeichertKlae HowardKristina LeslieKurtis StuckeyKyle KahklenLarry DavisLaura DangelLaura Hampton

DONORS 43

Donors

Lori StedmanLorie PruettLorraine DoucetteLorraine JacksonLou HillmanLouaina DewaltLouis PolsonLouise ClarkLouise KadingerLucinda LeaskLyle HughesLyle StackMadeline BrainardMarcella BartonMarcella ChewMargaret BellMargaret NelsonMargie WeybrightMarie NielsenMarie OlsonMarilyn HarrisMarilyn WilsonMario Mc EachernMarisa ViloriaMarita HeckenkampMarjorie StaubMark KaedingMarlene JohnsonMarsha HotchMarta RymanMartha HowardMartha James

Mary GrantMary JamesMary JanssenMary Mc ConkeyMary MerrillMary NelsonMary PaulsonMary RatliffMary RussellMatthew CookMatthew PattersonMatthew WilliamsMavis ShawMaxine MooreMaxine RichertMaya AraujoMegan GregoryMelisa CastanedaMelissa Lamebull-IngramMeribeth TraynorMerle BajemaMicalyne CoronellMichael GoodellMichael HamannMichael HoytMichael Mc ClureMichael MindenMichael O ConnellMichael RandallMichael RobertsMichael TillmanMichaele Tavares

Michele KitoMichelle PytelMildred CristobalMilton De AsisMinnie KapotakMolly AmesMorgan HowardMoses NixMyra KahleNancy BarnesNatalia CarlsonNick NixNina EstesNorma CopelandNorval NelsonOlga NorrisOlga SimpsonPacita GilbertPamela SchlechtPatricia AlexanderPatrick CranePatrick GillenPatrick HamiltonPatrick MarvinPaul DybdahlPaul WilsonPaula CaspersonPearl VermeulenPeggy Ackerman-SedivyPenny GagePeter BayouPeter Galaktinoff


Sarah LampeSasha ForsythScott NelsonShana SellersSharon ArriolaSharon KnoppSharon ZurfluhShawn HullSheila FluetschSheila StankerSheryl HaaseShirley GrayShirley MulvihillSidney EdenshawStacey WilsonStephen SmeltzerSteven DemmertSteven LangdonSteven Mc ClureSteven MortaSue CollisSunny ShenderSusan AndrianoffSusan FollettiSven AhlenSylvia AhlalookSylvia DaltonSylvia LangeSymsi ManuelTahnee KillsCrowTamara EastonTamara Haynes

Peter JensenPeter KinsmanPriscilla SteeleRafael SotoRaino HillRamona JohnsonRandall JohansonRaymond PerrualtRaymond PrattReba DundasRebecca KnightRebecca SimpsonReggie GleasonRegina Tordillos StoneReginald MarvinReginald PetersonRenee KellyRicardo WorlRichard KilmerRichard Mc LeodRichard MillerRichard MorrisonRichard PetersonRichard PotolicchioRichard RoseRichard WilkinRita GageRoan HowardRob HoytRobert AllenRobert BeerRobert Howery

Robert LampeRobert LindseyRobert MartinRobert Mc CulloughRobert WaltersRobert WhitenerRobert ShearerRobert WysockiRoberta CantrellRoberta GulledgeRoberta JohnsonRobin GageRobin GallagherRobin WaldronRonald AngusRonald BartlettRoselyn FayRoyce MattsonRuby LanhamRuth BeymerRuth MaslowskiRuth Mc KinnieRy WalkerRyan OlsonSabrina ZupanSally KookeshSandra KuhnauSandra SamaniegoSandra StevensSantiago TordillosSara StarkweatherSarah Dybdahl

DONORS 45

Donors

Tamera ChavarriaTammy PritchettTara LucasTeahonna JamesTeresa DeanTeresa De WittTeresa PasTeresa TimoTerrance LittlefieldTerrance OzanichTerry DavenportTerry GesulgaTheodore DemmertTheodore MukpikThomas CraneThomas GillenThomas HarrisThomas SeeThomas WilliamsTimothy BrownTimothy StarrTimothy VeraTina WrightTodd AntioquiaTommy BurnsTravis BolandVal LuckhurstValeriana PickeringValerie KlineValerie LekanoffValrie Mc KinnonVern Luckhurst

Vernon PointVernon ThomasVero BeattieVictoria Canul-DunneVincent RinehartViolet MillerVirginia Gillen/allenWallace MarvinWalter JackWalter RudWalter SoboleffWard WardWendellyn SkaflestadWendy GlidmannWesley DaltonWilbur JamesWilliam HansenWilliam LittlefieldWilliam SewardWilliam ThomasWilliam UsryWilliam WaltonWilliam WilsonYolanda DellYvonne AckertZina Ballard


Summary Financial Statement—Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2009 (compiled from audited report)

Revenues, Gains and Other Support Contributions and Grants Sales, Dues and Fees Total Investment Income/(Loss) Net assets released from restriction

Total Revenues and Gains

Expenses/Restriction Releases Program Services Support Services Management and General Resource Development

Total Expenses/Related

Increase in Net Assets

Net Assets, December 31, 2008 Endowments Other Net Assets

Total Net Assets, December 31, 2008

Net Assets, December 31, 2009 Endowments Other Net Assets

Total Net Assets, December 31, 2009

Unrestricted

2,915,408110,863

10,85639,651

3,076,778

1,676,329

1,137,550140,604

2,954,483

122,295

1,747,471

1,747,471

1,869,766

1,869,766

Temporarilyrestricted

182,388

823(39,651)

143,560

-

143,560

86,764

86,764

47,662182,662

230,324

FINANCIALS 47

Financials

Permanentlyrestricted

-

-

-

100,00091,000

191,000

100,00091,000

191,000

Total

3,097,796110,863

11,679-

3,220,338

1,676,329-

1,137,550140,604

2,954,483

265,855

186,7641,838,471

2,025,235

147,6622,143,428

2,291,090

Sources of Funds FY 2009 Revenue

Expenses by Function

Contributions and Grants

Sales, Duesand Fees

Total InvestmentIncome/(Loss)

4%

96%

5%

75%

20%

ProgramServices

Managementand General

ResourceDevelopment


OUR DEAR FRIEND, JOHNNY MARKS or K’oox of the Lukaax.ádi Clan, Walked into the Forest on September 28, 2009. His death leaves a big gap in Sealaska Heritage Institute. He was deeply loved and respected by SHI staff members. Johnny was raised as an aan yadí or noble person steeped in the knowledge of Tlingit culture. Although he is most widely known for his work on the Tlingit language, his deep knowledge and understanding of Tlingit culture was unsurpassed. He added to his tradi-tional knowledge that he had gained from Elders by reading books on Tlingit culture and listening to tape recordings of Tlingit ceremonies and story telling. When he talked about our ancient culture and history, it was as if he had actually lived in those days. More importantly, he willingly shared his knowledge with staff members of SHI. We mourn his passing, but we honor his contributions that will benefit Tlingit People for centuries to come. As I write this, SHI is hosting a Forty-Day Party for Johnny as his spirit leaves us. We are forever richer because he walked on this land.

—Rosita Worl, Yeidiklas’okw, Kaa haní

STAFF, BOARD OF TRUSTEES, & COUNCIL OF TRADITIONAL SCHOLARS 49

Staff, Trustees, & Scholars

StaffDr. Rosita Worl, PresidentLinda Belarde, Curriculum SpecialistJacob Dutton, Finance AssociateSarah Dybdahl, Cultural Projects CoordinatorKathy Dye, Media and Publications DirectorCarmaleeda Estrada, Development AssociateLola Foss, Finance & Human Resources DirectorDonald Gregory, Administrative AssistantMegan Gregory, Project AssistantRick Huteson, Archival AssociateZachary Jones, ArchivistLee Kadinger, Chief of Operations/Development DirectorDavid Katzeek, Tlingit Language SpecialistDr. Jordan Lachler, SociolinguistDeena LaRue, Scholarship AdministratorJim MacDiarmid, Education DirectorMichael Obert, Administrative AssistantRico Worl, Research Associate

Board of TrusteesDr. Walter Soboleff, ChairDr. Marlene Johnson, Vice ChairJoe Nelson, SecretaryNancy BarnesDr. Jeane BreinigClarence JacksonDr. Ethel LundRobert MartinMike Miller

Council of Traditional ScholarsClarence Jackson, ChairKen GrantJoe HotchDavid KatzeekHerman KitkaGeorge RamosDr. Walter Soboleff

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