SHI to open doors to all second-grade Juneau School District students for arts initiative

Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) will open its Walter Soboleff Building to all second-grade students in the Juneau School District as part of a national program to promote experiences and learning in the arts to all children.

The excursion is part of the Ensuring the Arts for Any Given Child initiative, which was originally established by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to ensure access to arts education programs and resources for K-8 students. The Kennedy Center worked with 28 sites across the country. Juneau was selected as the 11^th site in 2013.

The program provides an opportunity for SHI to expose children to Southeast Alaska Native cultures and arts, said SHI President Rosita Worl.

“It is so important to teach children about the Native worldview to promote cross-cultural understanding,” Worl said. “We are thrilled that school children will come to the Walter Soboleff Building to learn about the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian.”

The arts excursions have occurred each fall semester since Sealaska Heritage began participating in the program in 2015. This year’s arts excursion to the Walter Soboleff Building is scheduled for Oct. 21-23. Students will attend a 60-minute session that includes cultural stories told by Jake Waid and a visit to the Nathan Jackson Gallery.

Waid will present “Keet Shagoon, or the Origin of the Killer Whale.” During the gallery visit, students will learn about the works that won the Juried Art Show and Competition during Celebration. The Juried Art Show features the winning pieces from a myriad of categories, including 2D and relief carving, sewing, weaving and formline. It will be on display in the Nathan Jackson Gallery until Dec. 4.

The Any Given Child Walter Soboleff Building Excursion is offered by Sealaska Heritage Institute in partnership with Juneau Arts and Humanities Council and the Juneau School District.

Sealaska Heritage Institute is a non-profit tribal organization founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goal is to promote cross-cultural understanding by educating the general public about the Indigenous cultures of Alaska. SHI also conducts scientific and public policy research that promotes Alaska Native arts, cultures, history and education statewide. The institute is governed by a Board of Trustees and guided by a Council of Traditional Scholars, a Native Artist Committee, a Southeast Regional Language Committee and an Education Committee.

CONTACT: Kathy Dye, Deputy Director of Publications and Communications, kathy.dye@sealaskaheritage.com

Caption: SHI staff members give students a tour of the Walter Soboleff Building in 2025. Note: News outlets are welcome to use this photo for coverage of this story. For a higher-res version, contact kathy.dye@sealaskaheritage.com.