New exhibition to explore enduring legacy of Raven
Guest curator centers Raven as cultural transformer, trickster and teacher
May 12, 2025
Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) will unveil a new exhibition this week that explores the many ways Raven continues to shape the cultural, environmental and artistic landscapes of the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian peoples.
The exhibition, “Át Kawdiyaayi Yéil, Raven in Motion,” will open Thursday, May 15, in the Nathan Jackson Gallery of the Walter Soboleff Building. Curated by Shkík Miranda Belarde-Lewis, Ph.D., the exhibition presents Raven—Yéil in Tlingit, Xuyaa in Haida, Txaamsm in Tsimshian—not just as a figure of myth but as a living presence embedded in place names, traditional stories and contemporary art.
“Raven is an incredibly important cultural figure outside of being a clan moiety,” said Belarde-Lewis, a Tlingit curator and associate professor at the University of Washington. “He is a legendary trickster, a cultural transformer and a hero—sometimes an accidental one. But more than that, Raven is everywhere. His stories continue to influence how we understand our world and ourselves.”
Belarde-Lewis, a member of the T’aḵdeintaan clan, drew on her experience curating the nationally touring exhibition “Raven and the Box of Daylight” with Tlingit glass artist Preston Singletary. That experience, she said, reinforced the need to make cultural exhibitions approachable and meaningful to audiences with diverse levels of familiarity with Native cultures.
“We don’t know who’s going to walk through these doors,” she said. “We don’t know how much they know about Tlingit, Haida or Tsimshian peoples.” But Raven stories are compelling—they’re both funny and instructive, and they reveal deep truths about Native values and worldviews.
“Raven in Motion” features artworks from SHI’s collection and contributions from Native artists across the Northwest Coast. The show is organized around thematic groupings, including “The Accidental Hero,” “The Terra Former,” “Illustrating Morals,” “The Original Influencer,” “The Fashionista” and “An Appetite for Life.” It showcases both traditional forms, such as regalia, box drums and carved masks, and contemporary interpretations of Raven such as skate decks, jewelry and digital art.
“There’s such variety in how Raven appears,” Belarde-Lewis said. “We’re used to seeing prints or carved rattles, but Raven also shows up on everyday items like salt shakers. That’s what makes him timeless and today—he’s part of our ceremony, but also part of our daily lives.”
The exhibition intentionally focuses on Raven the being, not the moiety, to maintain cultural balance and avoid invoking clan-specific representations.
The exhibition will open during SHI’s 10th anniversary celebration for the Walter Soboleff Building. Belarde-Lewis will also present a public lecture on the exhibition at 5:30 p.m. that same evening, Thursday, May 15, in Shuká Hít (Clan House) within the building.
The exhibit will be on view in the Nathan Jackson Gallery through early 2026.
Sealaska Heritage Institute is a tribal organization founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast 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 and a Southeast Regional Language Committee.
CONTACT: Kathy Dye, SHI Communications and Publications Deputy Director, 907.321.4636, kathy.dye@sealaskaheritage.com.
Caption: April First Friday participants walk through the exhibition. Photo by Mircea Brown, courtesy of Sealaska Heritage Institute. Note: Media outlets are permitted to use this image for coverage of this story. For a higher-res image, contact kathy.dye@sealaska.com.