SHI lecture to explore Indigenous law of the sea
Policy leader to reflect on ocean stewardship, sovereignty and ancestral knowledge
May 21, 2025
Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) will sponsor a presentation this week as part of its spring lecture series featuring prominent voices in Native knowledge, art, culture and language.
‘Wáahlaal Gíidaak Barbara Blake, an Ocean Conservancy vice president and longtime leader in Indigenous policy and governance, will present her talk, “Weaving the Currents: Writing an Indigenous Law of the Sea.”
Blake will explore the concept of an Indigenous Law of the Sea, rooted in the ancestral teachings, oral histories and responsibilities of Pacific and Arctic coastal peoples. Her lecture will reflect on the relationships these communities have long held with the ocean as a relative, sustainer and sacred being.
Blake (Haida, Tlingit, Ahtna Athabascan) has served in numerous leadership roles, including Director of the Alaska Native Policy Center for First Alaskans Institute and Director of Alaska Native and Rural Affairs for Governor Bill Walker. She holds degrees in rural development and tribal management from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and has earned certificates in Indigenous leadership and entrepreneurship from Stanford University and other institutions.
She currently serves on the boards of Sealaska Corporation, Sealaska Heritage Institute and Spruce Root, among others. A cultural participant and member of the Xaadáas Dagwíi and Woosh.ji.een dance groups and the Polynesian Voyaging Society, Blake’s work spans governance, education and community empowerment.
The lecture is scheduled for noon Friday, May 23, in Shuká Hít within the Walter Soboleff Building, 105 Heritage Way, in Juneau. The event will be livestreamed and posted on SHI’s YouTube channel.
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, a Southeast Regional Language Committee and a newly formed Education Committee.
CONTACT: Kathy Dye, SHI Communications and Publications Deputy Director, 907.321.4636, kathy.dye@sealaska.com.