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Sealaska Heritage Institute Press Release

SHI PUBLISHES ILLUSTRATED DICTIONARY SERIES FOR TLINGIT, HAIDA AND TSIMSHIAN LANGUAGES

Trilogy intended for young language learners, others

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May 15, 2024 

Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) has published a trilogy of illustrated dictionaries that teach vocabulary for the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian languages.

The series, featuring “Everyday Tlingit,” “Everyday Haida” and “Everyday Tsimshian,” is intended to teach Native words to children in grades K-5 but may also be used by people of all ages who want to learn the vocabularies.

SHI recently mailed 1,000 copies of each volume to schools, teachers, students and community members in Alaska, Canada and the Lower 48.

The goal is to increase exposure to the Tlingit (Lingít), Haida (X̱aad Kíl) and Tsimshian (Shm’algyack) languages of Southeast Alaska, said SHI President Rosita Worl, Ph.D.

“We are normalizing the presence of our languages in written form in households and schools for Native families because studies show that Native students do better academically when their cultures and language are reflected in classroom materials,” Worl said. “We also hope to reach non-Native families in our ongoing effort to promote cross-cultural understanding.”

In the booklets, Native words are superimposed over everyday scenes, including the bedroom, bathroom, laundry room, clothes, kitchen, food and drinks, living room, mudroom, shoreline, underwater, forest, river, plants, insects, camping and weather. They also teach body parts, colors, shapes and numbers. Each volume includes a glossary with English translations.

Learners may listen to audio of the Native words depicted in the illustrated dictionaries through SHI’s new searchable “Languages Dictionary,” which the institute recently launched online.

SHI distributed “Everyday Haida” to schools and community members in Anchorage, Craig, Hydaburg, Juneau, Kasaan, Ketchikan and Wasilla and to entities in Arizona, California, Washington and Canada. SHI mailed “Everyday Tlingit” to schools and community members in Anchorage, Juneau, Sitka and Wrangell. “Everyday Tsimshian” was sent to schools and community members in Anchorage, Juneau, Ketchikan, Metlakatla and Nikiski and to entities in Arizona, California, North Carolina, Washington and Canada.

The books are not currently available to the public for purchase, but SHI is researching ways to further their distribution, and staff and contributors are currently working on second editions with more terms in each language.

The content was developed by SHI staff and contributors, including X̱ʼunei Lance Twitchell, Daaljíni Mary Folletti, Koolyéik Roby Littlefield, Daal At.ja Casey Moats, Goldbelt Heritage Foundation, Skíl Jáadei Linda Schrack, Dag Júus Robert Yates, Nang Jáadaas Gudangáay Ḵ’íinganggang Susie Edwardson, Kugíin-g Dúu Lauryn Framke, Shu Guyna Donna May Roberts and Shiggoap Alfie Price.

The series was illustrated by Tlingit artist Kelsey Mata Foote, who also designed the covers. Mata Foote also illustrated SHI’s Baby Raven Reads book “Celebration,” which won a 2024 American Indian Youth Literature Picture Book Honor from the American Indian Library Association (AILA). The books were designed by Mckenzie Hyde, SHI’s senior graphic designer.

SHI has worked on language documentation and perpetuation since the nonprofit’s inception 44 years ago. The institute initially focused on helping to create the orthographies for the languages and worked with heritage language speakers and linguists to develop dictionaries and other books for Lingít, X̱aad Kíl and Shm’algyack. In the 1990s, SHI’s Board of Trustees made language revitalization a priority. The institute then began to sponsor teaching activities, such as language immersion camps, in which students would live in a habitat of a Native language over a period of days. SHI also poured many resources into developing lessons, videos, flash cards, apps, podcasts and games to enhance the learning experience. In recent years, SHI has sponsored university classes and scholarships for language learners, and many language teachers today are of a generation that grew up without hearing their Native tongue at home.

Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private nonprofit founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goal is to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through public services and events. 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@sealaska.com.

Caption: Covers of “Everyday Tlingit,” “Everyday Haida” and “Everyday Tsimshian,” illustrated by Kelsey Mata Foote, courtesy of Sealaska Heritage Institute. Note: news outlets are welcome to use this photo of the book covers for coverage of this story. For a higher-res version or to request images of individual book covers, contact kathy.dye@sealaska.com.

 

Sealaska Heritage Institute Press Release

SHI TO OPEN 12TH BIENNIAL JURIED ART SHOW THIS WEEK

Winners to be announced during Celebration 2024

May 13, 2024

Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) will open its 12th biennial Juried Art Show to the public this week, a few weeks ahead of Celebration 2024, when winners will be announced.

Jurors selected 32 pieces by 24 artists for the exhibit, which will open on Friday, May 17, in the Nathan Jackson Gallery at SHI’s Walter Soboleff Building in downtown Juneau.

The following artists and pieces were accepted into the show:

•   Alison Bremner, Me, You and the Man on the Moon
•   Lee Burkhart, Náaḵw Journey
•   Lee Burkhart, Yéts’ shál (Black Horn Spoon)
•   Saak.adoo Davina (Cole) Drones, Fishbone in the Night Sky
•   Sainteen Dr. Anna Brown Ehlers, Chilkat Eagle Apron
•   Sainteen Dr. Anna Brown Ehlers, Chilkat Eagle Tunic
•   Patrizia (Patty) Fiorella, Woodworm Grease Bowl
•   Gunashaa Lisa Fisher, Lightening Leggings
•   Holtka Xsoo Clifton Guthrie, Legacy of Niishluut
•   Holtka Xsoo Clifton Guthrie, A Message from the Deep
•   Ksm Lx’sg̱a̱n Ruth Hallows, Unmasking – A Chilkat Inspired Self-Portrait
•   Kún Kuyáang Karl Hoffman, Wolf Moon Drum
•   Wooshkindein Da.aat Lily Hope, Seven Generations
•   Wooshkindein Da.aat Lily Hope, Pandemic Babysitter
•   Xixtc’i see Ruby Hughes, Raven Transforms into Marilyn
•   Aanchgwanutk’ Janice Jackson, Gods Beautiful Creation the Mighty Salmon
•   Harold Jacobs, At Gugú (Its Ears) – Bear Ears
•   Jinaa Tlàa Janie Jensen, Earth to Soul
•   onn iss kwah James Johnson, Wolf Headdress
•   onn iss kwah James Johnson, Raven Clan Hat
•   onn iss kwah James Johnson, Cannibal Man Horn Spoon
•   Kaasteen Jill Meserve, Sit’ Eetí G̱eeyi – The Bay in Place of the Glacier
•   Reine Pavlik (designer of Alaska Soles), Lady in Black
•   Yakasei Calvin Morberg, Eagle Mother
•   Kaax̱ Tséen Herb Sheakley Jr., Tsaa Al’óoni
•   Kaax̱ Tséen Herb Sheakley Jr., Yéik yaakw
•   Amy Tessaro, Transformation
•   Aa geitl g’e Carolyn Trebian, Shark
•   Shkáx̱ kawdulaák Andrew Tripp, Raven’s Reflection of Wealth
•   Shkáx̱ kawdulaák Andrew Tripp, Hide and Seek Champions
•   Káakaxaawulga Jennifer Younger and Goosh-shu Haa Jennie Wheeler, Dancing in the Summer Rain
•   Naa k’ool dzaaz eesh William Pfeifer Sr., 4-way Eagle Pendant Set with Wing Earrings

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony to be held from 4-6 pm on Wednesday, June 5, in the Shuká Hít clan house. Awards will be given in the categories of carving and sculpture; two-dimensional and relief carving; sewing; weaving and endangered art, which includes spruce-root weaving and horn spoons. Artists who win best of category will compete for best of division, and the division winners will compete for best of show. SHI will also award a best of formline prize and runner up from among all pieces submitted. Winners will receive the following prizes:

•   Best of show: $1,500
•   Best of formline: $1,000
•   2nd place formline: $700
•   Best of division: $700
•   Best of category: $300

About the Jurors

Northwest Coast artists Evelyn Vanderhoop and Tyson Brown served as jurors for the competition.

Evelyn Vanderhoop, daughter of Delores Churchill and granddaughter of Selina Peratrovich, is a member of a weaving family. From early childhood, she was brought to the forest and beaches to harvest weaving materials, including spruce roots and cedar bark. Weaving was a way of life for all Haida women when her Nonny Selina was born. The fast-paced world changed around Selina, but she continued to weave. Through Selina’s teaching, weaving is progressing into the present day and future cultural traditions by her family members and apprentices. Her granddaughter Evelyn Vanderhoop weaves Ravenstail and Naaxiin (Chilkat), techniques that are used in creating the chiefs’ robes of the Northwest Coast. She is also a painter and researcher.

Iljuuwaas or Tyson Brown is a Haida artist from Skidegate, Haida Gwaii. He is a member of the Kayahl ‘Laanas clan of Ts’aahl. His artistic focus is on creating a relevant body of work, while preserving and perpetuating classical Haida design principles. The grandson of Skidegate artists Billy Stevens and Bill Reid, Tyson grew up surrounded by Haida art. As an adult, he completed a formal apprenticeship with renowned Haida artist Robert Davidson. Tyson draws inspiration from nature, current events and his people’s history, stories and collective values. He works in various mediums including design, paint and sculpture.

Jurors reviewed the pieces blindly, meaning the names of artists who submitted pieces were not disclosed.

About the Juried Art Show & Competition

Sealaska Heritage Institute sponsored its first Juried Art Show & Competition in 2002, and since then it has become a biennial event held during Celebration, a major four-day dance-and-culture festival in Juneau hosted by the institute. SHI sponsors the art show in an effort to reaffirm the greatness of Northwest Coast art and to promote the continued evolution of those traditions in Southeast Alaska. The goals of the show are to:

•         encourage and enhance the creation and production of Southeast Alaska Native objects of artistic value, which are becoming rare;
•         stimulate and enhance the quality of artistic work among Native artisans; and
•         encourage the development of new forms of art of purely Southeast Alaska Native form and design.

Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private nonprofit founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goal is to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through public services and events. 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@sealaska.com.  

Caption: Woodworm Grease Bowl by artist Patrizia (Patty) Fiorella, whose piece was accepted into SHI’s 2024 Juried Art Show & Competition. Photo by Brian Wallace, courtesy of Sealaska Heritage Institute. Note: news outlets are welcome to use this photo for coverage of this story. For a higher-res version, contact kathy.dye@sealaska.com.

 

Sealaska Heritage Institute Press Release

SHI LAUNCHES NEW ONLINE, SEARCHABLE DICTIONARY THAT INCLUDES AUDIO

Platform includes resources for Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian languages

May 8, 2024

(Languages Dictionary)

Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) has launched a new online dictionary that allows users to search for words and phrases in Lingít (Tlingit language), X̱aad Kíl (Haida language), Shm’algyack (Tsimshian language) or English, browse words and phrases and listen to heritage language speakers pronouncing the entries.

Notably, users may search the database using English or Native terms to reveal all related content, said SHI President Rosita Worl, Ph.D.

The platform denotes a previously missing language tool that is meant to stand alone or to complement existing materials to help perpetuate Southeast Alaska’s ancient Indigenous languages, she said.

“As a people, we have documented our languages and developed the orthographies for the words that describe our oral histories. We have produced materials to revitalize our languages and apps that allow people to browse categories and hear audio. Now we have a database that offers all of that and includes a search function,” Worl said.

“It’s a game changer.”

The dictionary content mirrors the vocabulary and phrases available on SHI’s Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian learning apps that were released in recent years.

The Tlingit section includes more than 50 categories for words relating to action, adjectives, animal body parts, beach, birds, birth, buildings and structures, clothing, cold blooded animals, colors, commands, communication, conditions, cultural, direction, fish, food, games, geography, grammar, home, human body, human family, insects and invertebrates, kitchen, land animals, location, mammals, marine animals, marriage, material, matter, minerals, names, numbers, nursery, occupations, people, plants, pronouns, quantity, recreation, relationships, school, sea creatures, sky, sports, stage of life, time, tools, transportation, water and weather.

The Haida section includes nearly 40 categories for words relating to the alphabet, animals, art, bathroom, beach, birds, body parts, buildings and structures, clothing, colors, commands, cultural art, culture, fishing and hunting, home, insects and invertebrates, jewelry, kitchen, location, mammals, numbers, nursery, occupations, ocean, outside, plants, recreation, school, sea creatures, sea vessels, sky, time, tools, transportation, verbs, water, weaving and wellness and health.

The Tsimshian section includes 30 categories for words relating to adjectives, alphabet, bathroom, beach, birds, body, buildings and structures, clothing, colors, culture, days of the week, fish, food, home, insects and invertebrates, kitchen, mammals, months of the year, numbers, nursery, occupations, ocean, plants, pronouns, recreation, school, sea creatures, sky, tools and transportation.

All sections also include audio of phrases listed by category. The dictionary is available free of charge on SHI’s website, along with its other language resources. Staff will continue to expand the dictionary’s words, phrases and associated audio.

SHI has worked on language documentation and perpetuation since the nonprofit’s inception 44 years ago. The institute initially focused on helping to create the orthographies for the languages and worked with heritage language speakers and linguists to develop dictionaries and other books for Lingít, X̱aad Kíl and Shm’algyack. In the 1990s, SHI’s Board of Trustees made language revitalization a priority. The institute then began to sponsor teaching activities, such as language immersion camps, in which students would be immersed in a Native language environment over a period of days. SHI also poured many resources into developing lessons, videos, flash cards, apps, podcasts and games to enhance the learning experience. In recent years, SHI has sponsored university classes and scholarships for language learners, and many language teachers today are of a generation that grew up without hearing their Native tongue at home.

SHI has worked on language documentation and perpetuation since the nonprofit’s inception 44 years ago. The institute initially focused on helping to create the orthographies for the languages and worked with heritage language speakers and linguists to develop dictionaries and other books for Lingít, X̱aad Kíl and Shm’algyack. In the 1990s, SHI’s Board of Trustees made language revitalization a priority. The institute then began to sponsor teaching activities, such as language immersion camps, in which students would live in a habitat of a Native language over a period of days. SHI also poured many resources into developing lessons, videos, flash cards, apps, podcasts and games to enhance the learning experience. In recent years, SHI has sponsored university classes and scholarships for language learners, and many language teachers today are of a generation who grew up without hearing their Native tongue at home.

Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private nonprofit founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goal is to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through public services and events. 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@sealaska.com.

Caption: Online dictionary. Photo by Mircea Brown, courtesy of Sealaska Heritage Institute. Note: news outlets are welcome to use this photo for coverage of this story. For a higher-res version, contact kathy.dye@sealaska.com.

 

Sealaska Heritage Institute Press Release

SHI ACCEPTING NOMINATIONS FOR EDUCATORS OF DISTINCTION

Awards to be presented at institute’s annual education conference

May 6, 2024

(Nominate an Educator) (Conference Website)

Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) is accepting nominations for educators of distinction in an effort to highlight the extraordinary role they play in students’ academic, emotional and cultural success.

People who serve as teachers, educational support staff, administrators, coaches or community members whose work is of such high quality to merit recognition are eligible to be nominated.

The awards are important because they put a spotlight on people who play such a pivotal role in our society, said SHI President Rosita Worl, Ph.D.

“Educators are the heroes among us who inspire and shape our children to achieve their goals in this world. Educators play a key role in helping our children succeed, and we want to publicly acknowledge and thank them for their work,” Worl said.

SHI will present awards in three categories during its annual Our Cultural Landscape Conference, scheduled Aug. 7-9. Categories include:

• Distinguished Educator Award: This category recognizes an educator’s intentional weaving of ways of knowing throughout their lessons and classroom that reflect students through place-based and culturally relevant beliefs and practices, while reinforcing students’ capacity for achievement
• Community-Based Learning Teaching Awards: This category recognizes that generation of knowledge is not limited to the classroom but can occur anywhere and celebrates achievements in teaching that honor SHI’s value of cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through community outreach or as public service;
• Distinguished Leadership Award: This category recognizes outstanding leadership at a school level, district level or community level that exemplifies collaboration and co-creation of environments that are safe, yet challenging, where success if defined through learning, and meaningful mentorship.

Nominations are due by July 1. Selected recipients will receive a monetary award and paid travel to attend the conference in August.

Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private nonprofit founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goal is to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through public services and events. 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@sealaska.com

Caption: Group photo of the awardees who attended SHI’s 2023 Culturally Responsive Education Conference. From left: Naomi Leask; Jennifer McCarty; Donna May Roberts’ granddaughter, Megan Roberts, accepting on Donna’s behalf; Charlie Skultka Jr. and Naomi Michalsen. Photo by Stacy Unzicker, courtesy of SHI. Note: Media outlets are permitted to use this image for coverage of this story. For a higher-res image, contact kathy.dye@sealaska.com

Sealaska Heritage Institute Press Release

SHI BOARD APPOINTS CLINICAL COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGIST AS TRUSTEE

Appointee to step in as longtime member steps down

May 2, 2024

The Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) Board of Trustees has appointed a new member to help lead the nonprofit’s programs.

Tlingit clinical community psychologist Aandáchjoon Alicia Marvin of Anchorage will fill the seat, which was recently vacated by longtime trustee Jeane Breinig.

Marvin intends to apply her work experience with a tribal health organization for the benefit of the institute and its programming.

“I will use my training in community work and psychology to contribute to the important work of SHI,” Marvin said. “I am honored to serve on the board of trustees as I find deep meaning in community service.”

Marvin belongs to the Raven moiety, G̱aanax̱teidí clan and the Whale House. The Kaagwaantaan are her grandfatherʼs people. Her family has a history of dedication to Tlingit culture and community that includes contributions by her maternal grandmother Mabel Pike and paternal grand uncle and grand aunt Harry and Amy Marvin. 

In her free time, Marvin finds excitement with beading projects, learning about plants and being in the beautiful outdoors with her playful pup. 

SHI President Rosita Worl said she looks forward to Marvin’s contributions and expressed gratitude for the service of Breinig, who is Haida and was recently elected to serve as president of the Kasaan village corporation, Kavilco Incorporated.

“Jeane served as one of our trustees for 18 years, and we know she will succeed and thrive in this new chapter. We will miss her wisdom, knowledge and advice,” Worl said.

Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private nonprofit founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goal is to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through public services and events. 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@sealaska.com; Aandáchjoon Alicia Marvin, SHI Trustee, ybwellness@proton.me.  

Caption: Aandáchjoon Alicia Marvin. Photo courtesy of Alicia Marvin. Note: news outlets are welcome to use this photo for coverage of this story. For a higher-res version, contact kathy.dye@sealaska.com

 

Sealaska Heritage Institute Press Release

SHI, STAKEHOLDERS TO DEVELOP FIRST-EVER ALASKA NATIVE LANGUAGE READING STANDARDS

SHI to hold first meeting next month to consult with Alaskans statewide

Jan. 26, 2024

A public agency has tapped Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) to produce the state’s first-ever Alaska Native language reading standards, and the institute is inviting language educators and speakers, community members and allies to a virtual meeting in February.

Through the project, SHI will work with people across the state to develop the standards on behalf of the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development for adoption by the Alaska State Board of Education.

Public input and participation will be a critical component of the project, said SHI Education Director Kristy Ford. SHI will also work in partnership with Teaching Indigenous Design for Every Student (TIDES), an Alaska Native education consulting group owned by Shgen George and Nancy Douglas, who are long-time educators and developers of Native language curriculum.

“It will take the entire community of Alaska to provide guidance, direction and encouragement to develop the new Alaska Native language reading standards. To be successful, we will need to tap the wisdom of Alaskans across the state,” Ford said.

The standards will be designed for students in kindergarten through third grade and be applicable to all 20 of Alaska’s Native languages. The move is part of a larger effort to support the development and use of Alaska Native languages in schools and to codify standards through which the state can measure students’ reading proficiency.

“The state has a clear policy directive that all students should be able to read at grade level by the end of third grade. This program will provide critical support for instruction of Alaska Native languages because the standards will make it clear that reading in an Alaska Native language is valid for demonstrating third grade reading proficiency,” said SHI President Rosita Worl, Ph.D.

State law currently allows for reading instruction to be conducted in and through Alaska Native languages. However, the state has no way of measuring how well students through third grade are reading in their Native languages.

“The new standards will provide a means for the state and school districts to communicate learning expectations to educators and to demonstrate to policy makers how well students are performing,” Ford said.

The first meeting is scheduled for 3:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 6, and a second meeting will follow at 3:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 8, via Zoom at bit.ly/nativelanguage-standards.

Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private nonprofit founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goal is to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through public services and events. SHI also conducts social scientific and public policy research and advocacy 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, deputy director, Communications and Publications Department, 907.321.4636, kathy.dye@sealaska.com; Jamie Shanley, assistant director, Education Department, jamie.shanley@sealaska.com. 907.586.9583

Sealaska Heritage Institute Press Release

SHI PLANS TO LAUNCH TLINGIT GESTURE PROGRAM

Funds from recent church reparations to also aid in determining existence of Haida and Tsimshian gestures

Nov. 30, 2023

Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) is launching a groundbreaking new program to document 100 gestures used in Tlingit communication identified nearly 40 years ago, to recover other gestures still known and used by Tlingit elders, and to investigate whether similar structures existed for Haida and Tsimshian languages.

Documenting the practice, known as the Tlingit Gesture System (TGS), could be a jumping off point to developing sign languages for Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian. In North America, only the Plains Indian Sign Language has been fully documented, said SHI linguist Jeff Leer, Ph.D.

“This project to document this practice is therefore truly groundbreaking,” Leer said.

It’s not known if knowledge of gesture systems existed among the Haida and Tsimshian, and the institute’s project will investigate whether knowledge of this system exists, said SHI President Rosita Worl, Ph.D.

“Documentation of these gesture systems can add a new body of Indigenous knowledge about Southeast Alaska Natives and will be applied in Native language restoration efforts,” Worl said.

What is Known

Most of what is known about the TGS was documented by Leer in his manuscript Report on the Tlingit Gestural System. Leer, who first began studying the Tlingit language in 1964, worked with fluent gesturer Elizabeth Nyman, a Tlingit elder of the Yanyeidí clan from Atlin, Canada, to record more than 100 Tlingit gestures. Some gestures have also been identified by Robi Littlefield of Sitka.

Leer first observed Nyman’s gestures in 1987 when he went to Whitehorse to work on Tlingit place names. He took special note of her gestures as she narrated, and whenever possible, made a practice of videotaping her narrations to document her gestures in context.

Nyman told some of the stories more than once, and Leer observed that she frequently used the same gestures at the same points in the narrative that she had previously. Her gestures sometimes anticipated the corresponding event in the narrative, and at times, she even used gestures in place of speech.

“These observations convinced me beyond doubt that her gestures were primarily meaningful,” Leer said.

The TGS is similar to conventional sign languages in that it conveys concrete, useful information to the observer. The TGS differs from conventional sign languages in that the information it conveys is generic; the TGS has very few “signs” in the conventional sense and lacks the means to distinguish between species, sex, age, color or similar specific conditions.

These gestures are also quite unlike mainstream Anglo-American gestures where hands are used to make chopping motions or wide circles, which function largely as punctuation marks.
The TGS was especially well developed in the areas of hunting, fishing and making war, since hunters and warriors frequently needed to communicate in silence, and since gestures were necessary in long-distance boat-to-boat communication. Moreover, since there were deaf individuals, the TGS was most likely adapted for use as a home sign language to communicate with such individuals; however, no such home sign language has been documented, Leer said.

SHI aims to determine if additional gestures beyond the 100 exists and to grow the gesture system into an actual Tlingit Sign Language (TSL) by documenting existing gestures that have fallen through the cracks and creating signs for specific vocabulary items to convert the TGS into a TSL.

SHI’s Involvement

SHI is sponsoring the program, which will be led by Leer, through reparation funds given to the institute in October by the Ḵunéix̱ Hídi Northern Light United Church, Northwest Coast Presbytery and Presbyterian Church U.S.A. The payment was meant to atone for the racially motivated closure of a Juneau church in 1963 that was ministered by the late Tlingit spiritual leader Dr. Walter Soboleff.

Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private nonprofit founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goal is to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through public services and events. SHI also conducts social 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 Media and Publications Deputy Director, 907.321.4636, kathy.dye@sealaska.com

Sealaska Heritage Institute Press Release

SHI OFFERING MUSEUM, ART INTERNSHIPS IN ALASKA, NEW MEXICO

Candidates will get hands-on experience in museum sciences and art practices.

Nov. 29, 2023

(Apply Museum) (Apply Art) (Flyer Museum) (Flyer Art)

Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) is recruiting undergraduate and graduate students for paid museum and art internships in partnership with the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) and the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in New Mexico.

Museum Internships

Students may apply for either a position at SHI in Juneau, Alaska, or for an opportunity at IAIA’s Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (MoCNA) in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Museum interns will gain hands-on experience with cataloging museum collections, object storage management, and exhibition planning, research and/or installation.

The SHI-based museum studies internship will start May 27, 2024, and last for six weeks. The interns will work with SHI’s collection of Northwest Coast objects, assist with museum exhibit preparation and work alongside SHI staff in collections management.

The IAIA internship begins on June 27, 2024, and lasts for six weeks (ends July 26). MoCNA holds the National Collection of Contemporary Native American Arts with close to 9,000 artworks, including paintings, works on paper, sculpture, ceramics, jewelry, photography, contemporary apparel, textiles, cultural arts, new media and installations. The interns will work with the MoCNA team to develop and install a summer exhibition.

Art Internships

The SHI-based art internships, also based in Juneau, will start May 27, 2024, and last for nine weeks. At the conclusion of the program interns will have a broader practical understanding of what is expected from an artist when engaging in a variety of income-generating activities; increased artistic knowledge and skills; a practical understanding of how to plan and operate special arts events, summer programs and arts learning opportunities; experience with operations of a nonprofit organization; and knowledge of reporting requirements for operating community activities.

The selected interns will prepare and implement in-person and online arts events and activities, plan and implement online and/or in-person summer camps for youth, participate as an SHI “artist in residence” focusing on developing skills in Northwest Coast art forms and provide general assistance to the art department team.

All internships are available to undergraduate students who have completed two years of college and to graduate students majoring in museum and art studies or a related field. Preference will be given to applicants with a 2.5 GPA or higher.

The candidates must provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination. The current updated vaccines are a recommendation, not a requirement.

The programs are part of a larger effort to support an Alaska Native arts associate degree or certificate at UAS and a studio arts and museum studies degree at IAIA.

More information regarding compensation, housing and logistics is available on the application. The positions pay $26 per hour. The application deadline is Jan. 31, 2024.

If you have any questions regarding the museum internship, please contact Dr. Kaila Cogdill, SHI collections and curatorial manager, at kaila.cogdill@sealaska.com. If you have any questions regarding the art internship, please contact Kari Groven, SHI art director, at kari.groven@sealaska.com.

Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private nonprofit founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goal is to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through public services and events. SHI also conducts social 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@sealaska.com.

Caption: SHI 2023 museum intern Jordan Martinez near one of the institute’s exhibits. Photo by Kaila Cogdill, courtesy of SHI. Note: news outlets are welcome to use this photo for coverage of this story. For a higher-res version, contact kathy.dye@sealaska.com.

Sealaska Heritage Institute Press Release

SHI TO SPONSOR LECTURE ON THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF ALASKA NATIVE LEADERSHIP FOR WALTER SOBOLEFF DAY

Free event to be offered in-person, virtually

Nov. 10, 2023

Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) will sponsor a free lecture next week on Alaska Native leadership from the late 1800s to modern times in honor of Walter Soboleff Day.

In his talk, Hall of Famers in History: Decades of Leadership, longtime Tlingit leader Edward K. Thomas will lay out how tribal relations to the United States have changed over the decades.

“It is helpful to match our Native leaders to the timeframe in which they did their outstanding work addressing the challenges that faced Native people at that time,” Thomas wrote.

The lecture is scheduled for 12 pm, Tuesday, Nov. 14 (Walter Soboleff Day), in Shuká Hít within SHI’s Walter Soboleff Building, 105 S. Seward St. in Juneau. The lecture will be livestreamed and posted on SHI’s YouTube channel. 

About the Lecturer

Ed Thomas was born and raised in Craig, Alaska, where he graduated from high school in 1960. He began his college education at Sheldon Jackson College earning his associate in science degree and then went on to earn his Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.  In 1974, he accepted a fellowship from Pennsylvania State University where he earned his master’s in education administration.

Thomas began his 25-year commercial fishing career as a cook at the age of 13 on the FV Verness of Klawock. He would go on to skipper a seine boat and later a power troller; he currently owns a hand troller permit.

Thomas taught junior high school and coached the boy’s junior high basketball team in Klawock, Alaska, for a year. He was a high school counselor and coached the boy’s junior high basketball team in Craig, Alaska, and served as the Indian Studies student counselor for the Sitka School District. He also served as the executive director of the Indian Education Program in Ketchikan for nine years.

Thomas has been the president emeritus of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (Tlingit Haida Central Council) since April 2008. He served as president of the tribe from October 1984 until April 2007, was re-elected in 2010 and officially retired in 2014. He served on the Sealaska Corporation board of directors from 1993 to 2020 and is the chairman of the Sealaska Timber Corporation board in addition to a variety of other positions and responsibilities he fulfills.

About Dr. Walter Soboleff

Dr. Walter Soboleff, who “walked into the forest” in 2011 at age 102, was a Tlingit of the Raven, Dog Salmon clan. He was lauded as a spiritual leader who helped Native and non-Native people alike at a time when segregation was the norm. Throughout his life, he worked tirelessly to advance Native civil rights.

He was largely known for his far-reaching radio ministry, which drew a substantial audience across the region, and he was highly regarded in the Native and non-Native community. In 2014, Alaska Gov. Sean Parnel signed legislation making Nov. 14 — Soboleff’s birthday — Dr. Walter Soboleff Day. He also served as SHI’s longtime chair, and in 2015, the institute named its new building in his honor. 

Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private nonprofit founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goal is to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through public services and events. SHI also conducts social 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 Media and Publications Deputy Director, 907.321.4636, kathy.dye@sealaska.com.

Caption: Edward K. Thomas giving a lecture at SHI in 2022. Photo by Stacy Unzicker. Note: Media outlets are permitted to publish this photo for coverage of this story.

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Sealaska Heritage Institute Press Release

SHI TO SPONSOR LECTURE ON CANADA’S CONTROVERSIAL RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL SYSTEM

Free event to be offered in-person, virtually

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Oct. 9, 2023

Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) will sponsor a free lecture this month on Canada’s controversial residential school system, which was comprised of government-sponsored religious schools established to assimilate Indigenous children into Euro-Canadian culture.

In her talk, The Canadian Legacy of Indian Residential Schools: A personal narrative, Dr. Georgina Martin will discuss the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) that was established by Canada’s federal government in 2008 to investigate the harms inflicted upon Indigenous people by the residential schools and their assimilation policies.

The TRC opened the door for residential school survivors to tell their stories and share their truth, Martin wrote.

“Reconciliation is meant to establish and maintain trusting relationships. I will provide a historical overview and where we are in the relationship.”

The residential school system officially operated from the 1880s into the closing decades of the 20th century. The system forcibly separated children from their families for extended periods of time and forbade them to acknowledge their Indigenous heritage and culture or to speak their own languages, according to the University of British Columbia.

About the Lecturer

Martin is an Indigenous scholar and member of the Williams Lake First Nation in the interior of British Columbia. She centers Indigenous Knowledges in her teaching and research methodologies. Her research centers on intergenerational trauma that emerged from Indian residential schools and Indian hospitals that left a trail of cumulative damage to language, culture, and identities. She draws from her lived experience to advance reclamation of space for Indigenous peoples.

The lecture will be held at noon on Friday, Oct. 13, in-person at noon (Alaska time) at SHI’s Walter Soboleff Building in Juneau. SHI will also live stream the series on its YouTube and save the talks on its channel immediately after. Viewers are encouraged to pose questions in-person and online.

Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private nonprofit founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goal is to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through public services and events. SHI also conducts social 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 Media and Publications Deputy Director, 907.321.4636, kathy.dye@sealaska.com.

Caption: Cree students at their desks with their teacher in a classroom at All Saints Indian Residential School in Lac la Ronge, Saskatchewan, 1945. Courtesy of Government Library and Archives, a134110-v8chew.