Connecting generations through art | Alaska Native Art, Ep. 2

This video is a part of our Alaska Native Art series, produced in partnership with the Alaska Native Heritage Center. For more, go to https://www.famsf.org/stories/close-l... Watch the full playlist:    • Alaska Native Art   ______________________________ "A lot of our designs have to do with our identities and our stories. . . . We use this art form to represent who we are as individuals but also who we are as a group." —Abel Ryan Why do we wear what we wear? What do our clothes say about us, our families, our environments? Clothing is often the first thing we notice about one another. It is a powerful tool of communication and speaks to our cultures, values, and backgrounds. This is even more true for ceremonial clothing, or regalia. Designs, passed down through generations, can be the intellectual property of communities or individuals — owned, maintained, and shared at the discretion of communities or leaders. How do we honor our forebears and share cultural pride? Designs reflect family ties and broadcast who the wearer is and where they are from. The materials used speak to place — sourced from the environment and protecting the wearer from the elements that surround them. Chilkat style textiles, called naaxein in the Tlingit language, are made by weavers from the southeast region of Alaska. ______________________________ Project team Partners Alaska Native Heritage Center Advisors Lauren Ayagakuchax̂ Peters (Unangax̂), PhD scholar, University of California, Davis Stephen Qacung Blanchett (Yup’ik), cultural heritage manager, Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska Collaborators Paul Asicksik (Iñupiaq), community engagement manager, Alaska Native Heritage Center Tara Bourdukofsky (Unangax̂), director of cultural and education services, Alaska Native Heritage Center Yaari Walker (Saint Lawrence Island Yupik), community engagement manager, Alaska Native Heritage Center FAMSF team Hillary C. Olcott, associate curator, arts of the Americas Emily Jennings, director of school and family programs Magnolia Molcan, web managing editor Patricia Buffa, director of digital strategy Sheila Pressley, director of education Christina Hellmich, curator in charge, arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas Khamisi Norwood, digital media producer Megan Bates, digital media producer Film interviewees Alvin Amason (Sugpiaq Alutiiq) Stephen Qacung Blanchett (Yup’ik) Louise Brady (Tlingit) Perry Eaton (Sugpiaq Alutiiq) Emily Edenshaw (Yup’ik / Iñupiaq) Nicholas Galanin (Tlingit / Unangax̂) Lily Hope (Tlingit) Aaron Leggett (Dena’ina Athabascan) Marie Arnaq Meade (Yup’ik) Margaret Nakak (Iñupiaq / Yup’ik) Abel Ryan (Tsimshian) Haliehana Alaĝum Ayagaa Stepetin (Unangax̂) Christopher Sumdum Jr. (Tlingit) Yaari Walker (Saint Lawrence Island Yupik) Andrew Weaver (Yup’ik) Special thanks Michele Trefon Emily Edenshaw Jaimeann Bell Presley West Alaska Native Heritage Center Native Games Team Herring Rock Water Protectors Katelyn Stiles Jennifer Younger Thomas Gamble Courtney Fallow Renee Villasenor Randy Dodson Robert Carswell