SEALASKA HERITAGE INSTITUTE 2012 ANNUAL REPORT 1 Copyright © 2013 Sealaska Heritage Institute All rights reserved. SEALASKA HERITAGE INSTITUTE One Sealaska Plaza, Suite 301 Juneau, Alaska 99801 907.463.4844 • 907.586.9293 (f) www.sealaskaheritage.org • www.alaskanativeartists.com www.jineit.com • sealaskaheritagecenter.com ISBN 978-0-9853129-2-3 Cover: Strengthen Yourself by Robert Davis Hoffmann. Design and composition by Kathy Dye. PHOTO CREDITS Page 4: Sealaska Plaza by Kathy Dye, George Davis photo courtesy of Sealaska; page 7: by Scott Areman; pages 9–14: by Brian Wallace; page 15: by Christy Eriksen; pages 16–17: by Kathy Dye; page 18: Chilkat Apron by Brian Wallace, Raven Bowl by Kathy Dye; page 19: by Brian Wallace; page 20: shakee.át with feathers courtesy of Archie Cavanaugh, shakee.át sans feath- ers by Kathy Dye; page 21: group photo by Kathy Dye, language workshop by Daphne Wright; pages 22–23 by Christy Eriksen; pages 24–27 by Kathy Dye; page 29: by Christy Eriksen; page 30: by Kathy Dye; page 31: Delores Churchill by Brian Wallace, group photo by Christy Eriksen; page 32: by Christy Eriksen; pages 33–34: renderings by MRV Architects; page 45: by Mark Kelley; page 53–54: by Brian Wallace. Scan the QR codes in the following pages of this report with your smart phone to watch videos about our programs. 2 3 Contents About Sealaska Heritage Institute • 5 President’s Message • 7 Programs Celebration 2012 • 9 Art • 15 Education • 21 Archives and Research • 27 Walter Soboleff Center • 33 Donors • 35 Financials • 45 Boards and Staff • 51 Awards • 53 2 3 ABOVE: SHI OPERATES FROM OFFICES AT SEALASKA PLAZA IN JUNEAU, ALASKA. LEFT: GEORGE DAVIS AT THE SEALASKA ELDERS CONFERENCE IN 1980. 4 5 About SHI Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) is a regional Native nonprofit 501(c)(3) founded in 1980. SHI was conceived by clan leaders, traditional scholars, and Elders at the first Sealaska Elders Conference in 1980. During that meeting, the Elders likened Native culture to a blanket. The late George Davis Kichnáal( x—Lk’aanaaw) of Angoon spoke these memorable words: “We don’t want what you did here to only echo in the air, how our grandfathers used to do things… Yes. You have unwrapped it for us. That is why we will open again this container of wisdom left in our care.” These wise traditional leaders told the new leaders that their hands were growing weary of holding onto the metaphorical blanket, this “container of wisdom.” They said they were transferring this responsibility to Sealaska, the regional Native corporation serving Southeast Alaska. In response, Sealaska founded SHI to operate cultural and educational programs. SHI’s mission is to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures. Our goal is to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding. 4 5 “STRENGTHEN YOURSELF” BY ROBERT DAVIS HOFFMANN. 6 7 Haa Latseen—Our Strength The Walter Soboleff Center began as a seed of an idea in the 1990s. In recent years, the center has been on a fast track for construction. And as I write this, we hope to break ground in the next year on our $20,000,000 cultural facility in Juneau. When I look back on 2012, I am humbled by the generosity of the people who gave us funding—much of it for the center but also for our programs. We raised almost $11,000,000 in 2012 through grants, donations, and appropriations—that is by far the largest amount we’ve ever amassed in a single year. The people of Juneau in 2012 SHI PRESIDENT ROSITA WORL. voted on a measure to appropriate $3,000,000 toward the center, and that triggered major funding from private groups, such as the Rasmuson Foundation and the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust. Our small staff believes in the center so much that they alone have donated more than $7,000 toward it. And there is one donor I will never forget. One day last year, an impoverished man came to me, pulled a dollar from his pocket, and said “I have no money. But I want to donate this dollar toward the Walter Soboleff Center.” The generosity of this man, who didn’t even have a home, astounded me. I think our great Tlingit leader, the late Walter Soboleff, would be proud to know of the groundswell of support for the building that is named for him. Sealaska Heritage Institute draws funding from donors, but our programs are an economic boon to others as well. Last year we commissioned a study by the McDowell Group that found the economic impact of Celebration 2012 on Juneau was $2,000,000! We knew it benefited the capital city but that was the first time we had quantified it, and we were surprised to learn the dollar amount was that high. We also expanded our art program in 2012 to include a Jinéit Art Academy and our Sustainable Art Program to teach formline design and old art 6 7 traditions such as skin sewing. And we continued our ongoing advocacy to protect the rights of Native artists to use traditional materials in their work. One high profile example last year came when the award-winning Tlingit artist Archie Cavanaugh faced a huge fine and potential prison time for trying to sell Tlingit art adorned with feathers of federally-protected birds. SHI is now working with Alaska’s delegation in Congress to ensure that in the future no Native artist goes through the ordeal that Archie suffered. In 2012, we published a landmark atlas documenting more than three thousand Native place names in Southeast Alaska. Nearly twenty years in the making, Haa Léelk’w Hás Aaní Saax’ú: Our Grandparents’ Names on the Land, is the most comprehensive study of its kind. We also continued to build our collections last year, and one of the most important additions came through a Sealaska shareholder. Brian Wallace, son of the late carver Amos Wallace, donated his father’s collection of drawings and historic photographs and papers to SHI. This remarkable collection includes his original sketches, which art students will now be able to study. In 2012, nearly 8,000 people participated in SHI’s events, and the economic impact of SHI’s programs on people outside the institute was more than $3,000,000. I will look back on 2012 as a banner year for Sealaska Heritage Institute. But, we couldn’t have done it without the hundreds of people who rallied behind our cause—not only our donors but the many volunteers who gave their time to bring our programs to fruition. Haa Latseen is one of our core cultural values. And the people who stand behind us are our strength. Haa Latseen. Our Strength. —Rosita Worl, President SCAN TO WATCH A YEAR-IN-REVIEW VIDEO! 8 9 Celebration 2012 The year 2012 marked the thirtieth anniversary of Celebration—a major dance-and-culture festival that celebrates the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska and other Native groups that join us each time we sponsor the event. SHI held the first Celebration in 1982 at the urging of Elders who wanted to honor and celebrate the survival of our culture. Today, Celebration is one of the largest events in the state. The 2012 festival drew almost six thousand people to Juneau while nearly five thousand people watched the live broadcast online. CELEBRATION 2012. RAINBOW CREEK DANCERS PERFORMING AT The event included dance performances in CENTENNIAL HALL IN JUNEAU, ALASKA. several venues, a Native Art Market, a Juried Art Show and Competition, food contests, lectures, film screenings, a toddler regalia review, and a parade through the capital city. The lead dance group was Xudzidaa Kwáan Dancers of Angoon. Effect of Celebration on Economy For the first time, SHI quantified the economic impact of Celebration. We knew it had a significant impact, as it draws people from outside Juneau and hotels are full during the event. But a study by the McDowell Group found the economic impact in 2012 was $2,000,000 during the four-day event. That figure is pretty impressive, said Bob Koenitzer, senior project manager for the McDowell Group. “That’s a lot of money coming into the community over a four-day period,” said Koenitzer, adding the figure actually is conservative because the study did 8 9 TODDLER REGALIA REVIEW. OPPOSITE: NATHAN JACKSON OF THE EAGLE/RAVEN DANCERS. not factor in transportation to and from Juneau. This year’s Celebration drew 5,500 people who purchased tickets. Of the people who bought tickets, 3,300 were visitors from other areas of the state and from outside Alaska, the study found. The visitors generated $1,100,000 in new dollars to Juneau, said Koenitzer, noting that new-dollars to the community are very important. “Those dollars circulate through the community more times than money that’s already here. So these dollars create more jobs and additional spending in the community,” said Koenitzer, adding the visitors spent money on lodging, tourism activities, food and beverages, and lots of shopping. “The money that comes into Juneau through Celebration has a broad reach throughout the community.” SCAN TO WATCH A The study also found Sealaska Corporation, Sealaska Heritage Institute, CLIP OF THE 2012 GRAND ENTRANCE! and Juneau residents spent an additional $300,000 on Celebration-related items and the event generated almost $100,000 in sales taxes and hotel bed taxes for the City and Borough of Juneau. 10 11 10 11 12 13 CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP: GRAND ENTRANCE AT CENTENNIAL HALL, LEAD DANCE GROUP XUDZIDAA KWÁAN DANCERS, TINY DANCER.