Artist Talk with Eechdaa Dave Ketah (Tlingit)
Friday, July 22, 3-4 pm
Sheldon Jackson Museum and on Zoom
Artist Eechdaa Dave Ketah (Tlingit) will give a talk on a selection of artifacts from the permanent collection of the Sheldon Jackson Museum. To reserve your spot for the in-person talk or to obtain a zoom link to attend online, call the museum at (907) 747-8981.
Zoom details:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86043522805?pwd=akJBaERLeTUxNGd0a0MyRHA1S3M0UT09
Meeting ID: 860 4352 2805
Passcode: 755531
Artist Talk with Eechdaa Dave Ketah (Tlingit): What Type of Ancestor Will You Be?
Saturday, July 23, 3-4 pm
Sheldon Jackson Museum and on Zoom
Artist Eechdaa Dave Ketah (Tlingit) will give a talk entitled “What Type of Ancestor Will You Be?” To reserve your spot for the in-person talk or to obtain a zoom link to attend online, call the museum at (907) 747-8981.
Ketah describes the focus of his talk as follows:
I imagine a reflection on my process of discovery that has taken place as I have explored my Tlingit heritage. I have learned of the difficult history, since contact, that led to many in the current generations being separated from practicing or participating in their Tlingit heritage. My story has developed through taking risks and stepping into unknown areas in order to learn who and what I come from. I’ll share my experiences travelling to Klawock, not knowing anyone there, camping in a tent, and eventually learning to carve there. My great-grandfather was the lead carver of the CCC totem park there, but my family’s presence ended there in the mid-twentieth century. It was an unsettling experience at first, feeling like a stranger in a part of Lingit aani where my ancestors were so prominent. This reflection will continue as I share my experience in Sitka, in what will be another first visit to a place where I am a stranger, yet is within the bounds of the land of my people. These reflections will be accompanied by my thoughts on how I became separated from my culture, why it has been difficult to reconnect, and how my process aims to answer a question that gives me purpose: “What type of ancestor will you be?”
Zoom details:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88092990531?pwd=blpRbHU2c21LMW9CVThEb3A4RXJNQT09
Meeting ID: 880 9299 0531
Passcode: 802019
Formline Basics with Eechdaa Dave Ketah (Tlingit)
July 27-29, 2-4 pm
Sheldon Jackson Museum and on Zoom
During this class, students will learn to construct at least one crest design. Plan to attend all three 2-hour sessions to learn formline design basics.
Students should have drawing paper, pencils, an eraser, a pencil sharpener, colored pens, and tracing paper for the class. Contact the museum for a list of suggested materials.
The Formline Basics class is best for ages 12-adult. Space is limited. Call (907) 747-8981 to sign up for the class and get additional information, including a zoom link if attending online.
Northern Lights Landscape Painting Class with Percy Avugiak (Inupiaq/Yup’ik)
Friday, August 26 and Saturday, August 27, 9 am-1 pm
Sheldon Jackson Museum and on Zoom
Artist Percy Avugiak (Inupiaq/Yup’ik) will offer a landscape painting class to teach students to paint the northern lights. Students should plan to attend both 4-hour sessions. If time permits, students will also stain wooden frames for their finished northern lights paintings using a traditional dye-making method involving blueberries and crowberries.
The class is free, but students need to sign up and pay a materials fee by July 15. Call (907) 747-8981 or stop by the museum to sign up and get the materials list and instructor’s contact information. Students who sign up to attend online will receive a zoom link. The materials will include an 11″ x 14″ or 15″ x 20″ canvas, unfinished frame, and specific acrylic paint colors. If attending via zoom, you can obtain materials on your own or order the kit directly from the instructor (and pay for shipping if needed).
Artist Talk with Percy Avugiak (Inupiaq/Yup’ik)
Saturday, August 27, 3-4 pm
Sheldon Jackson Museum and on Zoom
Artist Percy Avugiak (Inupiaq/Yup’ik) will give a talk on traditional Yup’ik masks and their different styles and uses, including “teasing masks” and the “teasing masks” he has made. To reserve a spot to attend in-person, call (907) 747-8981.
Percy Avugiak is an Inupiaq and Yup’ik artist who was raised in the Yup’ik village of Cherfornak and has Inupiaq roots tracing to White Mountain. Avugiak is primarily a painter and traditional Yup’ik-style mask maker who also carves wood and ivory and makes jewelry out of ivory and baleen. Avugiak primarily paints acrylic landscapes and portraits. The subject matter of his early paintings are whimsical Alaskan animals. He is best known for, and considers his best painted works to be, his abstract Alaskan Native dancing and singing paintings.
Avugiak obtained his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Native Arts and Painting from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks and has exhibited his work in solo and group exhibitions and taught art classes throughout Alaska since 2006. He currently lives in Eagle River with his Inupiaq wife who originally hails from Shishmaref. He will be the second artist in the Sheldon Jackson Museum and Friends of Sheldon Jackson Museum Alaska Native Artist Residency Program of 2022. Avugiak will be working most days at the museum August 19-September 10.
Zoom details
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81627424848?pwd=MWcwTncxb1VDTU84R3Q1TzduNnh1dz09
Meeting ID: 816 2742 4848
Passcode: 880165
Artist Talk with Percy Avugiak (Inupiaq/Yup’ik)
Saturday, September 10, 3-4 pm
Sheldon Jackson Museum and on Zoom
Artist Percy Avugiak (Inupiaq/Yup’ik) will give a talk on a selection of artifacts from the Sheldon Jackson Museum’s permanent collection. The talk To reserve a spot for the in-person talk, call the museum at (907) 747-8981.
Zoom details
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81171283722?pwd=SjNpZ2FOaG1jZkNUdDU0cHY5RndlZz09
Meeting ID: 811 7128 3722
Passcode: 885117
Artist Talk with Debra Dzijúksuk O’Gara (Tlingit, Yupik, Irish)
September 17, 3-4 pm
Sheldon Jackson Museum and on Zoom
Debra Dzijuksuk O’Gara (Tlingit, Yup’ik Irish) will give a talk entitled “Tillie Paul Tamaree: Educator and Tribal Historian.” Call the museum at (907) 747-8981 to reserve a spot to attend in-person.
O’Gara describes the subject of her talk as follows:
Matilda (Tillie) Kinnon Paul Tamaree was raven from the Teeyhittaan clan of Wrangell. Tillie was my Great Grandmother. She was born in 1864 and died in 1955. Though I never met her in person, her spirit and life accomplishments have and continue to provide me with inspiration and guidance in my life. In her 91 years, Tillie was a teacher, translator, historian, and activist for native and civil rights.
Tillie spent many years in Sitka as well as a translator for the Reverend Sheldon Jackson, an early leader in the Presbyterian church, and created a Tlingit dictionary. Tillie is the mother to the Paul brothers — William, Sr., Louis and Samuel in her first marriage, and to Gladys, Frances (Skip), and Florence in her second marriage to William Tamaree of Wrangell.
Debra Dzijúksuk O’Gara is Tlingit, Yup’ik, Irish and raven from the Teey hit taan clan of Wrangell. She is a ravenstail and Chilkat weaver and currently lives in Petersburg, Alaska. As the third artist-in-residence of the summer, she’ll be working at the museum most days, September 16-October 9. Her mom was born and raised in Mountain Village, Alaska and now lives in Juneau. Her grandmother, Frances Tamaree Sheppard was born in Wrangell and died young. Her great grandmother Tillie Paul Tamaree was a civil rights activist and mother to William and Louis Paul. Tillie’s second husband and Dzijúksuk great grandfather, William Tamaree, was a community leader and carver.
Debra Dzijúksuk’s Chilkat and ravenstail teachers have been the late Clarissa Rizal, whose teacher was Jennie Thlunaut; Lily Hope, who is Clarissa’s daughter; and Kay Parker. It is through this weaving and the art of her ancestors that she has found sobriety and an ever-growing circle of strong women and other two-spirit weavers. They share stories, lessons, mistakes and victories. They connect with each other and reconnect with our ancestors. Debra and these weavers are rediscovering and reviving the knowledge and stories of our clans that are embedded in the fibers of our weavings.
Zoom details:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83908633969?pwd=REpwbXpZdE5WZ1RMY1NadGNSZVBzUT09
Meeting ID: 839 0863 3969
Passcode: 422241
Ravenstail Pouch or Wall Hanging Class with Debra (Dzijuksuk) O’Gara (Tlingit, Yup’ik, Irish)
September 27 and October 1, 9 am-1 pm. (Optional third class: Tuesday, Oct. 4, 9 am-1 pm)
Sheldon Jackson Museum and on Zoom
Artist Debra Dzijuksuk O’Gara will offer a two-part ravenstail weaving class in which students will make either a ravenstail pouch or wall hanging. Plan to attend at least the first two sessions. The class is best for ages 15-adult. Space is limited. To sign up, call (907) 747-8981 or stop by the museum.
The ravenstail weaving class is free, but students need to pay a $25 materials fee when they sign up. Students may bring a check to the museum made out to Debra O’Gara. September 9 is the last day to sign up. People participating in-person should pick up their packet from the museum after September 26. The artist will mail packets to Zoom participants (additional shipping costs apply). Students will need some additional items not included in the kit, such as small scissors, a tapestry needle, etc. You can get the list of these few items when you sign up. A zoom link will be sent to those who register to attend via zoom.
Artist Talk with Debra Dzijúksuk O’Gara (Tlingit, Yupik, Irish)
Saturday, September 24, 3-4 pm
Sheldon Jackson Museum and on Zoom
Debra Dzijuksuk O’Gara (Tlingit, Yup’ik, Irish) will give a talk entitled “Cultural Significance of Ravenstail and Chilkat Weaving.” Call the museum at (907) 747-8981 to reserve a spot if you’d like to attend in-person.
O’Gara describes the subject of her talk as follows:
These two art forms [Chilkat and ravenstail weaving] nearly died out completely. Why and how did this happen? Focus will be on the strong resurgence today for both Ravenstail and Chilkat weaving which has provided medicine for many in their efforts in cultural and spiritual healing.
Just as Chilkat weaving is gaining new weavers, some of the traditional materials are becoming scarce due to climate change, loss of accessible lands, and unsustainable logging practices. What are some of the innovative solutions emerging to stave off this crisis?
Zoom details
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87295050342?pwd=OEhsK05TT0FqNHE1RkdMbXRoem1aUT09
Meeting ID: 872 9505 0342
Passcode: 123602
Artist Talk with Debra Dzijúksuk O’Gara (Tlingit, Yupik, Irish)
Saturday, October 8, 3-4 pm
Sheldon Jackson Museum and on Zoom
Debra Dzijuksuk O’Gara (Tlingit, Yup’ik, Irish) will give a talk on a selection of artifacts from the Sheldon Jackson Museum’s permanent collection. Call the museum at (907) 747-8981 to reserve a spot if you’d like to attend in-person
Debra Dzijúksuk O’Gara is Tlingit, Yup’ik, Irish and raven from the Teey hit taan clan of Wrangell. She currently lives in Petersburg, Alaska. Her mom was born and raised in Mountain Village, Alaska and now lives in Juneau. Her grandmother, Frances Tamaree Sheppard was born in Wrangell and died young. Her great grandmother Tillie Paul Tamaree was a civil rights activist and mother to William and Louis Paul. Tillie’s second husband and Djik’s great grandfather, William Tamaree, was a community leader and carver.
Zoom details
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84107978230?pwd=bGJsdXI4aWQ3VXFaWDlWSWJ0U2RMQT09
Meeting ID: 841 0797 8230
Passcode: 308552