Friends of SJM outreach, advocacy, and acquisitions expand the reach and impact of the SJ Museum.
Advocacy takes many forms. We promote, foster, communicate, produce, and facilitate a wide range of museum offerings. These actions are done in alignment with the Alaska State Museum’s goals of preserving, exhibiting, and interpreting Alaska Native ethnographic material and art. The SJ Museum provides visitors the opportunity to learn about the history, culture, innovation, and ingenuity of Alaska Native peoples.
Over the years, the Friends have purchased and facilitated several acquisitions for the Sheldon Jackson Museum permanent collection and the Hands-On collection. In the last ten years, with the expansion of the collection to contemporary Alaskan Native art, acquisitions by the Friends have increased. Recently, acquisitions have slowed due to collection storage reaching capacity.
As part of Alaska State Museum’s outreach to students in remote areas across the state, the Sheldon Jackson Museum maintains a loan program for schools, libraries, and museums in Alaska.
The Hands-On collection is a special collection apart from the Sheldon Jackson Museum permanent collection.
Click the image to view the Hands On Loan Program website, or follow the link below: https://education.alaska.gov/apps/hands-on
In 2025, the Friends facilitated the acquisition of a painting by Danielle Larsen.
Titled Amgaadax̂, which means walrus in the Atkan / Unangam Tunuu language, this painting is acrylic on wood panel.
Larsen was an artist-in-residence at SJM for three weeks in September 2025 during which time she painted the piece.
Danielle Larsen is a multifaceted Koyukon Athabascan, Unangax̂, and Iñupiaq artist esteemed for her large eye-catching paintings that are uniquely Alaskan. Larsen was raised in Anchorage and spent formative summers on the scenic Kenai Peninsula. The influence of her culture and environment deeply permeate her work. Best known for her striking interpretations of jarred smoked salmon – an homage to her father’s fishing legacy – Danielle’s art celebrates the rich tapestry of her heritage. Danielle is a proud alumna of the University of Alaska Anchorage, where she obtained her BFA in 2015. She continues to inspire with her passion and creativity, working full-time as a designer and selling her paintings and gut skin, fish skin, and fur earrings.
An expansion of the SJ Museum is a long-time goal of the Friends.
Collection has paused due to storage reaching capacity. The 2024 SJM Interpretive Plan has identified building constraints as a major limitation and expansion as a top priority.
The Friends have organized a building committee to pursue exploration into a building expansion.
Read the complete interpretive plan at exhibitak.com/sjm
Fostering strong relationships in the community goes hand-in-hand with achieving the mission of the Friends of SJM.
We produce public programming, including hosting film screenings and author talks. Youth programs include read-alouds for our littlest museum patrons and make-and-take workshops for elementary age students.
Museum staff offers robust field trip opportunities that align with State of Alaska curriculum.
The collection is available for independent research.
Contact the SJM curator to learn more about one-on-one time with the collection. Tuesday throughout the winter months are closed to the public to facilitate access for culture bearers and researchers. To search the online database visit the state museum portal: https://5003.sydneyplus.com/argus/museum/Portal/508.aspx
In 2019 the Friends of SJM successfully dissuaded the Governor from closing the doors of the Sheldon Jackson Museum.
Members of the Friends shared the importance of the museum to the community of Sitka and the Alaska Native community around the state as the collection includes the finest examples of cultural objects from each of the Native groups in Alaska.
