Students from Mount Edgecumbe High School will perform in person at the Sheldon Jackson Museum.
The Athabascan dance group consists of four seniors and a few freshmen for the 2025-26 school year. This group has grown over the years, especially with men, whereas most groups – even Yupik – typically have two or three men.
The Inupiaq dance group is a smaller group. Students are learning new songs from their elders and bringing them to school to share. It’s traditional for Inupiaq to wear gloves to cover their hands when they perform.
MEHS has six student dance groups that share Alaska Native cultures through song and dance. Several of the dance groups are traveling to the Festival of Native Arts at the end of next month at UAF. Learn more about the festival at https://www.uaf.edu/festival/
Students from Mount Edgecumbe High School will perform in person at the Sheldon Jackson Museum.
The Yup’ik dance groups have always been the biggest groups at MEHS. They practice two times a week and know a lot of fun songs as Yup’ik people like to laugh easily.
The Unangax dance group comprises nine student dancers who mostly come from Atka and Pribaloff islands.
MEHS has six student dance groups that share Alaska Native cultures through song and dance. Several of the dance groups are traveling to the Festival of Native Arts at the end of next month at UAF. Learn more about the festival at https://www.uaf.edu/festival/
Jennifer Younger (Tlingit Eagle/Kaagwaantaan) will give a talk entitled, “My Milan Jewelry Week 2025 Experience” on Friday, February 27th at noon both in-person at the SJ Museum and simultaneously online. Jennifer Younger will share her experience from Milan Jewelry Week in October 2025. Hear how she presented at this major jewelry show and what she learned, did, and whom she met while there. She will give the behind-the-scenes process, from preparing her work to navigating one of the world’s most influential jewelry events. Jennifer will also reflect on how this opportunity is shaping her creative path and opening new doors for future collaborations. The Friends of Sheldon Jackson Museum helped sponsor Jennifer’s trip.
Join The Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85888347779?pwd=cVRLUKrjzVoblg72Nm3sWFCQQbsA8n.1
Meeting ID: 858 8834 7779
Passcode: Milan
This is the second talk and fourth event in the 2026 Share Your Culture Share / Your Research presentation series. The series runs through the spring and focuses on subjects connected to Alaska Native cultures. Special thanks to our program sponsor Sea Level Consulting and private donors.
Ruth Hallows (Tsimshian, Scottish) will give a talk entitled “Coming Home Through Ceremonial Weaving” on Friday, March 13th at noon. This talk will be online ONLY. Ruth will share the story of their first Chilkat dancing robe, Nüüm Batsda Da Gyemsa̱x, danced to life in February 2023 at the Shuká Hít clan house in Juneau, Alaska and how the dance robe is fulfilling its name: Carry Us Home.
Join The Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81250843492?pwd=ba8ZuuGmX9zhSwkK722WouhBrFK1TR.1
Meeting ID: 812 5084 3492
Passcode: Ruth
This is the third talk and fifth event in the 2026 Share Your Culture Share / Your Research presentation series. The series runs through the spring and focuses on subjects connected to Alaska Native cultures. Special thanks to our program sponsor Sea Level Consulting and private donors.
Laine Rinehart (Tlingit/Teeyhítan/ Kagwaantaan/ Taos Pueblo) will give a talk entitled, “Jaanwu a Reclamation of Process” on Friday, April 10th at noon. This talk will be online ONLY. Laine will share not only the technical aspects of mountain goat processing through a series of photographs – from the mountainside to the loom – but also stories from mentors. For nearly 15 years, Laine has worked with Jaanwu as a way to reconnect to our traditional lifeways. “Through this, I have learned more about the community of individuals that make up Southeast Alaska into the Kenai Peninsula and Kodiak Island in a way that stretches beyond the practice of Jaanwu processing itself.” said Laine Rinehart.
Join The Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81138999566?pwd=bYKlyMpnnaYgVn5ORsRg2M20hBHMfY.1
Meeting ID: 811 3899 9566
Passcode: Laine
This is the fourth talk and sixth event in the 2026 Share Your Culture Share / Your Research presentation series. The series runs through the spring and focuses on subjects connected to Alaska Native cultures. Special thanks to our program sponsor Sea Level Consulting and private donors.
Visit https://friendsofsjm.com/annualmeeting/ for full details.
