Born in Anchorage, Alaska and raised in the Bristol Bay village of Pilot Point, Andrew Abyo (uh-BY-oh) is a Sugpiaq carver who seeks to learn and pass on his cultural traditions. He wants his three children and others to have a greater understanding of the Sugpiaq culture and its rich history. “My goal is to bring out different things that you normally don’t get to see, other than in a museum.” Now based in Anchorage, Andrew is known for his in-depth historical research, which helps […]
Alaska Native Art Living History Project
20 posts
June (Simeonoff) Pardue is an Alutiiq/Sugpiaq and Inupiaq artist originally from Old Harbor Village on Kodiak Island. Currently a resident of Sutton, Alaska, she works in a variety of mediums, and is especially known for her Alutiiq grass weaving, fish skin tanning, fish leather and sea mammal skin sewing, jewelry, and beading. Examples of June’s work, such as beaded headdresses and grass socks, are in permanent collections of several museums nationwide. She has taught and demonstrated weaving, fur sewing, and beading in university, museum, and […]
Hanna Sholl Sugpiaq artist My name is Hanna Sholl, my Sugpiaq (Alutiiq) name is Agasuuq, meaning cormorant. I was born in Kodiak, Alaska to Sophie Frets (Hansen) and Bruce Burns. My maternal grandparents were Walter and Edna Hansen. I introduce myself in this way to honor my ancestry, homelands, and relationships, each of which informs my art. With my artwork, my hopes are to always honor the resistance and creativity of our ancestors, combining present day with traditional methods. Currently I am working primarily […]
Interviewee: Preston Singletary Interviewers: Stacy Chavis, Katelyn Zuray Date of Interview: 11/13/2020 Location of Interview: Zoom call Note- This transcript has been edited. The edits were made to remove false starts and vocal fillers. The edits have been made with the intent of making the transcript easier to read, and to make the intentions and meaning of Preston more clear. Katelyn Zuray You’ve spoken often about your upbringing in Seattle and your Filipino-Alaskan Native heritage. How was your art influenced by your heritage, your oral […]
Lily Hope Who has been the most influential person in your journey as an artist? That one is kind of easy. My mother Clarissa Rizal. R-I-Z-A-L. (She) was an artist my entire life. I just talked to my sister about this yesterday, but we can’t remember her ever doing things that we wanted to do with her. Like if we were like” hey play Yahtzee with us!” She was like, “oh come over here and you know stir this dye pot or put these buttons […]
Sketch by artist Eli Pasco of David working on wooden masks with his sons, in the open artists’ studio, a space created by the Burke Museum, part of the University of Washington’s Museum of Natural History and Pacific Northwest culture. “This space, created for artists to present work that is in progress and to give them a chance to interact with the public and share their craft and knowledge”(Pasco, 2019). David Boxley, a Tsimshian artist, and carver from Metlakatla, Alaska, owes the inspiration for his […]
Sheri:- Well, first of all thank you so much for taking time to, you know, out of your day and your day off to meet with us and, um, you know we’ve had a chance to go over some of your, your work, different interviews, and, uh, the importance of a native artist but I think want to give you a forum to kind of go over a little bit of your own bio, and then we have the questions, so um, um, don’t know […]
Margaret: Hi, Everyone John you know me. These are my classmates. We are currently enrolled in Alaska native studies through the University of Alaska Fairbanks. So the reason we are interviewing you is this is a part of a living history project were we are trying to interview contemporary artists that might not be in our history books yet. So first we just want to thank you for setting aside some time for us. We appreciate it. John: I am glad to. Margaret: And we […]
Transcript of Artist Interview with Jenny Irene Miller Robert: Hello, this addition to the Alaska Native Art Living History Project is an interview with the artist Jenny Irene Miller. Miller is an Albuquerque, New Mexico and Anchorage, Alaska-based artist currently pursuing an MFA in Photography at the University of New Mexico. This interview was conducted on April 21st, 2020 by myself, Robert Willcox, and my collaborators Josie Heyano, Bob Hook, and Katy Tomter. To find out more about Jenny Irene Miller […]
Interviewer: Melissa Langley Jones Transcribed by Rose Hendrickson Melissa: So where are you originally from? Kipo: I’m originally from Unalakleet, Alaska. Melissa: And could you tell me about your family, how many siblings, tell me about your parents, and what life was like with your family? Kipo: Ok, I was the youngest of nine children, and I, basically I was born in Unalakleet, but left Unalakleet when I was only five or six, and we moved to Anchorage. Melissa: Oh wow. Kipo: […]
An interview with Allison Akootchook Warden Allison Akootchook Warden is a multidisciplinary artist of Iñupiaq descent from Alaska. A multidisciplinary artist, Warden is a recipient of 2018 Native Arts and Cultures Foundation Artistic Fellowship in the field of Music, a 2018 Rasmuson Individual Artist Fellowship in the field of New Genre. For many people, 2020 has been a year of change and transition. That is true for Alaska-based artist Allison Akootchook Warden. Allison, who has ancestral ties to the North Slope village of Kaktovik, […]
Glen Simpson Interview Transcription Glen: “There are a few concepts that are basic to native cultures. One is animism. Everything has a spirit. A rock has a spirit. A stream has a spirit. A tree has a spirit. I pick up a rock and I put it back down where I got it, I don’t even think about it. I think, “I don’t want to disturb this world’. Take what you need, but to take something that you don’t need means that you’re not treating […]
Danielle: Could you guys tell me about the project a little bit more? Rick: Sure. Well, we’re both in this Alaska Native Arts course with a number of other students who are all over the place. Some in state. Some out of state. And, we’ve learned about the different regions of Alaska Native art from various cultures, from southeast, to north, to the Aleut regions, and then we took quizzes, we discussed things online. Then our major project is to find an artist, an […]
Interview with Elizabeth Mendes 10/25/2018: Interviewer: Charlotte Nicolet Transcriber: Josephine Bean Editor: Jennifer Watts Elizabeth Mendes Interview Charlotte: Hi Elizabeth, can you tell me where you’re from and a little bit about yourself? Elizabeth: Yes, my name is Elizabeth Mendes, originally from Napakiak which twenty miles out of Bethel. And I do a lot of sewing and I’d like to show you throughout this interview what they are. C: Wonderful, can we see? E: Okay. All my stuff that I make… My crafts are mainly […]
My name is Charlotte Nicolet, I’m here to represent my class, Native Arts of Alaska. And out group. Can you tell me about yourself I am a 38 year old *in audible* textiles that I make. I also teach both styles pretty consistently and also teach in Canada. My mother was Clarissa who was one of Jenny’s last students and apprentices and she taught me how to do these weavings in the traditional way. So she actually didn’t want me to participate in whatever […]
Interview with Willie Goodwin. Interviewers: Katie, Jami, Bertha Katie: [00:00:02] So, do you guys want to ask questions, do you want me to ask questions? Jami: [00:00:11] Do you have, Katie, do you have your computer up too, to ask the question to willie. Katie: [00:00:16] I don’t but I have my phone here and it has the list on it. Jami: [00:00:22] Ok. I Have the list in front of me if we wanted to take turns or if we all just want to […]
1. Where do you get your inspiration from today? There’s nobody in my family in the younger generation that carves today. My uncles that carved have died off. When I was young they inspired me to be a carver. Continuing their tradition is what gives me inspiration. I don’t want carving as an art to die. 2. Where did you get your inspiration from when you started making your art? I got my inspiration from my Dad and my uncles. I started carving when I […]
>> Jennifer: Where are you from? >> David: I’m from Metlakatla, AK that’s Southeast Alaska, just south of Ketchikan, a Tsimshian Village. >> Jennifer: How long have you been an artist? >> David: Been quite a while. Been a professional artist for the last 40 years. But I’ve been drawing for longer than that. >> Jennifer: What types of art do you create? >> David: Well, I guess you could call it Northern, Northwest Coast kind of art, Tsimshian art. Tsiamshian is my tribe, but […]
There is an incredibly vibrant Alaska Native Art seen going on right now, but it can be hard to find information about artists. This site was developed as a way to capture some of the histories that are being made in Alaska now. The culmination of the course is to publish the living histories of Alaska Native Artist as it is happening by our team of student researchers. Every semester more will be added to the project, so check back to see what has been […]