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Press Release
Sept. 25, 2003
SEALASKA HERITAGE INSTITUTE AWARDED GRANT TO DIGITIZE HISTORICAL PHOTOS
A federal agency has awarded a $147,639 grant to Sealaska Heritage Institute to digitize and post on the Internet a large collection of historical photos owned by SHI and Sealaska Corp.
SHI will use the two-year grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to digitize the massive collection of images depicting historical events in Southeast Alaska, cultural and ceremonial activities, Celebration (a biennial cultural festival sponsored by SHI), and the birth and evolution of Sealaska, a regional Native corporation founded by federal law to settle land claims.
The corporate images are important because they document a pivotal era in Alaska Native history when Congress and Alaska opted to found Native corporations instead of Indian reservations, said Rosita Worl, SHI president.
“The photos document an era when, in a single generation, many of Alaska’s Native people went from subsisting off the land to managing millions of dollars and acreage in a corporate environment,” said Worl, who serves on Sealaska’s board of directors.
SHI also will use the grant to create a database for the photos, which will be made available for public viewing on the Internet at www.sealaskaheritage.org.
The grant is the second major award recently received by SHI, which was given a three-year grant for $363,500 earlier this month from the Administration for Native Americans. SHI will use that grant to publish two books on Native art forms and to operate Native carving and basket weaving classes in Hoonah from 2004-2006. Hoonah students who complete the institute’s Native art classes will receive a certificate from the University of Alaska Southeast, a partner in the project.
SHI is a regional Native nonprofit founded by Sealaska Corp. to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures. SHI administers educational and cultural programs for Sealaska.
CONTACT: Dr. Rosita Worl, SHI president, 907-463-4844