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Press Release
Dec. 1, 2004 (Radio Actualities)
SEALASKA HERITAGE
INSTITUTE TO EXPLORE OTHER VENUES FOR CELEBRATION
Sealaska Heritage Institute for the first time will seek bids from
Alaska communities to host Celebration, one of the largest Native
cultural events in the state.
The institute (SHI) usually holds the popular, biennial festival in Juneau. However, the Native nonprofit group’s board of trustees elected this year to explore other venues for Celebration 2006 in hopes of easing the financial burden on the institute, said SHI President Dr. Rosita Worl.
“The board of trustees directed that I contact other communities to see what facilities might be available in their communities and also what kind of support they might be able to render the heritage institute in the sponsorship of celebration,” Worl said.
The Native community in Ketchikan has asked to host Celebration in the past, so the institute likely will seek a bid from that city and Sitka, a sizeable town that has hosted Sealaska’s annual meetings, said Worl, vice-chair of Sealaska.
“We’d also take a look at Anchorage. I know we would be loath to move our cultural activities out of our own homeland, but in actuality we have a couple thousand of our own people who live in Anchorage proper,” she said.
The institute will make a
decision on venue and dates for Celebration 2006 by February, so
participants have plenty of time to book hotels and make other travel
arrangements to attend the three-day event, she said.
Celebration 2006 will mark the 24th year of the event, which began in
1982 to celebrate the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures. Celebration
2004 drew record crowds, attracting approximately 5,000 people,
including 1,700 dancers from Alaska, the Lower 48, New Zealand and
Canada. The 2004 festival was broadcast live on statewide television and
on the Internet and included a Juried Art Show and Competition, a Native
Artists Market, a parade through downtown and a black seaweed contest.
The institute has held all Celebrations in Juneau.
Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private, nonprofit founded in 1981 to
administer cultural and educational programs for Sealaska Corp. The
institute is governed by an all-Native board of trustees. Its mission is
to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of
Southeast Alaska.
CONTACT: SHI President Dr. Rosita Worl, 463-4844.
- Dr. Rosita
Worl, SHI president, TRT: :33 -- Celebration has changed in
many different ways. We have a lot more activities and it may be
that some of those activities along with the dance festival could be
held in other communities. And in their discussion the boards of
trustees directed that I contact other communities to see what
facilities might be available in their communities and also what
kind of support they might be able to render the heritage institute
in the sponsorship of celebration. (Audio)
- Dr. Rosita
Worl, SHI president, TRT: :29 -- We’ve had invitations from the
Native community to hold Celebration in Ketchikan. But in addition
to that we’d probably look at Sitka, it’s a sizeable community,
we’ve held our Sealaska annual meeting there. We’d also take a look
at Anchorage. I know we would be loath to move our cultural
activities out of our own homeland, but in actuality we have a
couple thousand of our own people who live in Anchorage proper. (Audio)
- Dr. Rosita Worl, SHI president, TRT: :12 -- The trustees know that people make their reservations well in advance of Celebration so they will be making a final decision about whether we’re going to hold celebration in Juneau or move it to another community probably by February. (Audio)