Aug. 9, 2011 (Radio Actualities) (Schedule)

ALASKA GROUPS TO SHOWCASE NATIVE ART, CULTURES IN SANTA FE
Groups hope to replicate huge art market in Alaska, broaden Alaska art market

The Native nonprofit Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) and its founder Sealaska Corporation are planning Native art demonstrations, art sales, dance-and-cultural performances and a high fashion show to spotlight the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. It’s a chance to expose nearly 100,000 patrons of the market there to the Native art here and to broaden demand, said SHI President Rosita Worl.

"We think it would be great for us to market ourselves to this very unique group of people who have an interest in Native art, and, we want to tell them that "Hey, our Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures are still here, they’re viable, and we also have a very distinctive art form that we think you might like to learn about," Worl said.

The Santa Fe Indian Market over the past 90 years has been instrumental in creating worldwide demand for Southwest Indian art. The two-day market, scheduled Aug. 20-21, is operated by the nonprofit Southwestern Association for Indian Arts (SWAIA), which invited SHI and Sealaska to participate.

One of the main goals is to eventually develop a Native art market in Alaska similar to the lucrative Santa Fe market, said Worl, adding such a market would be a boon for Alaska and for Native artists struggling to make a living. The Santa Fe market has made some Native artists there prosperous, she said.

"It provides them with a good living," Worl said. "Some have said it’s their livelihood for the entire year. And the benefit it brings to businesses there in Santa Fe is also something that would be good for our economy as well."

The event also is an opportunity to better acquaint Lower 48 tribes with Sealaska Corporation, a Native company formed in the 1970s as a result of Alaska's Native land claims settlement. At the urging of Native Elders, Sealaska founded Sealaska Heritage Institute in 1980 to develop language and culture programs. It has continued to be a major force in supporting cultural programs.

"Sealaska Corporation is more than just a business entity. It’s a Native corporation with strong cultural underpinnings," said Sealaska President and CEO Chris E. McNeil, Jr. "Lower 48 people are familiar with tribes but they’re not familiar with Native corporations, which were the mechanism we chose to implement our land claims."

Sealaska Heritage Institute is a nonprofit founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures. SHI operates several programs to promote Southeast Native art, including an art website, a retail store, a juried art show, workshops, and a Native artist market held every other year at Celebration—a dance and culture festival organized by the institute. The institute also operates programs to document and teach Native languages, produce educational materials, and preserve archival and ethnographic collections. For more information see www.sealaskaheritage.org and www.alaskanativeartists.com

Sealaska Corporation is a for-profit company formed under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 and founded for the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian of Southeast Alaska. Since inception Sealaska has strengthened business with culture and operates diverse operations in Southeast Alaska and worldwide for the benefit of its 20,000 tribal member shareholders and the communities it operates within. In 1980 it established Sealaska Heritage Institute to operate its cultural and educational programs. For more information see www.sealaska.com