Project Grant

 Culture Box: Art Kits for Youth A Journey to What Matters Grantee: Alaska Native Heritage Center In the midst of a world pandemic, the world we knew then came to a halt and the impact was devastating to the Alaska Native Heritage Center (ANHC). In the spirit of our Alaska Native Heritage Center Ten Universal Values, we give much respect and gratitude to The CIRI Foundation (TCF) for demonstrating similar values when it reached out to ANHC with an invitational grant for an Art Kits for Youth project.ANHC is a living cultural center that promotes active creation of art, featuring permanent collections and educational programs. Knowing that kids were out of school, and parents now found themselves in the position of having to work from home, be teachers for their kids, and make sure the kids have safe activities, ANHC did what we could immediately. Via our Facebook page, we began offering live streams/recordings of Alaska Native storytellers from all over the state, art activities like animal masks and snow visors that could be done with materials found around the house, and cooking videos. When the ANHC Team were brought together to visualize, develop and support the Art Kits for Youth project, the idea of a Culture Box was born. At its core, the Culture Box, Art Kits for Youth, is fundamentally connected to ANHC’s mission to preserve and strengthen the traditions, languages, and art of Alaska Native People through statewide collaboration, celebration and education.    The intended audience for the Culture Box project is the K-12 Alaska Native student population. Our approach to this project was inclusive of the various learning levels of those who would be enjoying and utilizing the Culture Box. And who better to have inform the work than those closest to the work, our ANHC Interns who produced more than 800 individual pieces of age appropriate art for anyone in the K-12th grade; although we did hear from parents how much they enjoyed and felt connected to being an Alaska Native through the Culture Box project and shared comments like, “This was an awesome experience!” or “Wish I had this when I was a young child.”The Culture Boxes have had a far reaching impact on the intended audience and beyond. Culture Boxes were requested from all across the state of Alaska and the lower 48. The 250 Culture Boxes were created, on time, within budget, and steeped in the philosophy of quality verse quantity. For example, in the necklace project we use real glass beads vs plastic or seal fur vs fake fur.Of those who completed the post project survey, 100% indicated they became more aware of Alaska Native art and culture; 90% indicated significant increase in knowledge and 90% of the responses indicated they were able to participate in cultural activities that otherwise would not have been available to them.On behalf of ANHC, Quyanaqpak, thank you very much for entrusting us with this exciting project. We deeply value our partnership with TCF! Downloads from Alaska Native Heritage Center

Artist in Residency at Anchorage Museum:  Sarah Ayaqi Whalen-Lunn  A Journey to What Matters Grantee: Anchorage Museum, Story by Sarah Ayaqi Whalen-Lunn Block and test print of Release, my project for the residency. During my month in residency with the Anchorage Museum I chose to work on one specific lino carving. It was interesting for me to have to slow down and think about my process and then step by step share that with people via social media. For the first time I did time lapse videos and other videos of the actual carve and I think it really allowed me a new way to connect with people, allowed them to see the time and effort put into a piece as well as challenged all of my areas of comfort by forcing me to open up about my work. Over all I am very happy with my experience with this residency. I think it opened me up to new ways of sharing that I will continue on and allowed me the time to take a step up in my carving process.Thank you for this. Learn more about Sarah’s artist-in-residency courtesy of Anchorage Museum in their blog and livestream. Alumni ・ Recipient ・ Participant Do you have a story to share? We love hearing from you!Sharing stories is an important part of Alaska Native culture and we are excited to hear about your experiences. Click here to share your story!

Protection: Adaptation and Resistance Workshops in Customary Arts A Journey to What Matters Grantee: Bunnell Street Arts Center, Story by Asia Freeman Energized by movements for social justice, concerned about climate change impacts on cultural survival, and sobered by the ongoing pandemic, Bunnell Street Arts Center present ed workshops by and for Indigenous Alaska artists addressing the theme of “Protection” featuring regalia, wearable art, sculpture, songs and masks. The workshops reflect Bunnell’s ongoing work to resist the colonization of Alaska and shift the conversation from how people used to live to how contemporary Indigenous art forms offer cultural protection today. The workshops were funded by The CIRI Foundation’s A Journey to What Matters: Increased Alaska Native Art & Culture grant program and Alaska Community Foundation Corona Virus Relief Fund.Joel Isaak (Dena’ina, Alaska) served as the project’s Cultural Advisor. Joel Isaak’s family is from the village of Ch’aghałnikt (Point Possession) and currently lives in Soldotna, Alaska. He shared the following: “Our lifeways, material culture, and protocols serve as armor to resist efforts to exterminate us. They are rooted in the power to unite and create space for all people. When we break down the efforts of those who work to silo, segregate, and discriminate there is space for all people and all living things. In an environment that seeks to destroy the living, valuing life has become a powerful form of resistance.” Workshop DescriptionsSewing a traditional “trapper hat” of otter fur with Yup’ik artist Peter Paul Kawagaelg Williams as a way to explore Yup’ik culture and philosophy of reciprocity between human, plant, animal and spiritual worldsLower Tanana Denakenaga’ Songmaking with David Engels, who has studied this art for the past twenty years, beginning with his grandmother;Atikluk (snow shirt) Making with Bobby Itta, who loves to create customary art with a modern twist;Chilkat Weaver Lily Hope lead a cohort of Chilkat weavers in hand-twining a Chilkat Protector Mask from start to finishMarjorie Kunaq Tahbone (Inupiaq and Kiowa, Nome) taught an intergenerational workshop on how to carve naniq (seal oil lamp) using soapstone and hand tools.Due to a medical emergency, Benjamin Charles (Bethel) postponed his workshop on carving a customary Yup’ik mask, using positive and negative space to modern carving tools and wood properties. Alumni ・ Recipient ・ Participant Do you have a story to share? We love hearing from you!Sharing stories is an important part of Alaska Native culture and we are excited to hear about your experiences. Click here to share your story!

A Journey To What Matters: Prenatal Beaded Earring Workshop  Grantee: Alaska Native Birthworkers Community, Story by Helena Jacobs The CIRI Foundation, through its A Journey to What Matters: Increased Alaska Native Art & Culture grant program, partnered with the Alaska Native Birthworkers Community to offer a prenatal beaded earring workshop for Native birthing families. We procured, assembled and distributed 30 complete kits with all the supplies needed to make two pairs of beaded earrings, and hired Gwich’in artist Rochelle Adams to prepare the supply list, instruction sheet, and teach a live workshop on November 14, 2020.We recorded the workshop and distributed it afterward to everyone who registered so folks who were not able to make this date could watch the step-by-step instructional recording and make earrings on their own. Our goal was to provide Alaska Native families with a culturally enriching opportunity while awaiting their new baby, to build community, and to celebrate our arts and cultures as Indigenous peoples. Quotes from participants on the impact of this workshop include:“It started my beading journey which I am very grateful for and helped connect me to other indigenous women which is really comforting especially in this time of social distancing. ““This gave me something new and fun to look forward to during my pregnancy and during the pandemic, while safely being at home and keeping myself busy.”“I loved learning a new skill and knowing that I can one day teach my own children.”We are now using this model to plan other similar teaching and community building virtual workshops.  Learn more about our work at www.nativebirthworkers.org. Alumni ・ Recipient ・ Participant Do you have a story to share? We love hearing from you!Sharing stories is an important part of Alaska Native culture and we are excited to hear about your experiences. Click here to share your story!

2020 Elders & Youth: Living & Loving our Cultures WorkshopStory by: Helena Jacobs My mother, four of my children, and I were all blessed with the opportunity to participate in the first ever virtual FAI Elders & Youth Conference Living & Loving our Cultures workshops this year! My daughters and I were set up on a zoom call in our dining room doing the “Painting Our Ways of Life” workshop with Sylvia Lange (Tlingit) doing acrylic painting on canvas, my mom and son were set up on a Zoom call in our living room doing the “Cedar Bracelet Making” workshop with Debbie McLavey (Haida) and RoMay Edenshaw (Haida), and my other son was set up on a Zoom call in my office doing the “COVID-19 Mask Sewing” workshop with Mellisa Johnson (Inupiaq).Sylvia asked each virtual workshop participant to choose something we wanted to paint, and then encouraged us and answered questions throughout. She shared about mixing paints, color theory, contrast, and techniques with different brushes or materials, while showing many examples of her work. It was so fun!In reflecting on this workshop, my 7 year old said there were so many cool designs that people chose that had different patterns and colors that she felt inspired seeing what they made. She said it felt good to be able to be free to paint whatever she wanted. She had fun and loved this activity so much that she wanted to go to her grandpa’s house the next week to participate in a paint night activity led by Sugpiaq artist Sara Squartsoff online. As we were preparing our painting stations, my five year old excitedly exclaimed, “this is going to be the best day of my life!” because she was so excited to do this activity with her mom and her older sister.Enaa baasee’ to The CIRI Foundation, to First Alaskans Institute, and to all our instructors and peers for this amazing opportunity! Alumni ・ Recipient ・ Participant Do you have a story to share? We love hearing from you!Sharing stories is an important part of Alaska Native culture and we are excited to hear about your experiences. Click here to share your story!