Exhibition of Alaskan Native Artists

Amber Webb’s 12-foot-high “Memorial Qaspeq” is made from cotton bedsheets, hand-sewn together to create the oversized garment. Using a Sharpie pen she drew the portraits of more than 200 women who are among the missing and murdered Indigenous women from Alaska and Canada.

Using Zoom, Bobby Qalutaksraq Brower (Iñupiaq, Utqiaġvik) invited Indigenous women from across Alaska to come together and learn to sew the garments in memory of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG). They pay tribute to the love and loss of loved ones.

In increasing numbers across Alaska, Indigenous women are embracing this traditional rite of passage as expressions of cultural identity and solidarity. 

During the pandemic Mentor Weaver Lily Hope of the Raven T’akdeintaan Clan lead students over Zoom to create Chilkat protector masks made from thigh-spun, hand-dyed merino wool, cedar bark, tin, brass, ermine and beaver fur.

Lily is a gallery owner, single mother of five, university professor, culture bearer, weaving teacher, storyteller, fashion designer, children’s book author and ceremonial regalia maker. Lily’s work is in over 13 museum collections.

These dance robes tell the story of the Herring Rock Woman, who sang to Yaaw, the herring, until they schooled and laid eggs in her hair. Created by a collective of artists, the life-sized robes are decorated with a variety of elements, each of which has significance.

In “We’re Still Here”, Naal xak’w / Tommy Joseph created the alder and wood animal masks to fit over N95 masks, using a cultural tradition to encourage mask-wearing, particularly among elders.

Created by Kunaq Marjorie Tahbone, Hanna Agasuuq Sholl, Elli Aqugaq Tansy, Britt’Nee Kivliqtaruq Brower, and Jackie Qataliña Schaeffer 

In Raven’s Story, Rico Lanáat’ Worl offers a new take on a traditional story to elevate the cleverness and resourcefulness energizing Lingít culture today. 

Dimi Macheras and Casey Silver usher Ahtna storytelling traditions into a new era in their vibrant graphic novel Chickaloonies.

The event was packed with supporters of Native art and members of the local Indigenous community. Each artist spoke about their work to the crowd.

From Bunnell Street Arts Center in Homer, Alaska, Curator Asia Freeman, introduced the Portland community to some of the Alaskan Native artists included in the exhibit.