Rolf Christiansen

Medium: Carving, Sculpture

Rolf is a 57-year-old Alutiiq, Scandinavian traditional artist. He is also a lifelong advocate of a subsistence lifestyle and the preservation of Alutiiq culture, and he serves as an expert, experienced hunter in the harvesting of marine mammals and wild game indigenous to his homelands in Old Harbor, Alaska. Rolf has served on the Old Harbor Native Corporation Board, the Alutiiq Tribe of Old Harbor Board, and the OHNC Land Use Committee. He has held community positions such as Suicide Prevention Coordinator, member of the Village Response Team, and Tribal Youth Coordinator.

He learned to carve by working with community Elders and by experimenting. He enjoys making traditional paddles, masks, and dart sets.

Rolf is co-owner of Red Raven Creations with his wife, Ramona C. Erickson, and sells his artwork through his business and at Kodiak retailers, including the Alutiiq Museum Store and Uncharted. Examples of his work have been purchased for the collections of the Alaska Tribal Health Consortium, the Kodiak Area Native Association, and the Old Harbor Native Corporation. He is also a contributor to the Old Harbor Scholarship Foundation’s Labor Day Auction and the Old Harbor Alliance Bison Fundraiser.