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KODIAK, Alaska—An ancestral mask collected on Kodiak Island has been transferred to the Alutiiq Museum. Records suggest that the rare ceremonial carving may have been made around 1820, during the height of the Russian fur trade. However, the mask’s early history is unknown. In the 1980s, the mask was purchased in a Montreal gallery, and in 1991 it was donated to McMaster University’s Museum of Art in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Recognizing the carving’s spiritual significance and the importance of transferring it to an institution aligned with its heritage, McMaster offered the piece to the Alutiiq Museum. In September, the mask returned to Kodiak.

“We were so happy to receive this mask,” said Executive Director April Laktonen Counceller. “We were not aware of its existence. McMaster University took the time to find our institution, explain the situation, complete transfer paperwork, pack the piece in a custom-made box, and ship it to Alaska. They were not required to return it, but we are glad they did.”

The mask is unique. It is small, about 28 x 17 cm, and in two pieces. The lower half of the face is lashed to the upper half, creating a space representing a mouth. Although it features the heavy brow found in other Alutiiq masks, the piece has an unusual asymmetrical face. Its creator carved a tilted brow, bent nose, and one partially closed eye. The design is similar to an ancestral mask from Karluk and to asymmetrical masks made by neighboring peoples. Some people believe such carvings are shamanic and show a spiritual transformation in progress. Others suggest that asymmetrical faces represent a particular spirit in the cosmology of arctic peoples.

Pictures of the mask are available on the Amutat database, a collection of photographs of Alutiiq ethnographic objects on the museum’s website. The public is invited to see the mask on Friday, November 1 at the Alutiiq Museum Store at the Downtown Marketplace. The museum will share the piece in honor of Kodiak’s First Friday Art Walk between 5 pm and 7 pm. This is a free event. Everyone is welcome.

Mask photos courtesy of the McMaster University Museum of Art.

KODIAK, Alaska—two major grants to Alutiiq organizations will support the Alutiiq Museum’s efforts to create an entirely new set of displays for its renovated exhibit hall. In June, Koniag received a $231,889 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to develop displays on Alutiiq subsistence, community life, and spirituality at the museum. In July, the Native Village of Afognak received $98,968 in grant funding from the US Bureau of Indian Affairs for museum displays exploring the impacts of Russian and American colonization. The funds will help the Alutiiq Museum tell the Alutiiq story from a new perspective. Executive Director April Counceller explained.

“Two years ago, we began planning the displays for our new galleries with audience assistance,” she said. “Through this process, we developed a beautiful design. The galleries will be organized around four Alutiiq values and explore areas like ties to the land, social life, and spirituality. Visitors will also find a gallery devoted to recent history and updated versions of old favorites like our kayak display and children’s corner. The grants will help us take the designs from the computer to the gallery!” 

To assist with this process, the museum is hiring an exhibit apprentice. “Exhibit projects are complex and the best way to learn is through hands-on experience,” said Counceller. “The grant funds will allow us to use this once-in-a-generation project for training. We are hiring a full-time exhibit apprentice to work beside Exhibit Manager Alexandra Painter.” Those interested in the position can find application materials on the opportunity page of the museum’s website.

Starting this month, staff will build mounts for hundreds of objects planned for display—from tiny artifacts to parkas and paddles. Then, with professional support from welders, carpenters, and painters, the museum’s team will build the displays and install objects for a grand reopening in May 2025.

“We are planning a week of celebration to debut the new exhibits, share our enhanced facilities, honor our many generous contributors, and share our culture,” said Counceller. Updates on the renovation can be found on the renovation page of the Alutiiq Museum website.

Other generous contributors to the museum’s upcoming exhibits and their supporting educational materials include the Alaska Office of History and Archaeology, Alaska State Council on the Arts through the Munartet project, American Indian Native American Tourism Association, EVOS Trustee Council through the CORaL Partnership, GCI Gives, The CIRI Foundation, Trident Seafoods, and US Coast Guard Spouses Association of Kodiak.

Photo: Beaded headdress by Emily Jean Capjohn planned for display in the museum’s new exhibits.

KODIAK, Alaska—The Alutiiq Museum has added 11 watercolor portraits of 19^th-century Alutiiq/Sugpiaq people to its collections. Created by Sugpiaq artist Cheryl Lacy, the set reinterprets watercolor paintings made by Mikhail Tikhanov, a  Russian artist from Saint Petersburg who visited Kodiak in 1818. It is titled Our Ancestors. Lacy’s paintings capture the faces and clothing of Kodiak’s Native people and add scenic backgrounds. Her work transforms scientific illustrations painted on blue backgrounds into images that bring Alutiiq ancestors to life. A $15,500 grant from the Alaska Art Fund, administered by Museums Alaska with support from Rasmuson Foundation, paid for the commission.

“Tikhanov’s portraits are some of the oldest images of our ancestors,” said Alutiiq Museum Executive Director April Laktonen Counceller. “He painted individuals in great detail, capturing their facial features, clothing, hairstyles, tattoos, jewelry, and tools. He even recorded some of the people’s names and the places they were from. Unfortunately, many of his paintings show the same person from two perspectives—a front view and a side view—as if they were scientific specimens. They are an artifact of the colonial era.”

To remove the colonial perspective but preserve the faces of Alutiiq ancestors, the museum commissioned Lacy to create new paintings. Staff members provided her with photographs of landscapes tied to the homes of Tikhanov’s subjects. It took Lacy just five months to create the set. She restyled each portrait, combining front and side views of the same person into a three-quarter view.

Tikhanov’s paintings show the growing influence of Russian customs on Alutiiq people as expressed in their clothing and names. However, they also demonstrate the persistence of an Alutiiq way of life in traditions like tattooing, nose piercing, and personal adornment. They are a trove of information. The Alutiiq Museum plans to show the paintings in its new living culture gallery next May. A selection of the portraits will also be included in a book on contemporary Alutiiq art currently in development.

“These paintings will help us share the faces of actual ancestors in many ways,” said Counceller. “Cheryl is talented at capturing people and she used bright colors, living landscapes, and large canvases to bring our relatives to life. Her portraits are stunning.”

KODIAK, Alaska—The history of the Kodiak Alutiiq/Sugpiaq people is the subject of a new book released today by the Alutiiq Museum. The 188-page paperback, titled Imaken Ima’ut—From the Past to the Future, traces the history of Kodiak’s Native people over more than seven millennia. Written for a public audience, it provides an accessible account of Alutiiq history told by local scholars and with Alutiiq perspectives. It was funded by a grant to Koniag by the Institute for Museum and Library Services.

“A few years ago, the museum held a tribal summit where we shared Alutiiq history,” said April Laktonen Counceller, the Alutiiq Museum’s executive director and one of the book’s authors. “We gave presentations to delegates from ten tribes and then asked what the museum should be sharing. Up to that point, we’d focused on teaching about Alutiiq traditions and had not delved into recent history.  Many people were surprised by what they learned and everyone urged us to tell a fuller Alutiiq story. That discussion was part of the impetus for this book.”

Four museum staff members wrote, edited, and designed the five-chapter publication. It begins with a discussion of the importance of tribal histories and the sources of information used to build the book. Then, the authors explore the Alutiiq past. Two chapters written by museum archaeologists Patrick Saltonstall and Amy Steffian look at Kodiak’s deep human history, synthesizing information on the peopling of the archipelago and the evolution of ancestral cultures. Then Alutiiq scholar Dehrich Chya shares the Russian conquest of Kodiak. He considers the economic, educational, and spiritual forces that dramatically altered Alutiiq life over a tumultuous century. Counceller continues this investigation with a review of the American era. She considers how Western industries, educational systems, and policies impacted the Alutiiq after the Alaska purchase, and then traces the development of the Alutiiq cultural renaissance from its roots in the land claims era to the present. Both Chya and Counceller provide Native perspectives on events that have often been told through Western accounts.

The presentation is heavily illustrated with over two hundred images from the museum’s collections and numerous sidebars. The sidebars share short summaries of related information. For example, in a discussion of the fur trade, readers will find a sidebar about Alutiiq hunters taken to California. Each chapter ends with a glossary of Alutiiq words and a list of references. The book ends with an introduction to its authors and a detailed index.

“We designed the book to be engaging and accessible,” said Counceller. “It is carefully researched by our team and then presented in a way that makes the information understandable. We believe it will be a valuable resource for Alaska history classes. Imaken Ima’ut brings Alutiiq history to life, and we know that’s important for Native youth. Our children do better in school when they see their heritage reflected in their lessons.”

Copies of Imaken Ima’ut are being distributed for free to Kodiak schools, Native organizations, libraries, and the museum’s educational partners. On April 18^th, free copies will be offered to the public at a presentation and book signing hosted by the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center. The event will start at noon and provide books while supplies last. Additionally, a free downloadable eBook of Imaken Ima’ut is available on the publications page of the museum’s website. Paper copies can be purchased from the Alutiiq Museum Store for $25.

Every Valentine’s Day the Alutiiq Museum shows little love for its volunteers. We are fortunate to have many friends who contribute their time and talents to our work. To highlight the importance of our volunteers, we honor one outstanding contribution with our Volunteer of the Year award. For 2023, we picked Jim and Bonnie Dillard. The Dillards worked together to make a pair of Alutiiq drums for use by students.

Long-time Kodiak educators and artists, Jim and Bonnie Dillard have supported cultural education and the Alutiiq Museum for decades. Jim was an instructor in the museum’s first carving classes and traveled to villages with Sven Hakaanson to teach mask-making. He has lectured on woodworking and made objects for our teaching collection. Bonnie has partnered with the museum to bring Alutiiq traditions to art classes with lesson plans and special projects.

In 2023, the Dillards helped again when elementary school music students asked for Alutiiq drums to use in class. Jim and Bonnie volunteered their expertise. Thanks to their kindness, two drums now spend the school year in the music department and return to the museum each summer for care.

The drums took weeks to make and were crafted in an Alutiiq way. Jim carved the handles, braces, and rim pieces. Then he soaked the rims for five weeks, steamed them, and bent them to shape. Next, he assembled each drum and used airplane fabric to cover the heads. The final step was painting. Bonnie decorated each drum in Alutiiq colors and added a painted feather to the head.

“Thanks to the Dillards, students exploring Alutiiq music now have appropriate instruments,” said the museum’s Executive Director April Laktonen Counceller. “We are very grateful for the knowledge Jim and Bonnie are helping to keep alive in the community and pass on to the next generation.”

To learn more about volunteering at the museum, please contact Djuna Davidson, 844-425-8844. We welcome all volunteers, and no experience is necessary.

KODIAK, Alaska—The Alutiiq Museum has released a booklet and a set of videos with directions for making a basic Alutiiq/Sugpiaq atkuk—parka. Produced in partnership with Elder Susan Malutin, the resources provided step-by-step instructions for creating a long, hoodless coat from fabric. The garment is styled like the iconic Kodiak Alutiiq snow falling parka worn by both men and women. The resources are intended to help Alutiiq people create cultural garments to share and celebrate their heritage. Alutiiq Museum Executive Director April Laktonen Counceller explained.

“There is a huge demand for information on how to make Alutiiq clothing. People in our community are hungry to express themselves by both creating and wearing parkas, headdresses, and other items. But you can’t buy an atkuk at the store and few people know how to make them. This project is part of an ongoing effort to help people create regalia.”

The instructions include information on ancestral snow falling parkas, which were once made from cormorant throat skins. The modern version calls for heavy black fabric, red grosgrain ribbon, tufts of white fur, and beads. A full list of supplies and equipment appears in the resources with detailed, illustrated sewing instructions. Importantly, the instructions leave room for each sewer to add decorative touches, to make their garment unique.

“This is not a simple project,” said Counceller, “It requires the use of a sewing machine and some patience. Yet, with materials available at a fabric store and our instructions, you can create an Alutiiq atkuk and decorate it in your own way.”

The video tutorials and instruction booklet are available for free on the sewing page of the museum’s website. Paper copies of the booklet are being distributed to tribal organizations, libraries, schools, and the museum’s educational partners. While supplies last, the public can pick up a free copy at the Alutiiq Museum Store at the Downtown Marketplace. The booklet contains instructions for sizing without a pattern, but for those who prefer to work with a template, the museum created a paper pattern that is available for purchase from the Museum Store.

“Clothing in canvas for cultural expression. Our ancestors shared messages about their worldviews, families, and achievements in their parkas. I’m excited to see how people express themselves today. Ultimately, I envision a community where Alutiiq clothing is commonly—worn widely to symbolize and celebrate Native heritage by people of all ages, abilities, and means.”                                                  

KODIAK, Alaska—With a $99,713 grant from the National Park Service’s Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) program, the Alutiiq Museum will lead the Angitapet—We Are Returning Them project. This two-year effort will advance the repatriation of ancestral Alutiiq remains in partnership with the ten federally recognized tribes of the Kodiak Archipelago.

At present, 12 collecting institutions in the United States hold the remains of at least 168 Kodiak Alutiiq ancestors from at least 65 distinct locations in the Kodiak region. To help tribes identify which of these remains are most closely affiliated with their communities and plan for repatriation, the museum will provide resources, training, and individualized support.

“The repatriation process is complicated, time-consuming, costly, and sensitive,” said Alutiiq Museum Executive Director April Laktonen Counceller. “Tribes need to determine which remains to repatriate, complete a formal request, and then oversee the repatriation process. Many people don’t realize that multiple tribes can claim the same remains and that there is no easy way to track what remains have been claimed or reburied.”

Through the Angitapet project, the museum will develop a private online database where tribes can see a list of remains affiliated with their communities and track their repatriation status. Additionally, museum staff will work individually with each tribal government to discuss the repatriation process, share the database, identify potential repatriation claims, and plan for future repatriations. One aspect of these meetings will be to determine the appropriate way to care for human hair samples. Harvard University’s Peabody Museum currently holds 20 hair samples collected on Kodiak in the 1930s from named individuals. The museum will work with tribal councils to develop a protocol for repatriating and caring for these samples.

“This project will lay the foundation for bringing home all the identified ancestral remains we are aware of,” said Counceller. “Our island-wide repatriation commission, representing all Kodiak Alutiiq people, has identified reburying our ancestors as the central goal of current repatriation work. Angitapet will advance this important effort in a thoughtful, systematic way. By the end of the project, we will have a solid plan that our tribal governments can implement with support from the museum.”

Photo: Members of the Kodiak Alutiiq/Sugpiaq Repatriation Commission meeting at the museum, April 2022.

KODIAK, Alaska—The Alutiiq Museum Store will open to the public on Friday, November 10 in the Kodiak Marketplace. This new, downtown location will provide a temporary home for the store and its services during the museum’s building renovations. The rental includes a large space for retail displays and two staff offices. Here, the museum store will continue to offer unique products inspired by Alutiiq heritage, work with artists, and serve the public. The store will be open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, Tuesdays through Saturdays.

“We are pleased to be able to rent space in the Marketplace during museum renovations,” said Executive Director April Laktonen Counceller. “This central location will help us support the many artists that sell through our store and depend on those sales for income. It will also provide a place where patrons can connect with us—meet up with a staff member, pick up an educational box, or ask a question. Although our building is closed for construction, we are very busy with educational projects. This temporary home base will support that work.” 

The Alutiiq Museum Store works with about 100 artists in Kodiak, area villages, Alaska, and beyond.  In addition to providing a place to sell their work, the store supports the creative community with arts education, marketing, and professional development. This includes the Alutiiq Seal, an art authentication program that identifies works made by Alutiiq/Sugpiaq artists.  

“The museum store is a museum program,” said Counceller.  “It is an essential part of our efforts to help Alutiiq people live their culture. Through their work, artists tell Alutiiq stories, teach traditions, and build pride in Native heritage. We are proud to help artists grow their skills and opportunities.”

Photo: Chyian Heine in the Alutiiq Museum Store at the Kodiak Marketplace.

KODIAK, Alaska—On Friday, November 3, the Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository will release Who Are We, a short film on Alutiiq/Sugpiaq identity. The nine-minute production explores what it means to be an Alutiiq person in the twenty-first century, with interviews of community members, historic photos, and songs in the Alutiiq language. The film was directed by Anchorage filmmaker Joshua Branstetter and produced by the Alutiiq Museum. It was developed with support from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, through the CORaL Network.

“Visitors to the museum—tourists and community members alike—are often confused by the variety of names we use for ourselves—Alutiiq, Aleut, and Sugpiaq,” said Executive Director April Laktonen Counceller. “Others wonder who the Alutiiq are and how Native people maintain their identity in the modern world.”

“The film allows our people to answer those questions in their own words. It is filled with voices that illustrate our ties to the land, our love of traditions, and the endurance of our language and culture. There is no correct way to be Alutiiq,” said Counceller. “There are many pathways into the culture. Josh’s film captures that nicely. It builds understanding and leaves you smiling.”

The Alutiiq Museum plans to use the film as an introductory element in a new set of gallery exhibits currently in development. “The film will help us orient museum visitors to the Alutiiq world,” said Counceller. “It will be paired with a map of Native Alaska so that people can understand our cultural geography. It will provide a foundation for all our other displays.”

The museum will debut Who Are We during Kodiak’s November First Friday celebration. As the museum gallery is currently closed for renovations, the public is invited to the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center to watch the film and enjoy refreshments. The short film will be shown several times during the event, which is scheduled to last from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. This is a free screening and open to the public. Following the event, the film will be available for viewing on the museum’s website.

“Ultimately, we hope the film will be useful for those seeking to learn more about our people, whether they are long-time community members or new to Kodiak. Who Are We provides a valuable introduction.”

Photo: Alutiiq dance practice, a scene from the Who Are We film.

KODIAK, Alaska—The Alutiiq Museum has added a contemporary atkuk—parka to its collections. Made by Alutiiq Elder and artist Susan Malutin, the garment is inspired by the traditional black, red, and white snow-falling parka worn in the Kodiak region. The museum commissioned the parka to fill a significant gap in its collections. Executive Director April Laktonen Counceller explained.

“The snow-falling parka is an iconic piece of Kodiak Alutiiq clothing and the inspiration for many of the atkuk worn by our people today. In the past, women crafted these dramatic, hoodless robes from cormorant throat skins. Snow-falling parkas are well represented in Alutiiq collections around the world, but the Alutiiq Museum didn’t have one. Susan agreed to create one for us, with contemporary materials and styling. Her piece represents both our ancestral traditions and their expression today. It is emblematic of our living culture.”

The museum selected Malutin for the project because of her decades of experience studying and making Alutiiq clothing. Her travels to museums in the U.S. and Europe have allowed her to study the design and decoration of Alutiiq garments. Malutin constructed the parka from a heavy, black, crushed velvet material, accented with red ribbon, ermine tails, and hand-sewn beading. It is 47” long and Malutin’s daughter, granddaughters, and great-granddaughters all contributed to its intricate beaded details.

Malutin named the parka Threads of Remembrance. While working she thought of the women who came before her, how they collected all the materials for each garment, and how they transformed them into incredible works of art without modern conveniences like electricity. She also remembered her mother, Nona Morrison, a seamstress who filled Malutin with her love of sewing.   

Threads of Remembrance will be a focal point in the exhibits the museum is planning for its new gallery, an element of a larger museum renovation currently underway. Until the gallery opens in May of 2025, the parka can be viewed in the contemporary art gallery on the museum’s website.

Support for the parka’s commission came from the Alaska Art Fund. Established by Rasmuson Foundation in 2003, the fund promotes the development of contemporary art collections in Alaska museums. It is administered by Museums Alaska, a statewide professional association. Since the fund’s inception, the Alutiiq Museum has received $294,078.50 in grants to purchase 152 works by 46 artists. 

Photo: Susan Malutin with the parka, September 2023.

KODIAK, Alaska—Archaeologists with the Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository have uncovered fragments of woven grass artifacts estimated to be 3,000 years old. The rare finds were made on August 18, 2023, during excavations of an ancestral sod house on the shore of Karluk Lake, Kodiak Island, Alaska sponsored by Koniag. The fragments, which appear to be pieces of mats, are the oldest well-documented examples of Kodiak Alutiiq/Sugpiaq weaving. A unique set of circumstances preserved them. Alutiiq Museum Curator of Archaeology Patrick Saltonstall explained.
 
“We were excavating a sod house beside Karluk Lake as part of a broader study to understand how Alutiiq people used Kodiak’s interior,” said Saltonstall. “When we reached the floor, we discovered that the house had burned and collapsed. The walls of the structure, which were lined with wood, fell into the building and covered a portion of the floor. This sealed the floor quickly and limited burning. As we removed the remains of the walls, we were surprised and excited to find fragments of charred weaving. It looks like the house had grass mats on the floor. The pieces covered about a two-meter area at the back of the house, perhaps in an area for sleeping.”
 
Weaving is a long-practiced Alutiiq art, but one that is difficult to document archaeologically as fiber artifacts are fragile and rarely preserved. The Alutiiq Museum’s extensive archaeological collections contain grass and spruce root baskets that are as much as 600 years old, but nothing older. The house that produced the weavings was radiocarbon dated to about 3,000 years old. The style of the structure and artifacts found in association with it support this determination. 
 
“It is likely that our ancestors worked with plant fibers for millennia, from the time they arrived on Kodiak 7500 years ago,” said April Laktonen Counceller, the museum’s executive director. “It makes sense. Plants are abundant and easily harvested, and they are excellent materials for making containers, mats, and other useful items. It’s just very hard to document this practice. This wonderful find extends our knowledge of Alutiiq weaving back an additional 2400 years.”
 
Close inspection of the woven fragments shows that their makers laid down long parallel strands of grass (the warp) and then secured them with perpendicular rows of twining (the weft) spaced about an inch apart. This technique created an open weave also found in historic examples of Alutiiq grass matting. Small fragments of more complicated braiding may represent the finished edge of a mat.
 
The field crew carefully lifted the fragile woven fragments off the floor of the sod house and placed them in a specially made box for transport back to Kodiak and the Alutiiq Museum’s laboratory.  Here they will be preserved, documented, and made available for study as a loan from Koniag—the regional Alaska Native Corporation for Kodiak Alutiiq people and the sponsor of the research. The corporation owns the land on which the excavation took and has been generously supporting archaeological studies in the region.  
 
“Discoveries like these highlight our Alutiiq people’s innovation and resilience,” said Koniag President Shauna Hegna. “Koniag is humbled to partner with the Alutiiq Museum on critical projects like this.”  
 
The Alutiiq Museum is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and sharing the history and culture of the Alutiiq, an Alaska Native tribal people. Representatives of Kodiak Alutiiq organizations govern the museum with funding from charitable contributions, memberships, grants, contracts, and sales. 

Photo: Fragments of a ca. 3,000-year-old woven grass mat recovered from an ancestral Alutiiq house beside Karluk Lake.