The Spirit Wraps Around You: Northern Northwest Coast Native Textiles
This exhibit traces the history of the sacred textiles known today as “Ravenstail” and “Chilkat” robes. Two dozen robes carry the story of Native weaving among the Tsimshian, Haida, and Tlingit of Alaska and British Columbia, representing both ancient and modern ceremonial robes made by Alaska Natives and First Nations weavers.
Woven from the plush white fur of mountain goats, these robes were seen by early Euro-American visitors to the northern Northwest Coast when they contacted First Nations and Alaska Native people. Their use is reserved for sacred ceremonies, where dancers wear them to display the crests of their clans. In the 1900s, only a few weavers carried these unique traditions into the 21st century.
The exhibit was developed by the Alaska State Museum, working with a curatorial team of internationally renowned weavers:
- Evelyn Vanderhoop (Haida)
- Delores Churchill (Haida)
- Marie Oldfield (Tsimshian)
- Lani Hotch (Tlingit)
Assisted by Juneau-area weavers:
- Kay Parker
- Marcia Stier
- Lily Hope (Tlingit)
- Janice Criswell (Haida)
- and others
Select any of the images to view a larger size and description. Opens in new window.
Virtual Dedication
Watch the opening dedication for The Spirit Wraps Around You: Northern Northwest Coast Native Textiles (SWAY) exhibit, held on May 7. This program was offered virtually due to COVID-19 capacity restrictions.
Klukwan's Legacy of Weaving
Saantaas’ Lani Hotch (Tlingit), co-curator of The Spirit Wraps Around You, discusses the legacy of weaving in Klukwan, home to the Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center.
Virtual Tour
Join museum curator Steve Henrikson on a virtual walk-through of the exhibit.
Closing Event
The Spirit Wraps Around You: Northern Northwest Coast Native Textiles brought together two dozen Chilkat and Ravenstail woven robes for the first time, telling the story from origins to present day. To celebrate the robes, their histories, and their weavers at the end of the exhibit, members of the all nations dance group Yees Ku.oo donned a selection of the robes and danced them back into accessible storage, where most will be returned to their owners and clans who regularly use them in ceremonies.
Featuring the Yées Ku.oo dance group: Alfie Price, David Lang, Disney Williams, Heather Evoy, Nancy C. Barnes, and Walter A. Soboleff Jr.
Special thanks to Nancy Kovalic and Ray Watkins for giving permission for their robes to be included and to Lily Hope for organizing this event.
The Chilkat Dye Working Group is a collaboration of weavers meeting monthly with the Alaska State Museum to guide the research of both historic and new Chilkat dye technologies. As part of the Pacific Northwest Conservation Science Consortium, the group sends both historic fiber samples and new dye reference materials to chemists at Portland State University for characterization. This synergy of art and science enhances our understanding of past innovations in their cultural context and promotes the ongoing practice of weaving through a network of nourishing relationships.
The Chilkat Dye Working Group
Liana Wallace (Tlingit), Lily Hope (Tlingit), and Tami Lasseter Clare (Portland State University)
Abstract: Chilkat weavers, and chemistry professor Tami Lasseter Clare of Portland State University, will report on their collaborative research and answer questions in conjunction with the Alaska State Museum’s summer exhibition of textile regalia:
- To make space for a dialog among weavers, museums, and other kinds of experts about Chilkat weaving technology and meaning;
- To better understand the dye innovations of Chilkat weavers;
- To enhance dye choices and creative control for the benefit of living and future weavers;
- To celebrate the people, past+present+future, who make and use Chilkat weavings; and
- To create a model of research that foregrounds the priorities of Indigenous people through a network of long-term relationships.
The presenters will report on the first year of research and upcoming activities including the convening of the Pacific Northwest Conservation Science Consortium that will meet in Juneau next summer for a detailed presentation and discussion of Chilkat dye analysis.
Photographs courtesy Peter Metcalfe/Sharing our Knowledge.
Links provided by Sharing Our Knowledge: A Conference of Tlingit, Haida & Tsimshian Tribes & Clans, Juneau, Alaska 2019.
Lani Strong Hotch (Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center), Steve Henrikson, Jackie Manning and Aaron Elmore (Alaska State Museum)
Abstract: The Alaska State Museum and Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center collaborated with Alaska Native/First Nations co-curators on this large exhibit on the history of “Ravenstail” (Northern geometric) and Naaxein (Chilkat) weaving. This presentation highlights some of the planning and design process and previews some of the artifacts and subject matter.
Photographs courtesy Peter Metcalfe/Sharing our Knowledge.
Links provided by Sharing Our Knowledge: A Conference of Tlingit, Haida & Tsimshian Tribes & Clans, Juneau, Alaska 2019.
Sponsors
Institutions
- KING FAMILY TRUST
Individuals
- Kay Parker
- Marcia Stier
- Janet Hall Schempf
Additional funding to support this program is being solicited by the Friends of the State Library, Archives and Museums (FOSLAM). Contributions may be made through the FOSLAM website (please specify “SWAY Exhibit”).
Photo banner credit: Potlatch Guests Arriving at Sitka, Winter 1803 by Bill Holm. Collection of the Alaska State Museum 92-22-1