TRANSITIONAL

Expanded Lightning Tunic

by Kay Field Parker, 2012
Gift of the King Family Trust. ASM 2015-24-3

So often, old, original pieces of weaving serve as teachers to contemporary weavers. This magnificent tunic was inspired by 19th century sleeved tunics used by Natives of the northern Northwest Coast—only four of which have survived. Supported by the Rasmuson Foundation, the artist studied all four at museums in Portland, Ottawa, Denver, and the Smithsonian Institution. Parker wove this one—a hybrid combining raven’s tail technique on the front, Chilkat technique on the back, and a combination of the two on the sleeves.

Parker was among the weavers who, in the early 1990s, learned the raven’s tail technique and began producing new regalia for ceremonial use. She studied extensively with master weaver, Cheryl Samuel, and later became a weaving instructor in her own right, teaching throughout Alaska and in the Tlingit villages of Yakutat, Klukwan, and Hoonah, as well as through the University of Alaska Southeast. She served for many years as president of the Raven’s Tail Weavers’ Guild, was the recipient of a 2013 solo artist exhibit at the Alaska State Museum, and a Rasmuson Foundation Fellowship.

Klukwan Healing Robe

by Cheryl Samuel, Lani Hotch, Ruth Kasko, Edith Jacquot, & Adrian Revenaugh. 1992-2000.
Loan Courtesy Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center, Chilkat Indian Village, Klukwan. LC. 484 

The Klukwan Healing Robe is a contemporary example of a “transitional style” robe, which uses techniques from both raven’s tail and Chilkat weaving traditions. This robe is inspired by an old original robe, collected in 1872 in southeast Alaska, from the head of Lynn Canal near Klukwan. Fragments of the original were repurposed and made into a tunic and leggings, and later accessioned by the Canadian Museum of History and the National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution.

As Lani Hotch explains, “Our own people need a way to get past our historical trauma. The Healing Robe is something tangible to deal with the intangible. The group weaving project started in November 1992 and was completed in November 2000. The idea behind the project was to have something tangible to help the community address the hurts of the past----the cultural oppression and generational trauma that our people suffered through colonization. A community celebration/healing ceremony was held in March of 2001 at the Klukwan Alaska Native Sisterhood Hall. As our tribal elder, Joe Hotch, said, the completion of the Klukwan Healing Robe “marked the end of a long, cold journey.” Since its completion, the robe is used frequently by Tribal leaders during important events and brought out during funerary rites to bring comfort to the family and clan members who have lost a loved one. Then, at the one-year memorial celebration, referred to as the Ku.eex’ in our Lingít language, the Klukwan Healing Robe is often danced at the conclusion of the grieving ceremony to mark the transition into the more joyful time of the celebration.”