November is Native American Heritage Month, and the Sealaska Heritage Institute is marking the occasion with a lecture series. From art and music to cultural preservation to political leadership, the series covers a breadth of Alaska Native contributions to history and culture.
“This lecture series mainly is about people whose stories deserve to be told, kind of bringing their legacies to light.” said SHI communications officer Therese Pokorney.
Each of the talks will take place at Shuká Hít (clan house) in the Walter Soboleff Building from noon to 1 p.m., and will be live streamed and archived on SHI’s Youtube channel.
Monday, Nov. 3: Playwright Dave Hunsaker Skaay’adaháich and librarian Jim Simard Kóoshdaak’w Eesh speak about the life and work of Xenia Kashevaroff Cage. Cage was born in Juneau in 1913, became a major figure in the 20th Century avant-garde music scene and the Surrealist artist movement.
Hunsaker is an Alaskan screenwriter and playwright. He spent years working on major Hollywood films, and is now based in Juneau, where he served for a decade as the artistic director of the Juneau-based Naakahidi Theatre.
Simard was previously the Alaska Historical Collections at the Alaska State Library. Simard’s work with the Alaska State Library included the development of Alaska’s Digital Archives. He was also a contributor to the Naakahidi Theatre.
Wednesday, Nov. 12: Shgendootan George talks about Kéet Ooxhú Hít Kooteeyaa, the Killer Whale totem pole raised on Aug. 1, 2025, and the cultural history behind it.
A lifelong resident of Angoon and caretaker of her clan house Kéet Ooxhú Hít, George is an artist, educator, and co-owner of T.I.D.E.S. Education Associates, where she develops programs in cultural education.
Thursday, Nov. 13: A lecture on the life of Byron Mallott, a prominent Native leader, will feature Chris McNeil, Bruce Botelho, and Anthony Mallott, moderated by Edward Thomas.
The speakers will reflect on Mallott’s leadership in business, politics, and community life. A model of Mallott in Tlingit regalia is currently on display in the SHI lobby.
Tuesday, Nov. 18: Anthropologist Sergei A. Kan will present “The Tlingit in Sitka: The Photographs of Elbridge W. Merrill.” Kan and his teachers and colleagues have worked identifies the people and clans in Merrill’s photos of Sitka Tlingit.
Kan is a longtime researcher of Tlingit culture and Russian Orthodoxy in Alaska, and has been part of the Sharing Our Knowledge conferences since 1993.
Visit sealaskaheritage.org for more information about the lecture series. Specific schedules are to be released.
Dennis Demmert speaks at an SHI lecture on November 13, 2019. (courtesy of SHI)
