Museum Sovereignty in Alaska: Case Studies and Conversation

Museums can be powerful spaces and offer powerful resources to express Indigenous sovereignty – to celebrate heritage and identity and to help communities reclaim and share knowledge in order to reframe narratives on Native arts and cultures. What are the concepts of Indigenous museum sovereignty? How can museum staff encourage and engage in this work? How can one prepare projects for equitable exchanges of professional and personal labor?

In this panel session four Alaska-based scholars/artists/museum professionals will share case studies of collaborative projects that put Indigenous museum sovereignty into practice and discuss principles of this work, followed by an audience Q&A. Case studies will include: 1) a group of Alaska Native scholars, artists and curators writing a museum protocols guide from Alaska Native perspectives; 2) a collaborative online exhibition re-contextualizing the work of a late Alaska Native artist through the insights and experiences of Alaska Native experts today, led by an Alaska Native curator in collaboration with an arts center in New Mexico, featuring works from a from a private collection; 3) the past and present day roles of an Indigenous advisory board at an Alaska Native cultural heritage center; and 4) collaborative partnerships for a Smithsonian field office in Alaska with a Canadian Inuit and an Alaska Native arts and heritage organization.

Speakers:
Dawn Biddison is the Museum Specialist at the Alaska office of the Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center. Since 2002, she works with Alaska Native Elders, artists, educators, scholars, knowledge-keepers and cultural organization staff. Her work began with museum research, exhibition, catalog and website work. Since 2010 her work shifted to outreach and education with Alaska Natives through collaborative community-based cultural heritage projects that include facilitating museum collections access, artist residencies, community workshops, public programs, digital documentation, learning/teaching videos and lessons, and access to educational resources through both online and print distribution – all based on equitable work that respects Indigenous protocols and goals and that supports intergenerational learning.

Angie Demma is Curator of Collections and Exhibits at the Alaska Native Heritage Center. Demma is a curator and arts advocate who lives and works on Dena’ina homelands in and around Anchorage, Alaska. Prior to joining ANHC, she has also held curatorial positions at the Anchorage Museum, Alaska Native Arts Foundation, the Municipality of Anchorage, and she taught Alaska Native Art History at the University of Alaska, Anchorage. She’s worked in cultural non-profits in Alaska for more than 20 years.

Melissa Shaginoff is part of the Udzisyu (caribou) and Cui Ui Ticutta (fish-eater) clans from Nay'dini'aa Na Kayax (Chickaloon Village, Alaska). She is an Ahtna and Paiute person, an artist, a social activist, and currently the curator of Alaska Pacific University’s Art Galleries.

Nadia Jackinsky-Sethi (Alutiiq) is an art historian, museum consultant and arts administrator based in Homer, Alaska. She completed her PhD at the University of Washington and focuses her research on Alaska Native arts revitalization and Indigenous aesthetics. Nadia currently works at The CIRI Foundation, where she oversees a grant program dedicated to supporting customary Alaska Native arts practices. She serves on the board of the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation.