Thousands of artists, tens of millions of dollars annually, generations of passing on traditions.
By Shaelene Grace Moler
This story was produced for the Sustainable Southeast Partnership's monthly column with the Juneau Empire, 'Resilient Peoples & Place.' Read the full story here. The story explores the strength of Southeast Alaska’s Artist Economy– identifying barriers and opportunities for supporting this culturally meaningful and yet often overlooked sector of our economy.
The Alaska Youth Stewards crew on Prince of Wales Island works with the Klawock Indigenous Stewards Forest Partnership and U.S. Forest Service on inventorying large red cedars in the Tongass National Forest to provide data for long-term management of the culturally revered resource. (Photo by Bethany Goodrich)
As part of the Southeast Alaska Sustainability Strategy, cultural-use wood is a priority, with staff identifying and cataloging trees to set aside for carving projects — to ensure the next seven generations of carvers and weavers have access. “I believe that tree management is of paramount importance for the future of Indigenous culture and arts to continue into the time of the seventh generation of our grandchildren to enjoy the world of creativity with old-growth timber — whose days seem to be numbered at the present pace of deforestation,” says Master Lingít Carver Wayne Price. He has been a major advocate for protecting the “standtalls,” the massive red cedar trees that are needed to carve totem poles, canoes and other cultural art pieces. His work as an advocate has been an inspiration to the Sustainable Southeast Partnership, and his work as a carver nationally renowned focusing on healing canoes and totems dedicated to Indigenous people lost to substance abuse.
The story is also available at the Sustainable Southeast Partnership's website: https://sustainablesoutheast.net/celebrating-and-supporting-southeast-alaskas-growing-arts-economy/