When my parents, Henry and Claribel Davis both accepted teaching jobs in Juneau in 1970 it was a dramatic shift for a “village boy.” Back then it was culture shock for me. It wasn’t easy. I listened to and took to heart comments about small town...
I thought it would be appropriate to talk about the idea of celebration as part of our Tlingit culture, and as of 1982 the Sealaska Celebration has become a biennial tradition, “born of SHI’s Board of Trustees’ desire to celebrate and showcase...
Last time I was in Kake, I read some poems at a community talent show, and I had told my sisters I would read my “Topsy poem” but once I was limited on time so I read shorter works. So here is the poem I didn’t get to read: Reconstruction (For Uncle...
After a day of painting I often see designs when I close my eyes. That’s one way I get ideas for designs, by either looking at other art or by working on my own. ART BEGETS ART. Sometimes people come to me with their ideas; they will have a basic idea of what...
When I create designs and either carve or paint them, I feel a deep connection not only with the art form and its older roots; I also feel connected to a sense of identity. How is this possible? Sometimes my designs bear a resemblance to the old style most of my work...
If you have ever looked at Tlingit paintings up close, particularly the bentwood boxes, you will be amazed at some of the fine lines the painters were able to achieve! Much of the Tlingit artwork that was collected in the late 1800’s and the turn of that century...
I have been on down time from my job at the Sheldon Jackson Museum, able to immerse myself more in my most fulfilling pastime: art work! I have been uploading finished items to my online store and as I added each item, I would upload a photo onto my Facebook and then...
Publications Into the Storm. Orca Press, 1984In the Dreamlight: Twenty One Alaskan Writers. Copper Canyon Press, 1984Alaska Quarterly Review, Vol. 4. University of Alaska Anchorage, 1986Harper”s Anthology of Twentieth Century Native American Poetry. Harper &...
ABOUT ME Tlingit Indian from Kake, Alaska. Tsaagweidi clan, Xaay Hit (Yellow Cedar House). My Tlingit name is Xaashuch’eet. I am primarily a designer. Though I’ve always loved cedar and have been a woodcarver for many years, I find much freedom in...
