Is there Someone in Your Community Who Deserves to be Honored?
Among Athabascan people, cultural activities of all sorts have for centuries served to bond members of groups together. Supporting these activities are ancient cultural values which, in their simplest form, expect people to be resourceful, to share, to respect the individual, and to practice emotional restraint.
Those cultural values, as well as traditional endeavors such as beading, fiddling, dancing, basketry, hunting, fishing, mushing, and snowshoe making, are in danger of disappearing as communities modernize and inhabitants disperse.
The Alaska State Council on the Arts has initiated a project to identify Athabascan Living Cultural Treasures with the goal of reversing this loss and inspiring the young to become responsible for their culture’s intangible heritage.
The Alaska State Council on the Arts awarded a grant to the Fairbanks-based firm, Information Insights, Inc., to identify and document Athabascan Living Cultural Treasures. Dixie Alexander and Aldona Jonaitis are leading this activity, supported by the Athabascan Living Cultural Treasures Committee: Dixie Alexander, Tanya Beatus, Anna Frank, Angela Linn, June Rogers and Glen Simpson.
The Committee is now soliciting nominations for Athabascan Living Cultural Treasures. To disseminate this appeal as broadly as possible—and receive the largest number of nominations—we are sending this letter to as many groups and associations as possible.
Kindly share this information with appropriate individuals and urge them to submit nominations or nominate someone yourself. Download a nomination form. Criteria are listed below and also on the back of this flyer. The deadline for submission is February 5, 2010, so please postmark all nominations by then, or submit them by fax or email.
Once nominations have been received, the Athabascan Living Cultural Treasures Committee will select at least 20 individuals for this honor. These individuals will be interviewed, photographed and videotaped. These materials will become part of a database that will form the primary source of information on Athabascan Living Cultural Treasures.
The criteria for receiving this honor are:
a. adheres to the ancient Athabascan cultural values of resourcefulness, sharing, respecting the individual and practicing emotional restraint
b. is willing to educate others
c. is willing to serve as a role model
d. wants to inspire others to engage in traditions
a. crafts such as beadworking, skin sewing, basket making
b. performance arts such as dancing, singing, fiddling
c. subsistence activities such as hunting, fishing, trapping
d. maintaining language
e. making traditional technologies such as fish traps, snowshoes, tools
f. engaging in traditional activities such as dog mushing
g. storytelling
h. adapting traditions to contemporary life
i. serving as a traditional leader
The deadline for submission is February 5, 2010. Please have nominations postmarked by this date or return them by fax or email on or before February 5.
Use the Nomination Form. If you have any questions, please contact Aldona Jonaitis. (Contact information appears above at right.)
Athabascan Living Cultural Treasures Project
c/o Information Insights, Inc.
212 Front Street, Suite 100
Fairbanks, Alaska 99701
–OR– Fax to 907-450-2470
–OR– Email to Aldona Jonaitis
ASCA
Aldona Jonaitis
aldona@jonaitis.net
907.474.0445 ph
907.450.2470 fx