Exhibit Opening - Shgendootan George

For this exhibition, George made a series of robes — Naaxein (Chilkat), Yéil koowú (Raven’s Tail), and Kaayuka.óot x’oow (button blankets) — to tell the history of the 1882 bombardment of her village, Aangóon, Alaska. Each of the 10 robes recounts an episode of the historical event. They cover the events before the shelling, the attack by the U.S. Navy, survival, rebuilding, and the U.S. Navy apology in 2024.

The exhibition will begin in the atrium of the Andrew P. Kashevaroff Building where George’s robes will be danced, many for the first time. Following, the robes will move into the Museum. There, they will be exhibited with photographs, drawings, ship’s logs, and accounts related to the events of each of George’s robes. At 7:00 pm, George will give a talk about her work, her process, and the story of the robes.

George is a housemaster of the Killer Whale Tooth House and a lifelong educator. She is a 2023 Rasmuson Fellowship Award recipient. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Sealaska Heritage Institute, Museum of the North, and the Juneau-Douglas City Museum.

Miscellaneous Events of the Day - Yee een kakḵwalaneek yáa Aangóont akawdulgaaní will be on exhibit at the Alaska State Museum through March 20, 2027.

Thank you to the Friends of the Alaska State Library, Archives, and Museum for sponsoring the solo artist exhibition series. Shgendootan George’s solo artist booklet was sponsored in part by Sealaska Heritage Institute.

Photograph: - Táakwde yaa ḵugaháa - Winter Started to Come worn by Kichnalx/AanDeinaAt Edward Gordon Kookesh III