SEALASKA HERITAGE SETS DATES FOR NEXT CELEBRATION

Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) will hold an in-person Celebration in Juneau from June 8-11 in 2022.

SHI’s board of trustees made the decision today, in part because participants and staff need many months in advance to plan for the four-day event.

The in-person Celebration in 2020 was cancelled because of the pandemic, and staff instead offered a virtual version. With the release of the vaccine and widespread immunizations so far, staff has a sense of confidence that life will be back to normal by next year, said SHI President Rosita Worl.

“We cancelled the in-person event because we had to protect our people. We look forward to reuniting in 2022 and celebrating our cultural survival,” Worl said. “We survived this pandemic. We are still here.”

The trustees also chose the theme Celebration 2022: Celebrating 10,000 Years of Cultural Survival. Celebration 2022 will mark the 40th anniversary of the event, first held in 1982.

Celebration is one of the largest gatherings of Southeast Alaska Native peoples, drawing thousands of people, including more than 2,000 dancers. Celebration is also a financial boon for Juneau, according to research. A study by the McDowell Group in 2012 found that the economic impact of Celebration that year was $2 million.

Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private nonprofit founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goal is to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through public services and events. SHI also conducts social scientific and public policy research that promotes Alaska Native arts, cultures, history and education statewide. The institute is governed by a Board of Trustees and guided by a Council of Traditional Scholars, a Native Artist Committee and a Southeast Regional Language Committee.

CONTACT: Amy Fletcher, SHI Media and Publications Director, 907.586.9116, amy.fletcher@sealaska.com