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Many notable Native Americans walked on this year. We’ll take a moment to remember a few of them through their friends and family members. Chilkat and Ravenstail weaver Clarissa Rizal, a Raven of the T’akdeintaan (black-legged Kittywake) Clan, walked on in December. We’ll learn about her work and weaving legacy. In July David Beautiful Bald Eagle made his final passage. He was a fluent Lakota speaker, WWII veteran, and an actor in over 40 films. We honor them and others.
Guests:
Rosita Worl (Tlingit) – president of the Sealaska Heritage Institute
Lily Hope (Tlingit) – daughter of Clarissa Rizal, weaver and teaching artist
Donovin Sprague (Mnikȟówožu Lakota) – archivist, university instructor, author, historian at Black Hills State University
Leonard Bends (Crow) – relative of Dr. Joseph “Joe” Medicine Crow
Break music: Song Of Encouragement (song) Porcupine Singers (artist) Alowanpi – Songs Of Honoring – Lakota Classics: Past & Present, Vol. 1 (album)
Please also remember Teri Rofkar. She and Clarissa Rizal were
both culture carriers who died just a week apart, both at age 60. And of the same clan. Teri and Clarissa were parallel universes as Tlingit robe weavers. Teri specialized in scientific rendering of Ravenstail Robes.
Teri Rofkar (Tlingit name Chas’ Koowu Tla’a of the Raven Clan from the Snail House) of the Sitka Tribe of Alaska was an internationally renowned artist and educator with over 25 years of weaving exquisite baskets and textiles. An eco-conscious artist Rofkar was concerned with sustainability and stewardship of natural resources.
In 2004 she won the Governor’s Award for Alaska Native Arts and was a Buffett finalist for Indigenous Leadership.
In 2006 she was the Native Arts “Smithsonian Visiting Scholar” at the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI).
She received a USA Fellowship in 2006 and performed at the inaugural USA Fellows Celebration at Jazz at Lincoln Center dressed in one of her spectacular robes.
In 2009 she was awarded the National Cultural Heritage from the National Endowment for the Arts, the highest honor in the folk and traditional arts.
In May 2015 the University of Alaska southeast conferred the honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts on commencement speaker and scholar Teri Rofkar, cultural scientist, artist, Tlingit weaver, and interdisciplinary thinker. as 13 of her Ravenstail robes danced in an historical gathering.
“Dr. Rofkar’s robes are the repository of her research, math, and science not separate from, but including, spiritual, functional, and historic ancient culture. The robes underscore a sense of “kinship to” rather than domination over the Earth. “