Sheldon Bogenrife (Iñupiaq), Anchorage, Alaska
Inspired by his grandfather's craft of baleen boat making, Sheldon Bogenrife is a self-taught weaver of Iñupiaq baleen baskets. After more than 15 years of experience and learning from baleen masters Elain Frankson and Greg Tagarook, Sheldon has become a master of his craft. He has participated in demonstrations and exhibitions with the Anchorage Museum of History and Art, and at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona.
Delores Churchill (Haida), Ketchikan, Alaska
Delores Churchill has been a Haida spruce-root and cedar-bark basket weaver for nearly 35 years. She trained under her mother, the renowned weaver Selina Peratrovich. Delores is a veteran workshop and basketry education presenter, and demonstrates weaving at museums worldwide.
Holly Churchill (Haida), Ketchikan, Alaska
Taught by her mother, master Haida basket maker Delores Churchill, Holly Churchill weaves both spruce-root and cedar-bark baskets. Her works include many functional items unique to Haida traditions and have been displayed at museums such as the Anchorage Museum of History, the Tongass Historical Museum, and the Smithsonian Institution. Following in the footsteps of her mother, Holly participates in basketry education, holding classes at the University of Alaska, in the Heritage Centers of Anchorage and Ketchikan, and many other educational organizations.
Daisy Demientieff (Athabascan), Anchorage, Alaska
Athabascan basket weaver Daisy Demientieff specializes in the technique of woven split-willow root trays, characteristic of her home region. Both highly skilled in weaving and talented in demonstrating this craft to others, Daisy is devoted to passing this time-honored tradition along to her family, and is involved in instructing and guiding prospective young weavers.
Evelyn Douglas (Yup'ik), Anchorage, Alaska
Born in Hooper Bay, Alaska, Evelyn Douglas is a highly skilled weaver of traditional Yup'ik coiled grass baskets. She first learned her craft as a young girl watching her mother and other women in her community weave baskets. Evelyn, who has been making coiled grass baskets for more than 30 years, is admired for her mastery of technique and the unique patterns of her baskets.
June Simeonoff Pardue (Alutiiq and Suqpiaq), Wasilla, Alaska
June Simeonoff Pardue is descended from both Iñupiaq Eskimo and Alutiiq origin. Since she began weaving at the age of 12, she has mastered the weaving techniques of twined grass baskets. Her skillfully constructed works have been greeted with praise at numerous venues. June is involved in a range of diverse efforts to educate about Native Alaskan historic and modern traditions.
Teri Rofkar (Tlingit), Sitka, Alaska
As a Tlingit spruce-root basket weaver, Teri Rofkar holds firmly to the ancestry of her culture's basketry tradition as the materialization of a relationship between Tlingit people and the spirits of the plants and animals from which they harvest the materials used in their weavings. Teri's baskets utilize Alaska's indigenous resources such as spruce root, maidenhair fern, cedar, and grass to produce the traditional twining and plaiting weaving techniques of the Tlingit tribe.
Lisa Telford (Haida), Everett, Washington
Lisa Telford is an accomplished Haida weaver of red and yellow cedar-bark baskets. She has participated in exhibits all along the west coast and has had extensive involvement with the Eiteljorg Museum of Indianapolis and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian.
