A $5,000 grant to the Alutiiq Museum from The CIRI Foundation will support the development of Coloring Alutiiq, a coloring book featuring Alutiiq clothing and tools. The project, which begins in May, is a collaboration between the museum and Hanna Sholl. Sholl, a graphic artist and skin sewer, will create the illustrations working from photographs, Alutiiq Museum collections, and her own studies of ancestral objects.

“This project unites Hanna’s tremendous drawing skills with traditional information,” said Alutiiq Museum Executive Director April Laktonen Counceller. “We are going to show illustrations of Alutiiq clothing beside the animals harvested to make clothing and the tools used in harvesting and processing those animals. This will help young people gain a deeper understanding of Alutiiq technologies and the ingenuity of our ancestors.”

The twenty-four-page book will also include Alutiiq language vocabulary selected with the help of Elder speakers.

Sholl and museum staff members will develop the book this summer and release it in time for the start of the 2018-2019 school year. The museum plans to share paper and electronic versions with schools and teachers, donate copies to local medical facilities for children to enjoy in waiting rooms, host coloring events in Kodiak and Ouzinkie, and post a downloadable coloring page to its website once a month starting this fall. Paper copies will also be available in the museum store.[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]Counceller said, “We want this resource to reach as many people as possible. Coloring Alutiiq be a great addition to the museum’s educational tools. Children enjoy learning from visual resources and connect well to activity books. Moreover, coloring helps young people develop hand-eye coordination, mental focus, and creativity.”

“We also suspect adults will enjoy the book! Coloring has become popular for all ages,” she added.

The Alutiiq Museum is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and sharing the history and culture of the Alutiiq, an Alaska Native tribal people. Representatives of Kodiak Alutiiq organizations govern the museum with funding from charitable contributions, memberships, grants, contracts, and sales. 

Source: Alutiiq Museum

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