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Carving and Bark Program
There may be no more tangible example of our cultures’ power than the custom of transforming red or yellow cedar logs into works of art. Sealaska’s Carving and Bark Program helps culture bearers maintain this tradition for the benefit of our people — carvers, educators, apprentices, students and the communities they call home.
“Everyone on the Natural Resources team knows their job is to create the greatest financial, cultural and community benefit from Sealaska lands,” Anthony Mallott, Sealaska President and CEO
The Carving and Bark Program contributes immensely to the cultural needs of Sealaska’s shareholders. Carving materials are custom cut to fill the required donation requests of nonprofit organizations throughout the region.
Partnering with Communities
In addition to harvesting logs for large carving projects like totem poles and canoes, Sealaska’s Carving & Bark team ships thousands of pounds of yellow and red cedar to art programs across the region each year. These programs benefit thousands of students, community programs, village culture camps and behavioral health programs.
Starting in 2013, the program partnered with rehabilitation efforts at the Lemon Creek Correctional Center in Juneau, where completed projects were then donated to fundraisers across the region.
Many village corporations, Southeast Alaska school systems and other cultural non-profits lack the funds necessary to purchase carving blank materials to sustain established Native arts programs. The goal of the Sealaska Carving & Bark program is to support these organizations, allowing their programs to thrive. The positive impacts of arts and culture programs supported through these efforts are seen in communities across Southeast.
Partnering with Teachers
While the Carving & Bark Program does not provide teaching instruction, we encourage partnerships with artists and teachers. Our partners have hosted workshops across Southeast Alaska, Washington State and California. Sealaska is always looking to expand the reach of our workshops.
We do not provide carving blanks to individuals or for-profit entities.
Contact Us
If you are interested in having a workshop in your community, receiving materials or learning more, please contact us.
