Members of and visitors to the community are invited to join the Wrangell Cooperative Association (WCA) at the dedication ceremony for its new cultural center on July 25 at 5 p.m. Also known as the carving facility, the building will host a variety of cultural activities, including classes, and provide a workspace for artists and crafters and a gift shop for them to sell their creations.
“More than just carving’s going to go on,” explained Aaron Angerman, WCA tribal administrator. The facility is envisioned as a center for Native arts, with multiple uses throughout the year.
“We want to have a little bit of everything in there,” he said.
Different classes will be held at the center. Some of these are practical, teaching craft skills such as ravens-tail weaving, carving, fur sewing and
tanning, and larger projects like canoe building and fish-smoking. Cultural courses will also be featured, focusing on
language, storytelling and drawing, as well as
promoting intergenerational activities.
The facility has already been seeing use, with its first carving project–preparing a cedar tribal house for display at the state museum in Juneau—initiated in November. A formline course was also held last month and a pelt sewing class, sponsored by Sealaska Heritage Institute, was held in March. A local sewing group meets at the facility on a weekly basis, and Angerman expressed the hope that more will follow suit.
A retail store component at the center’s entrance will largely cater to tourists and other visitors to the island, selling a range of locally designed clothing items, jewelry and gifts created at the facility. Several artists have shown an interest in becoming involved, but Angerman said contributors have been more difficult to find than initially anticipated.
Funding avenues to further develop the center’s different cultural programs are currently being pursued, with applications already submitted for two Administration for Native Americans grants. The tribe is also currently developing a business plan for the store, and WCA is one of a dozen finalists for a Pathways to Prosperity grant that would help devise a sustainable revenue stream for the facility.
The cultural center’s foundation was first poured in April 2013, soon after restoration of the Chief Shakes Island Tribal House was completed. Work on the building continued through the year, with wiring and
painting completed in October 2014.
In all, the facility cost nearly $1 million to build, and funds came from a variety of sources. One grant of $250,000 came from the M.J. Murdoch Charitable Trust, an organization dedicated to enhancing spiritual, cultural and
educational causes in the Pacific Northwest. Other
contributors include Rasmusson Foundation, Sealaska Corporation, Tlingit-Haida Regional Housing Authority, Paul Allen, the State of Alaska and City and Borough of Wrangell.
The cultural center’s
completion was the second of three phases for cultural
development being undertaken by WCA. This began with
the restoration of the island house and will conclude with the future re-carving of eight totem poles and training of local master crafters.
“It’s just one step closer to completing this project that was started 10 years ago now,” Angerman said of the
upcoming dedication.
Invitations to the dedication have been sent out to funders, carving committee members, and numerous others who helped bring the center to fruition. Following celebratory music and a blessing of the building, attendees are invited to a salmon feed next door at the Stikine Native Organization building.
“Everybody’s invited to come down,” Angerman said.
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