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The CIRI Foundation
Indigenous Museum Leadership

Alaska Native Cultural Heritage &
Artistic Sovereignty in Museums

Museums throughout the world hold important collections of Alaska Native material culture. How can museums add Indigenous stories, perspectives, and voices in exhibition and collection spaces? How can community members better access the material belongings that museums hold?

The Alaska Native Cultural Heritage and Artistic Sovereignty in Museums project seeks to develop opportunities for Indigenous creative intervention in museums while supporting material culture documentation through a curatorial fellowship program and guidebook initiative.

Curatorial Fellowships

Creating formal paid opportunities for Alaska Native curators, artists, and scholars to work directly with institutional collections and shape exhibitions.

Access to Collections

Supporting travel and digital access for community culture bearers to visit, examine, research, and replicate ancestral belongings in museum holdings.

Museum Guidebook

Developing practical training resources, protocols, and guidance for museums worldwide to respectfully engage with Alaska Native communities.

Research Foundation

Alaska Native Peoples & Museums Survey

Conducted by TCF to gather authentic feedback on how Alaska Native peoples use, experience, and envision cultural representation in museum spaces. The results established the strategic baseline for curatorial fellowships, training protocols, and institutional interventions across Alaska.

Partner with Us on Museum Sovereignty

Are you interested in learning how to be involved in this work or partnering on an initiative?

Contact TCF Grant Team