Our Grandparents’ Names on the Land
Overview
Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) is a nonprofit organization created to preserve the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goal is to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through public services and events. Sealaska Heritage Institute selected Interactive Knowledge to bring to life an interactive digital experience that shares the rich culture of the Southeast Alaska landscape through video, animation and imagery.
About this project
Our Grandparents’ Names on the Land is a multi-faceted exhibition where planning began in 2017. We worked closely with SHI to capture the rich culture, language and history of the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian natives who have lived in Southeast Alaska for over 10,000 years. The exhibition features three touch screen interactives that we designed and produced. Hardware includes two 55” wall mounted multitouch screens and a 65” Ideum multitouch 4K tabletop display.
The project goals
The goal of this project was to create an interactive exhibit that shares the rich cultures of the Southeast Alaskan natives. The center is a tourist destination in Juneau, Alaska that sees thousands of tourists a year, courtesy of the cruise ships who stop there. The institute wanted provide the public a means to understand the relationship between geographic locations and native place names, and the innovative inventions that were used to catch halibut and salmon by the native people.
The IK approach
Our Grandparents’ Names on the Land is a multi-faceted exhibition where planning began in 2017. We worked closely with SHI to capture the rich culture, language and history of the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian natives who have lived in Southeast Alaska for over 10,000 years. The exhibition features three touch screen interactives that we designed and produced. Hardware includes two 55” wall mounted multitouch screens and a 65” Ideum multitouch 4K tabletop display.
The three interactives display a wide variety of content, offering videos, archival photos, original 3D animations, interactive activities and access to over 3,000 place names superimposed on a crystal clear, interactive map of Southeast Alaska.
Natives Voice on the Land
Installed on a Ideum 65” tabletop display, this interactive uses Mapbox™ mapping technology to access over 3,000 traditional places from SHI’s archival database. The place names include an audio file with the pronunciation of the native name as well the English translation and common name for the location.
Salmon People
Installed on a 55”, wall-mounted touch screen monitor, this interactive introduces the importance of the five species of salmon to Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian culture. Two original videos describe the highly successful process for trapping salmon that was used for centuries in Southeast Alaska. Both videos use drone footage, time lapse photography and original 3D animations to demonstrate the use and value of three kinds of salmon traps. These videos were shot in locations near Klawock, Alaska and on nearby islands where traps were built and maintained for many generations. In addition, there are many interactive activities that introduce salmon facts, concepts of tidal zones and matching types of salmon traps with the correct environments.
Halibut, Attack the Hook!
Installed on a 55”, wall-mounted touch screen monitor, this interactive focuses on the history, function and art of the traditional Tlingit halibut hook (nawx). In addition to original videos with interviews from several Tlingit elders, we produced an eight minute video that documents a halibut fishing trip that features traditional gear including the nawx. Several interactive activities are designed to introduce visitors to important concepts about the technology and art of the nawx, traditional navigation techniques for locating halibut holes and seasonal migration habits of halibut.
For more information about Sealaska Heritage Institute, visit their website at sealaskaheritage.org.
Photos courtesy of Sealaska Heritage Institute. Photos by Nobu Koch.