Letting Alaska cruise ship passengers know Alaska supports its artists. As we begin the fourth week of the Writers Guild of America strike, it’s heartening to see all the writers picketing in New York, Los Angeles, and anywhere there’s a production going on. It’s a...
Something I love about when Alaska Native peeps go to represent, they BRING IT on the fashion front. And I don’t just mean aesthetically (although look at us slaaayyyyy that Emmy red carpet.) Tlingit culture has thousands of years of history in a visual language that...
It’s not every day you get to see your name on an “Emmy nominated” list. 😭😭 But just look what we did together! This amazing list of names below – and an even longer list of names you don’t see here who work on Molly of Denali – focused for years on making...
About 6.5 years ago Artistic Director (at the time) Art Rotch asked me to apply to be the resident playwright at Perseverance Theatre through the Mellon Foundation National Playwright Residency Program. At the time we were still in the middle of producing my first...
I turn 40 in 40 days! Eek! I really wanted to make these last days of my thirties memorable. Maybe especially because we’ve been so cooped up for so long. So I’m working through remembering the past, leaving some things behind, planning for the future, and celebrating...
Fifty years ago today the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act was signed by Pres. Nixon in what was the most consequential U.S. action of the century for Alaska. (Yes, even over statehood.) Agree or disagree with the actual act, it’s ripple effects for the whole...
This holiday season (or really any time,) I might suggest the PERFECT Christmas gift just may be made, created and sold by an awesome indigenous artist or entrepreneur. Below is a list of some of my favorite Native-owned artists, shops, and companies to purchase from,...
So… guess what? The MAJORITY of new Molly of Denali episodes being released this week are written by Native writers! This is a very good start to Native Heritage Month, and a very good premiere week. 🙂 Today was “Molly and Elizabeth” (written by me, Vera Starbard,...
On our nation’s first official Juneteenth federal holiday, I have mixed feelings. The holiday is not a bad thing – I do think it can have a good impact for future conversations. But it was enacted at the same time state after state are proposing and passing bans...
After a couple of years of talking and planning, and then six months of initial work, we’re starting to get the Tlingit opera off the page and into some vocal chords! Today was the first day that actual, real live actors and singers started working with the first few...
