Tuesday, October 13, 2009

New Display Case for SHI Special Collections


Last week SHI Special Collections obtained a new display case which has been placed in the Reading Room. This case was purchased with grant funds via the Rasmuson Foundation and will now feature a rotating display of SHI Special Collections’ holdings. Now set up, the case currently features a small display on the Alaska Native Brotherhood and Sisterhood. Inside the case is an original Alaska Native Brotherhood (ANB) Camp 2 meeting minutes ledger dating from 1935-1945, William L. Paul Sr.’s original ANB cap (both featured in picture), an original 1944 letter written by Elizabeth Peratrovich while Grand President of the Alaska Native Sisterhood (ANS), and two rare books on ANB and ANS. Overall, SHI Special Collections staff are grateful to have this display case so we can better market our great collection holdings and foster educational research.


The Sealaska Heritage Institute collects materials that document the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian people and makes these materials available to the public for educational purposes. SHI employs an archivist/librarian to care for them. Sealaska Heritage Institute is a Native nonprofit established in 1980 to administer educational and cultural programs for the Sealaska Corporation, a regional Native corporation formed under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. The institute’s mission is to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures.