Doyon, Limited has donated a unique king salmon skin Athabascan Chiefs basket for the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) display within the Center’s exhibits. The display features artwork from each of the 12 regional corporations established under ANCSA.
Doyon commissioned the basket from Athabascan artist Audrey Armstrong. It took Armstrong three years to gather the king salmon skins for the basket and three months to make it. Armstrong said that the king salmon skins and the beads and shells used for the basket “represent the respected status of Native chiefs and leadership that guide Native people. The blue of the beadwork symbolizes the sky and water – both important elements of the Athabascan culture and subsistence lifestyle.”
Armstrong said that making the basket “was one of the biggest honors for her as an artist” because she knew Mr. Thompson and his family personally.