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THLUNAUT, Jennie
- Born
- Chilkat Territory, Southeast Alaska, ca 1890
- Died
- Klukwan, Alaska, 1986
- Biography synopsis
- Jennie Thlunaut, born Shax'saani Kéek ('Younger Sister of the Girls'), was a First Nations Northwest Coast weaver who was a member of the Tlingit tribe. After the death of her first husband, she remarried John Mark Thlunaut in 1922. One of the last Chilkat weavers, Thlunaut became famous for her detailed robes and blankets which she learned to create from her mother. Chilkat blanket weaving was traditionally made from dyed goats' wool. Thlunaut's blankets were decorated with animal crests, which were symbolic of tribal affiliations and worn during ceremonies. She also practiced beadwork and spruce root basket making. In 1985, the Canada Council for the Arts sent a delegation of First Nations weavers to study under Thlunaut and master the art of Chilkat weaving, an art form which was being lost. The group later became known as the Shax'saani Kéek Weavers and was assembled by the Canada Council's Aboriginal Peoples' Collaborative Exchange program in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. For her lifetime of artistic achievements and her contribution to Chilkat culture, Thlunaut was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship in 1986. Her work has been featured in museums across Canada and the United States.
- Media used
- Basket making
- Embroidery
- Textiles
- File & Archive locations
- Library and Archives Canada, ON - Peter Winkworth Collection of Canadiana
- Alaska State Library
- Smithsonian Institution, DC - National Anthropological Archives
- University of Alaska - Fairbanks Library
- Canadian Women Artists History Initiative Documentation Centre, QC
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
Writings about- Alaska Native Magazine 4.1-6.1 (1985): 160-162
- K-12 Visual Arts Curriculum: Juneau School District (Sept. 2005)
- Brown, Steven C. Native Visions: Evolution in Northwest Coast Art from the Eighteenth Through the Twentieth Century Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1998
- Busby, Sharon. Spruce Root Basketry of the Haida and Tlingit Seattle: Marquand Books, 2003
- Chandonnet, Ann. "Preserving the Tlingit 'Fringe About the Body'." Juneau Empire (21 Apr. 2004)
http://juneauempire.com/stories/042104/nei_fringe.shtml - Dauenhauer, Nora. The Droning Shaman: Poems Hains, Alaska: Black Current Press, 1988
- Dauenhauer, Nora & Richard. Haa Kusteeyi, Our Culture: Tlingit Life Stories Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994
- Dauenhauer, Nora & Richard. Haa Tuwunaagu Yis, For Healing Our Spirit: Tlingit Oratory Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1990
- Dunham, Mike. "Blanket Maker Expands Traditional Art Form." Bay Area News Group (25 Jul. 2009): E7
- Everett, Deborah & Zorn, Elayne. Encyclopedia of Native American Artists Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2008
- Fienup-Riordan, Ann et al. The Artists Behind the Work: Life Histories of Nick Charles, Sr., Frances Dementieff, Lena Sours, Jennie Thlunaut Fairbanks, Alaska: University of Alaska Museum, 1986
- Fitzhugh, William W. et al. Crossroads of Continents: Cultures of Siberia and Alaska Smithsonian Institution Press, 1988
- Govenar, Alan B. Masters of Traditional Arts: A Biographical Dictionary, Volume 1 ABC-CLIO, 2001
- Gulliford, Andrew. Sacred Objects and Sacred Places: Preserving Tribal Traditions Colorado: University Press of Colorado, 2000
- Haycox, Stephen. "The Great Land: Reflections on Alaska (Review)." Environmental History Review 19.1 (Spring 1995): 116-117
- Hedin, Robert & Holthaus, Gary H. The Great Land: Reflections on Alaska Tucson, Arizona: University of Arizona Press, 1994
- Henrikson, S. "Jennie Thlunaut." American Indian Art Magazine 21.1 (Winter 1995): 98-99
- Herzer, Scott. "The Great Land: Reflections on Alaska (Review)." Manoa 7.2 (Winter 1995): 219
- Hume, Helen D. The Art Lover's Almanac: Serious Trivia for the Novice and the Connoisseur Jossey-Bass, 2003
- Jonaitis, Aldona. Art of the Northwest Coast Seattle: University of Washington, 2006
- Kardon, Janet & Coe, Ralph T. Revivals! Diverse Traditions, 1920-1945: The History of Twentieth-Century American Craft H.N. Abrams & American Craft Museum, 1994
- Moore, Emily L. Chilkat Tunics: Toward a Reassessment of the Configurative Berkeley, California: University of California, 2007
- Schneider, William. ... So They Understand: Cultural Issues in Oral History Utah State University Press, 2002
- Scollon, Suzanne. In Memory of Jennie Thlunaut, 1890-1996 Juneau, Alaska: Sealaska Heritage Foundation, 1988
- Seattle Art Museum. The Spirit Within Seattle: Rizzoli, 1995
- Sheldon Jackson Museum. "March Artifact of the Month: Tlingit Spruce Root Basket." Alaska State Museums (25 Feb. 2008)
http://www.museums.state.ak.us/documents/sjm/artifacts/march_2008.pdf - Siporin, Steve & Monteaux, Michel. American Folk Masters: The National Heritage Fellows H.N. Abrams, 1992
- Toelken, Barre. The Anguish of Snails: Native American Folklore in the West Utah State University Press, 2003
- Victor-Howe, Anne-Marie. "Haa Kusteeyi, Our Culture: Tlingit Life Stories." American Ethnologist 23.1 (Feb. 1996): 176-177
- Worl, Rosita et al. Celebration: Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian Dancing on the Land Sealaska Heritage Institute, 2008
