Photograph by Konrad Frank
about me
Kaasteen yoo x̱át duwasáakw. Chookaneidíx̱ x̱at sitee, Xáay Hítdáx̱, ḵa Xúnaa Ḵáawudáx̱. Tʼaḵdeintaan dachx̱án. Dzántikʼi Héenixʼ yéi x̱at yatee yeedát. Haa yoo x̱ʼatángi een yéi jix̱ané.
My name is Jill, my Lingít name is Kaasteen. I am of the Chookaneidí clan, our main crests being Eagle and Brown Bear. I come from Hoonah, AK, though now I reside in Juneau, AK, home of the Áakʼw Ḵwáan. Along with being a Lingít artist, I also work in our Lingít language. I am a mother to two beautiful children who are the most important parts of my life.
Picture courtesy of Ḵʼashgé Daphne Wright, my gradeschool Lingít language teacher
Start of my Beading Journey
I have been beading for well over 15 years, but my first memory of beading was around Kindergarten or 1st grade. Hoonah City Schools hosts an annual Ḵu.éexʼ at the end of the year to celebrate and showcase our accomplishments. One of the many classes around language and culture included making regalia. Elementary kids were given tunics, and I remember sewing beads along the bottom of my tunic in Kindergarten. As I moved into Middle and High School, I learned during these classes how to do two-needle beading from our aunties and teachers Sonya (Koenig) Johnson and Carol Williams. This was where I beaded my first headband during this time that depicts a formline eagle head, with flowers.
I have been so fortunate to have grown up in Hoonah. It was throughout my school years that I learned how to bead, and what eventually led to my language career path. It was from these classes and from these aunties that I learned the beading techniques I still use today.
Subsistence sockeye fishing in Klukwan
Adult Life
In 2016, I graduated from the University of Alaska Southeast with my Bachelorʼs of Liberal Arts in Alaska Native Languages and Studies, where I focused particularly on the Lingít language.
I am now fortunate enough to work in our language full time as an immersion instructor. I have dedicated my life to our language, our culture, and raising my kids to be proud of being Lingít.
Continuing Beading
I continued to bead off and on moving into adulthood, while also learning to make many pieces of moccasins and regalia. I received a lot of help and tips from many other artists to make regalia, particularly from my mother-in-law Janice Hotch. In the last two years I have started to focus on beading and refining my skills on that craft. Since doing so, I have made pieces that were bought or commissioned by Bobby Wilson and Sterlin Harjo of the 1491s, Taboo of the Black Eyed Peas, and pieces showcased in the hit TV show on FX Reservation Dogs (right). I try my best to honor traditional formline and Lingít style beadworks when applicable in my pieces, but I also enjoy venturing out and putting fun twists into my work.
My hopes for the future is to continue to create pieces I enjoy making, and learning other traditional Lingít art styles. I have recently been enrolled in a new Occupational Endorsement program at UAS on Native Art to focus on Weaving.
Head over to my portfolio page, or my Instagram, to see more of my works.