LaRita Laktonen

Medium: Modern Dentalium Jewlery

In 1977 I was born in Kodiak, AK to Jerry and Esther Laktonen. Our family of six lived off the main gravel road in the Native village of Larsen Bay. Only accessible by foot trail, we were up on a hill inside the bay from the rest of the village. We spent most of the year subsistence hunting, fishing, and crabbing and the summers commercial fishing for salmon.

When I was twelve, we moved to the city of Kodiak, where my mother was an elementary school teacher. We still returned to Larsen Bay in the summertime to fish. There are many things I don't miss about our family business like camping out in abandon cabins, tents, or living six deep on a small boat. Beach seining could be hard work, but some of my experiences out on the ocean are my most vivid memories.

I am thankful for the natural beauty my family dealt with on a day-to-day basis, whether it be storms, tides, cold, bears, or seeing our dog playing with a fox on the beach. I learned that the threat of nature in our life was much more than anything man made. My sisters and I would spend hours in the woods building forts out of old wood and fishing net, or collecting treasures on the beach.

We would collect shells, shiny rocks, and sometimes find something rare like a labret, a rock lamp or a killer whale tooth. My father would show us where Barabaras had been (Alutiiq dwellings) and about how at one time there may have been twenty to fifty thousand people on the island at Russian contact. Although there were pieces of our culture still around, like mannerisms or names of places or things, most of our language and customs had vanished after Russian and American occupation.

In high school and college I became very involved in sports. My junior and senior year at Kodiak High School, I went to the state Native Youth Olympics and attended Native leadership camps. In college, (Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA) I chose to major in Kinesiology with a minor in American Indian Education. I couldn't imagine a career where I couldn't be active or use my hands.

One of the best things I did was to join the Indian Teacher and Education Personnel Program where I got to study the educational history of Alaska Natives and American Indian people. I saw the influences of Native educational institutions like boarding schools and missions, and the lack of culturally relevant materials in schools today for students. The twenty units I took for my minor became much more influential to me then the units I took for my major. I met professors and friends that were an encouragement for me to learn more about my past and my peoples past and grow artistically and culturally.

I only began making Alutiiq jewelry two years ago in 2003. My sister who has dedicated her career to bring back the Alutiiq language and my father who has become a very successful carver have also been very inspirational to me. I have found so much beauty in art of our past, like a headdress from the 1800's made of solid beads and dentalium, or colorful woven hunting hats. Dentalium is a sign of wealth to us still today and has such elegance in its long and slender shape. Abalone, mother of pearl and Russian trade beads have been major contributors to my designs. I have incorporated many of these elements in my jewelry with various glass beads and sterling silver hooks and clasps for a modern appeal.

104 Muldoon Road #405

Anchorage, AK 99504

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