Volunteers

Give Your Time

Volunteers are an essential part of the Alutiiq Museum and we appreciate the hundreds of hours community members donate each year. Volunteers help with everything from studying Alutiiq prehistory to greeting visitors and hosting special events. Volunteering is a great way to learn more about Alutiiq Heritage and make new friends.

If you are interested in volunteering for the museum, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (907-486-7004, x28), or download the museum's Volunteer Manual.

Volunteer Opportunities

Docent - Greet visitors, give gallery tours, staff the museum store, assist children with educational programs or help to create a special event.

Laboratory Technician - Assist the museums' curatorial staff with the care of collections. Lab volunteers help to clean and label artifacts, identify photographs, assemble exhibits, and organize collections.

Field Assistant - Get your hands dirty while studying a prehistoric settlement with museum archaeologists through our Community Archaeology Program. Volunteers assist with all aspects of a professional excavation, from digging and screening to mapping and photography for a up to a month each summer.

Site Steward - Help archaeologists monitor sites in the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge. Learn about Kodiak archaeology, visit sites, record their condition, and return the information to the museum. This summer-long program helps the US Fish & WIldlife Service care for sites on public lands.

Internships

Each year we receive many requests from students and museum professionals interested in broadening their experiences with an internship in Kodiak. While the Alutiiq Museum does not maintain a paid internship program, we are pleased to work with volunteer interns. If you have an idea for an internship, or would like to speak to a member of our staff about current projects that might be available for an intern, please contact Museum Manager Katie St. John ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , 907-486-7004, x28).

Internship Flyer

Photo: Jill Lipka and Intern Emilia Cortes assisting the museum's traveling traditions program.

Quyanaasinaq - Thank You Very Much
To the many Community Members who assisted us in 2011

Leslie Watson, Mark Rusk, Joseph Lipka, Steve Hall, Carrie Williams Barker, Andrea Grover, Jeff Scott, Gary Knagin, Aaron Hedrick, Florence Pestrikof, Nick Alokli, Sophie Katelnikof Shepherd, Mary Haakanson, Ivar Malutin, Coral Chernoff, Susan Malutin, Grace Harrod, Tamara Holman, Molly Odell, Ryan Cross, Betty Odell, Misha Manitor, Candice Krupa, John Sikes, Katelyn Sikes, Michael Odell, Heather Onders, Rahcel Onders, Bridget Onders, Herman Squartsoff, Joan Brodie, Katie Botz, Clair Brodie, Jenna Johnson, Teri Schneider, Alisha Drabek, Marie Rice, Emily Rux, Alisha Blondin, Pat Kozak, Eva Holm, Gordon Pullar, Father Michael Oleksa, Larry Van Deale, Hillary Van Daele, Phillip Tschersich, Steve Thomsen, Dan Collison, Elizabeth Meister, Alice Ryser, Darlene Turner, Christine Marasigan, Andy Christofferson, Sue Mitchell, Don Clark, Sandee Drabek, Kelsey Peterson, Virginia Glasheen, Candace Branson, Brandy Berg, Pattie Leighton, Nettie Amason, Laurence Anderson, Wilmer Andrewvitch, Fred Devoe, Ella Inga, Julie Knagin, Pat Mullan, Betsey Myrick, Adelia Myrick, Mark Withrow, Kip and Leigh Thomet, Susan Payne, Don Dumm, Harry and Brigid Dodge, Bill Barker, Sid Omlid, Suzanne Abraham, Matt Foster, Kellar Wattum, Jennifer Richcreek, Jennifer Culberston, Mike Munsey, Jeanne Larsen, Joe Black

Carrie Williams Barker - Volunteer of the Year 2011

Carrie began volunteering at the Alutiiq Museum shortly after moving to Kodiak in 2010. Her husband Craig Barker is in the U.S. Coast Guard and she’s chosen to become involved in museums wherever they move. “I’ve always enjoyed working in local museums to make me feel more connected with a place. Volunteering has kept history and culture more a part of my life with all the movement,” Carrie said.

She is an artifacts person. When volunteering at the Alutiiq Museum she works with Registrar Marnie Leist caring for collections. She said it’s hard to pick her favorite part about working with artifacts, as she loves the full process involved with collections care. From properly preserving pieces for storage or readying an artifact for exhibit, Carrie is enraptured by the intricate methods.

The Alutiiq Museum is the fifth museum where Carrie has worked, but the first that focuses solely on Native culture. She appreciates that as a full cultural center the Alutiiq Museum not only shares prehistory, but also offers youth arts projects and an Alutiiq language program. “The museum is not just documenting the past; it’s keeping it alive,” said Carrie.

In November of 2011, Carrie was in a car accident that left her with broken bones and casts. She is currently in physical therapy and on her way to recovery, but she has been unable to volunteer at the museum since the accident. She has become part of our team and we have missed her. We thank Carrie for her love of artifacts and her cheerful presence. We wish her a full and speedy recovery.