Sealaska Heritage Institute’s Celebration 2026 kicks off next week
Published 4:30 am Saturday, May 30, 2026
The Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) is set to kick off its biennial Celebration next week in Juneau, drawing thousands of Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian dancers, artists, and community members for a major festival of Southeast Alaska Native culture.
The four-day event will run from June 3-6 and marks 44 years since the first Celebration in 1982. It has grown into one of Alaska’s largest Native gatherings and the state’s second-largest event sponsored by Alaska Natives, bringing around 5,000 people together and generating millions of dollars.
The event began as a way for the three Native groups to gather and celebrate their cultural survival. This year’s theme of “Enduring Strength” reflects that survival.
“This Celebration, we can rejoice in the timeless strength of our people as evidenced over the thousands of years we’ve faced adversity with resilience and fortitude,” said SHI president Rosita Worl.
Over 1,800 dancers from 34 dance groups, including two new groups from Hawaii and New Zealand, will participate this year. There will be dance performances and several associated events as well, such as a juried art show and competition, juried youth art exhibit, Native art market, Native food contests, toddler regalia review, and a parade through downtown Juneau.
Other events include: a blanket toss by Traditional Games participants, earring making classes, print lab open house, “House of Rock” concert, regalia photo booth, project documenting clan crests, and a screening of Tlingit Macbeth.
There will also be a Tlingit culture, language and literacy book launch, along with additional SHI programming such as an open house in the Indigenous science building and a Baby Raven Reads pop-up event.
The Grand Entrance is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Centennial Hall and will be led by Lepquinm Gumilgit Gagoadim Tsimshian Dancers (Our Own Dance in Our Hearts), a multigenerational group from Anchorage.
“It will be the group’s first time leading the Grand Entrance and Grand Exit songs, during which every participating dance group dances across the stage to mark the beginning and end of Celebration,” SHI stated. “This requires the lead group to drum and sing for up to three hours straight during each procession.”
Celebration 2026’s art was designed by Tlingit artist Bill Pfeifer Jr, whose winning piece “Endurance and Strength: The Power of the Clan House” was inspired by this year’s theme.
SHI will sponsor a live, statewide broadcast of the event on KTOO 360TV public television, which will help Celebration 2026 reach viewers across Alaska via over-the-air, cable, and satellite. It will also stream on the institutes YouTube channel and on KTOO’s Roku and Apple TV apps.
Four-day passes are $35 for adults and $20 for Elders over 65 and youth under 13, and will be available at the Sealaska Heritage store on June 1 and 2. One-day tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for Elders and youth, while children six and under and admitted free of charge. Daily tickets will be available only at Centennial Hall and Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall once the celebration has begun.
“We have survived environmental and climate changes, the loss of our lands, public policies that nearly wiped out our cultures and epidemics that diminished our populations,” Worl added. “We have been tested, and almost erased — yet we are still here.”
