Video Clips
Quoted moments from Alaska public meetings, hearings, and press conferences.
Beth Weldon
“if we get money for this, it would be one-time money, and we have a structural deficit in our budget, and we have $7-8 million that we have to come up with.”Juneau: August 17, 2026 Regular Assembly Meeting · Aug 17, 2026
Rosita Worl
“That we hold dear is clan ownership of our land. We say we don't care who owns Western title, to our lands. We still own these lands. We own our stories. We own our songs.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 28, 2026
Vera Starbuck
“8 And a half years later is still pretty quick for an opera”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 28, 2026
Rosita Worl
“Sealaska Heritage Institute really believes in traditional ownership of clan-owned property. We have been willing to go to the courts. We have filed suits against the largest corporations in the United States, England, and Europe, and Italy to protect our intellectual property.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 28, 2026
Jerick Lang
“the choice to narrate a story that is clan-owned doesn't necessarily sit well with all people. And I'm— I want to be clear that I'm here in support of what you're all doing. In the future, if this opera does continue, how do you see Klan-owned stories and the consultation and care that will need to go with those?”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 28, 2026
Vera Starbuck
“this was, for me, my introduction into it was 8 and a half years ago. We had to go back and do the dates. 8 And a half years ago, I was attending a premiere opening night at Perseverance Theater, and Dr. Rosita Worrell comes, sits by me in the lobby, And she's like, "You know, we really should have like the battles of Sitka in an opera form."”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 28, 2026
Frank Koshykatas
“And Rosita shared some of the stories and some of the ideas that she had— she just shared with you right now, and about bringing this story to life and seeing it on stage and sung, you know, with the power of opera. And I can't remember, it was probably 10 years ago”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 28, 2026
Vera Starbuck
“There will also be— spoiler— a bit of a storyteller who will be explaining pretty much the whole story before you even begin. That was also a tradition for Tlingit performing arts, that you would have oratory or storytelling before you even performed it.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 28, 2026
Vera Starbuck
“We never wanted it to be inaccessible to anyone. We don't want it to feel inaccessible. Certainly everyone here is not the dress up in the ball gowns and go in your top hat kind of thing to the opera.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 28, 2026
Madeline Sayet
“if you come in and you're like, what does this literally mean? And some of the words are made up. Like, it's a, it's a much less joyous experience than if you hear the sounds, hear the poetry, watch the performers, and let it wash over you and receive whatever it is that you receive”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 28, 2026
Ed Littlefield
“in a way, that's what we're doing here with this Tlingit opera, is we are honoring, at its core, Tlingit music and culture and story, but sharing it in a way that is contemporary.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 28, 2026
Vera Starbuck
“If you want to come in jeans, great. If you want to come in a ball gown, I'm dressing.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 28, 2026
Frank Koshykatas
“opening at some— on September 11th at Thunder Mountain Middle School. We're very, very excited.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 28, 2026
Rosita Worl
“We mean no disrespect to the Kiksádi, but we also want to acknowledge and celebrate that our 50 independent autonomous clans were able to unite”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 28, 2026
Ed Littlefield
“While it doesn't have 100% Tlingit melodies, it is— at its core, it is Tlingit.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 28, 2026
Rosita Worl
“when we decided first to publish the Tlingit-Russian Wars, edited by and published, written by Dick and Nora Downhauer and that Russian lady, Lydia Black, we had the same issue arise. Do these stories belong to the Kiksutí? And we had a discussion and we said, that it was the first time that all of our clans united and all of our clans, you know, went to war.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 28, 2026
Frank Koshykatas
“make sure starting September 11th at Thunder Mountain Middle School you come see Kututh Lagaaw, the Tlingit-Russian battles... you can get the tickets online, ptalaska.org”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 28, 2026
Rosita Worl
“while we acknowledged that indeed Sitka was the homeland of the Kiksádi and also the Kogwantán, we said that we know that the Kiksádi have had a difficult time because the Russians are living there right in their homeland.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 28, 2026
Rosita Worl
“We mean no disrespect to the Kiksádi because we know their very valiant kaxian. Kaxian was very significant in winning that war with the Russians. So I want to say this to our people. I want to say to the Kiksádi that we admire you.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 28, 2026
Vera Starbuck
“For understanding it, it will be entirely sung in Tlingit, which is pretty exciting. It will be the first opera entirely sung in Tlingit. There will, however, be some things for most of the audience who won't understand fluent Tlingit. There will be a program which will show the summary of the entire thing, so you can follow scene by scene”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 28, 2026
Rosita Worl
“in the discussions that we had, we came to the conclusion that since all of our clans and the Haidas united to battle the the Russians in 1802, we believed that this story was owned by all of the clans and the Haidas.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 28, 2026
Ed Littlefield
“the process for this was Kuné gave— Vera gave Kuné language. Kuné translated it and then double translated it, got it back to Vera.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 28, 2026
Madeline Sayet
“the pictures that we've sort of structured into each scene also tell the story. So in any scene, we've worked really hard to make sure that the narrative of the scene is actually being broken down into a series of images”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 28, 2026
Vera Starbuck
“It will be the first opera entirely sung in Tlingit. There will, however, be some things for most of the audience who won't understand fluent Tlingit, there will be a program which will show the summary of the entire thing, so you can follow scene by scene”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 27, 2026
Ed Littlefield
“While it doesn't have 100% Tlingit melodies, it is— at its core, it is Tlingit.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 27, 2026
Ed Littlefield
“in a way, that's what we're doing here with this Tlingit opera, is we are honoring, at its core, Tlingit music and culture and story, but sharing it in a way that is contemporary.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 27, 2026
Ed Littlefield
“the process for this was Rune gave— Vera gave Rune language. Rune translated it and then double translated it, got it back to Vera. It got sent to me. I composed a scene all the while they're moving on the second scene.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 27, 2026
Vera Starbuck
“Perseverance and SHI met from day one working together. Rosé was very clear on, like, we need a theater partner to do this, but we're gonna find the resources to make this happen, and she did.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 27, 2026
Vera Starbuck
“This is both a performance, but also a statement, and sort of line in the sand, like, nope, we're still here, we're gonna be here, we're gonna continue pushing our art, and pushing what we can do with it, while we listen to our ancestors, and bring those traditions forward.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 27, 2026
Rosita Worl
“Sealaska Heritage Institute really believes in traditional ownership of clan-owned property. We have been willing to go to the courts, we have filed lawsuits against the largest corporations in the United States, England, and Europe, and Italy to protect our intellectual property.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 27, 2026
Vera Starbuck
“8 And a half years later is still pretty quick for an opera, but I don't think she would have let us do a second longer.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 27, 2026
Vera Starbuck
“the people who carried this forward, the people who had to keep this in secret, we were not allowed to do our performing arts for generations. So many of these things were literally illegal for us to do. Our regalia was torn, was burned.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 27, 2026
Frank Richards
“I think people are going to be so surprised in the best way possible when they come and see this opera and see Indigenous excellence really put in the forefront”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 27, 2026
Frank Richards
“this belongs because our music and our language and our art is world-class. And this is a showcase of how our art, our language, our music is world-class.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 27, 2026
Ed Littlefield
“100%, this opera wouldn't be what it is without Rory. So I wanted to give him a shout out.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: A Panel Discussion with the Tlingit Opera Creative Team | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 27, 2026
Benjamin Young
“The raven saved them at the place where it was first called Staatschuni.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: Yaadaas Clan Crest with Benjamin K’uyáang Young | Sealaska Heriatge · Aug 13, 2026
Benjamin Young
“The people were the Yaadas Haida clan. My people are Yaadas.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: Yaadaas Clan Crest with Benjamin K’uyáang Young | Sealaska Heriatge · Aug 13, 2026
Benjamin Young
“My name is Benjamin Young. My Haida name is Kwéyáng, and I'm Yak'wlanas.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: Yaadaas Clan Crest with Benjamin K’uyáang Young | Sealaska Heriatge · Aug 13, 2026
Benjamin Young
“It was Kasaan. They call it Old Kasaan now, but it was back at that time that people first moved to Kasaan.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: Yaadaas Clan Crest with Benjamin K’uyáang Young | Sealaska Heriatge · Aug 13, 2026
Benjamin Young
“it connects us with the land, it connects us with the people, it connects my clan with a lot of shared history... it tells me of the struggle. It tells me of the sacrifice”Sealaska Heritage Institute: Yaadaas Clan Crest with Benjamin K’uyáang Young | Sealaska Heriatge · Aug 13, 2026
Benjamin Young
“he then made plans to have a large Gyaasla in Heidelberg, which took place in 2018.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: Yaadaas Clan Crest with Benjamin K’uyáang Young | Sealaska Heriatge · Aug 13, 2026
Benjamin Young
“While they were hurrying to make their homes, Raven used to fly around them. Once in a while in the mornings, he'd come there and he'd fly around above them. When he flew around above them, he'd call out, "Tots, tots, tots."”Sealaska Heritage Institute: Yaadaas Clan Crest with Benjamin K’uyáang Young | Sealaska Heriatge · Aug 13, 2026
Benjamin Young
“They got up towards the COVID they arrived at a creek. Really, they were just astonished. There were a lot of fish in the creek. It was so full with dog salmon.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: Yaadaas Clan Crest with Benjamin K’uyáang Young | Sealaska Heriatge · Aug 13, 2026
David Boxley
“Which is a plateau in the interior of British Columbia in between the headwaters of the Skeena, Nass, and Skeena Rivers.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: Laxgyibuu Clan Crest with David R. Boxley | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 12, 2026
David Boxley
“You know, it's said, it's been written, that William Duncan might be the most successful missionary in this area. And in many ways that's true, although I know that my father and I would not be on his list of favorite people.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: Laxgyibuu Clan Crest with David R. Boxley | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 12, 2026
David Boxley
“We are defined by William Duncan and being colonized and moved to Alaska. And that's all most anybody knows, including our own people. About being who we are. And I— the more I've learned, the more that kind of infuriates me.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: Laxgyibuu Clan Crest with David R. Boxley | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 12, 2026
David Boxley
“it's really important to me that in thinking about this history, that the Laki'pul originated, migrated down the Stikine, and we used to live further north in Alaska in ancient, ancient times.”Sealaska Heritage Institute: Laxgyibuu Clan Crest with David R. Boxley | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 12, 2026
David Boxley
“Dudson Bay Company comes, William Duncan arrives, and we move one more time from British Columbia. Now that there's a difference— there was never a difference before, people didn't know what Alaska was up until they told us there's a border here now”Sealaska Heritage Institute: Laxgyibuu Clan Crest with David R. Boxley | Sealaska Heritage · Aug 12, 2026