We are dedicated to highlighting Koniag shareholder artists, especially those who are seeking to perpetuate the Alutiiq culture, whether it’s through carving, painting, dancing or other forms of artistic expression. We believe that by supporting these artisans you are supporting our heritage and helping keep our culture alive and vibrant for future generations.

This site will periodically feature a new Alutiiq artist. to submit a recommendation for a featured artist contact Kathryn Chichenoff via email.

Carla Rae Knight

Carla Rae Knight has always loved to draw. Her mother, Anne Chichenoff, a Koniag shareholder, first sparked Carla’s interest with her ‘doodles’ – little drawings that she made on scraps of paper around the house. Carla soon began to make doodles of her own, moving on to the recreation of popular cartoons and characters for school friends. She has tried a variety of mediums over the years, but now makes her art on a computer. Her husband, Doyle, who is terminally ill, cannot be around chemicals of any kind, so Carla uses a drawing program on her PC to express herself.

Carla is a shareholder of Lesnoi, Inc. of Kodiak, and was born in Kodiak in 1947. Carla was raised without many of the cultural lessons that we value today. Her grandfather Paul of Kodiak was the exception. He taught her about water and the tides, giving her lessons that she cherished as an anchor to her past. Carla draws on these lessons for her artwork. She also passes them down to her grandchildren; William, 15; Alicia, 18; and Lendsey, 14; who she is raising as her own.

About 5 years ago, Carla began researching Native art for a friend’s tattoo design, and she began to see the patterns reflected in the designs of nature around her. For the first time, she started to create her own work, which she gave as gifts to staff members at the hospital in which her husband was being treated.

Carla sells her artwork to help support her family, and hopes that with it she can share some of the joy she feels when she draws. If you are interested in contacting Carla about purchasing her work, you can contact her at 360.438.0988 or Laceytk1@aol.com.

Peter A. Jr. & Susan L. Lind

Peter A. Lind Jr., was born in Dillingham and raised in the Bristol Bay area. He comes from a long standing fishing family. His father with a drift permit for the Bristol Bay and sisters with set net sites. Susan L. Lind was born and raised in Kodiak. Her family worked in the cannery end of fishing, her father in the superintendent area and her mother working the cannery lines. We started doing art work in the late '80s early '90s when fishing was bad. The year that Bristol Bay went on strike, we had to find alternate means of funds. Peter had grown up watching his father carving beautiful ivory sculptures and wanted to try his hand at it. We wanted to work with traditional items in a more modern way. We began with small items such as pins and earrings with beadwork around them, then slowly worked our way up to the beautiful art work that we have now. Peter now makes shadow boxes with miniature replicas of Aleut Hunting gear; he has sets of these in hotel lobbies. He also makes bentwood visor from steamed Sitka Spruce, and throwing darts made in the traditional ways. Susan does all the bead work on the jewelry pieces, from simple edging to semi-precious stones added to the work.

We started with simple bazaars and Native craft shows. Once we were a little more known, we then started donating to charities and auctions. In 1991 we did our first donation with the Alaska Native Heritage Park Art Auction. In 1996 we started selling in the Aurora catalog, an Alaskan catalog. In the May/June 2001 issue of Alaska magazine Peter was interviewed by Dana Stabenow. We do a variety of Native art shows throughout the year such as AFN and Fur Rondy. During the 2000 Fur Rondy Peter was interviewed for Heartbeat Alaska. Our website was the feature in a First Alaskans magazine in 2001. During the 2003 Fur Rondy, Peter's Alutiiq Hunter carving took both division and first place in the juried competition. In 2004 we were juried into the art show at the Heard Museum in Phoenix Arizona.

We hope to continue on with our artwork and pass what we can on to our children. It would be nice to know that a part of the Native art work legacy is passed on.