Sealaska Heritage President Rosita Worl speaks during the grand opening of the Sealaska Heritage Arts Campus in June 2022 during Celebration, a biennial dance-and-culture festival. President Joe Biden awarded Rosita and 9 others with a 2023 National Humanities Medal on Oct. 21, 2024. (Photo by Tripp J Crouse)
Congratulations to SHI President Rosita Worl on the recognition of your work
President Joe Biden awarded Sealaska Heritage Institute President Rosita Worl with a 2023 National Humanities Medal at the White House.
The award, from the National Endowment for the Humanities, honors an individual or organization whose work has deepened the nation’s understanding of the human experience, broadened citizen engagement with history and literature or helped preserve and expand Americans' access to cultural resources.
Rosita was one of 10 recipients to receive the 2023 award including LeVar Burton, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Aaron Sorkin and more.
Rosita, whose Tlingit names are Yeidiklasókw and Ḵaaháni, is Tlingit of the Shangukeidí (Thunderbird) clan from the Kawdliyaayi Hít (House Lowered from the Sun) in Klukwan.
She has served as the president of Sealaska Heritage Institute since 1998.
Read the full Sealaska Heritage Institute media release here.
About SHI: Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private nonprofit founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goal is to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through public services and events. SHI also conducts scientific and public policy research that promotes Alaska Native arts, cultures, history and education statewide. The institute is governed by a Board of Trustees and guided by a Council of Traditional Scholars, a Native Artist Committee and a Southeast Regional Language Committee