Juneau master Chilkat and Ravenstail weaver Lily Hope has been awarded a national fellowship that bolsters culture and tradition across the United States.
She is one of the United States Artists awardees for 2026, which means she gets $50,000 toward her work with no strings attached.
“It’s a wild gift to have somebody just hand you some money and say, ‘Do what you will,’” she said. “There is absolutely zero parameters on how it is used.”
The award is nomination-based. United States Artists partners with foundations and philanthropists to support artists and cultural practitioners of all disciplines. According to its website, Hope’s award was supported by the Rasmuson Foundation.
Hope found out about the grant a few months ago, and she’s been thinking of what she can do with it ever since.
Hope has taught hundreds of traditional weavers, and she herself has weaved seven Chilkat and Ravenstail robes and ensembles, innumerable sets of earrings, face masks and even regalia for Labubus.
Recently, in a conversation with another weaver, Hope had a realization – she wanted to think deeply about the work she wants to do. That weaver was Shdendootaan “Shgen” George.
“I kind of had a coming to reality moment with Shgen,” she said. “And thank you, Shgen, for waking me up and being like, ‘hey, what if you made regalia for your clan members, your family and work that would stay in Lingít Aaní?’”
Hope is excited to find out what will come of that deep thinking. She closed her public studio downtown last fall to focus on weaving that will stay in the community.
Hope joins fellow Chilkat weaver Sainteen Anna Brown Ehlers, who was awarded the fellowship in 2006. Several other Southeast Alaska artists have received the grant over the years, including writer Shaankaláx̱t’ Ernestine Hayes, Perseverance Theatre Artistic Director Leslie Ishii and carver Nathan Jackson.