Esther Littlefield Explained
| Esther Littlefield |
| Native Name: | Aan-woogeex' |
| Other Names: | Aanwoogeex, Esther Simpson |
| Birth Name: | Esther Edith Kasakan |
| Birth Date: | April 29, 1906 |
| Birth Place: | Killisnoo, Alaska |
| Death Date: | June 17, 1997 (91 years) |
| Death Place: | Sitka, Alaska |
| Nationality: | Tlingit, American |
| Occupation: | Artist |
Esther Kasakan Littlefield (April 29, 1906[1] – June 17, 1997), also called Aan-woogeex', was a Tlingit artist who made blankets and ceremonial regalia including button blankets. She was awarded the National Heritage Fellowship in 1991.
Early life
Esther Edith Kasakan was born in Killisnoo near Sitka, the daughter of James Kasakan and Lena Marie Daniel.[2] She was a member of the Kiksadi, a Tlingit clan.[3] [4]
Career
Littlefield made hats, blankets, and robes for Tlingit ceremonial uses; her works used traditional emblems to represent people and events, and they served as an aid for storytelling.[5] [6] She worked at the Sitka National Historical Park,[7] teaching handicraft classes at the Southeast Alaska Indian Cultural Center, beginning in 1969.[8] [9] [10] She received an award from the National Park Service in 1983, and the Alaska Governor's Award for the Arts in 1984. In 1984, she was one of the featured Alaskan artists at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C.[11] In 1986, Sheldon Jackson College presented her with their annual Christian Citizenship Award.[12]
In 1991, Littlefield was awarded the National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.[13] "Artists such as Esther Littlefield are our living national treasures," said John Frohnmayer of the NEA. "They are the keepers of seasoned and mature artistic traditions that speak to us across hundreds of years and thousands of miles."[14]
Personal life
Esther Kasakan married twice; her first husband was Louis Simpson Sr.; they had four children together, and he died before 1940. Her second husband was Charles Livingston Littlefield; they had five children together, and he died in 1989.[15] Beyond her own nine children, she helped to raise several nieces and nephews, including Leonard K. Shotridge.[16] Esther Littlefield died in 1997, aged 91 years, in Sitka.
External links
Notes and References
- Some sources, including her gravestone, give 1907 as her birth year; 1906 is the year given in the US Social Security Death Index.
- News: 1997-06-19 . Services Scheduled for Mrs. Esther Littlefield . 3 . Daily Sitka Sentinel . 2022-08-02 . Newspapers.com.
- News: 1982-03-24 . Speaker Picked for Native Week . 6 . Daily Sitka Sentinel . 2022-08-02 . Newspapers.com.
- Web site: Esther Littlefield . 2022-08-01 . National Endowment for the Arts . en.
- Book: Fair, Susan W. . Alaska Native Art: Tradition, Innovation, Continuity . 2006 . University of Alaska Press . 978-1-889963-79-2 . 155 . en.
- Web site: Button Robe, by Esther Littlefield . 2022-08-01 . Bob's Alaska Insider . en.
- News: 1983-08-26 . Watt on Alaska: People Count, Too . 1 . Daily Sitka Sentinel . 2022-08-02 . Newspapers.com.
- Jones, Suzi. "Grandmotherly Knowledge, Grandfatherly Knowledge: Alaska's Traditional Native Arts" ; 20-21.
- News: 1986-05-19 . Esther Littlefield Given SJC Citizenship Award . 4 . Daily Sitka Sentinel . 2022-08-02 . Newspapers.com.
- News: 1980-10-27 . Sitka Business Women Contribute to Community . 3 . Daily Sitka Sentinel . 2022-08-02 . Newspapers.com.
- News: 1984-06-26 . Sitkans Join Washington Festival . 1 . Daily Sitka Sentinel . 2022-08-02 . Newspapers.com.
- News: 1986-05-19 . Esther Littlefield Given SJC Citizenship Award . 4 . Daily Sitka Sentinel . 2022-08-02 . Newspapers.com.
- News: May 20, 1991 . B.B. King, 15 Others Win Folk Art Grants . en-US . The Washington Post . 2022-08-01 . 0190-8286.
- News: 1991-06-14 . Sitka Artist to Receive Heritage Award . 13 . Daily Sitka Sentinel . 2022-08-02 . Newspapers.com.
- News: 1989-10-30 . Services Scheduled for Charles Littlefield, 83 . 3 . Daily Sitka Sentinel . 2022-08-02 . Newspapers.com.
- News: 1987-08-20 . Services Scheduled for Leonard K. Shotridge . 3 . Daily Sitka Sentinel . 2022-08-02 . Newspapers.com.
