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MAKA MONTURE PAKI

Photographers include: Amy Bell / Kirstie Squier / Elisa Ivers

Biography

Maka Monture Paki is an Indigenous jewelry designer, scholar, storyteller, poet, and ceremonial performer from Yakutat, Alaska. Tlingit (Łingit), Mohawk, Filipina, and Canadian Kanien’kehá:ka, she was born in Anchorage and is from Yakutat, of the Raven moiety, Copper River Clan, House of the Owl. Her Tlingit name is Keixé Yaxtí meaning “Morning Star.” She dedicates her personal and professional time to environmental and social advocacy on behalf of Indigenous and non-indigenous youth and women. Her work centers on social justice and Indigenous rights through poetry, fashion, photography, and writing.

Artist Statement

I seek to create at the intersection of cultural intention and coherent emotion. Drawing from my Lingít/Kanien’kehá:ka heritage, I center the soul of my work in intention, energy, and life energy. Through jewelry, I attempt to communicate Tlingit cultural perspectives that could otherwise seem intangible. Positive intention is imbued in each object during this process. The Tlingit culture believes in prayer and the power in how spiritual intention can affect an object’s essence positively.

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