Meet the artist
Diana’s story
Diana is an Alutiiq artist residing in Anchorage, Alaska. Her mother is Nora Jager-Velez, from Old Harbor, Alaska and her father is Raphael Velez, from Arecibo, Puerto Rico. Diana is Alutiiq, Puerto Rican, and German. LaRita Laktonen-Ward mentored Diana on how to make jewelry in 2010. Ever since then Diana has continued exploring different styles, materials, and modern looks. She uses a combination of colorful beads, dentalium, abalone, mother of pearl, seal skin, sea otter, swarovski beads, and porcupine quills.
Outside of being an artist, Diana currently works at Alaska Native Health Consortium, has a masters in business administration, serves on the board for Alaska Childrens Museum, Koniag Shareholder Committee and Alutiiq Museum Artist Committee. Above all, she is a dedicated mother to Matteo, striving to instill in him the value of education and an appreciation for his family heritage.
Diana’s creations can be found at the Alutiiq Museum, Anchorage Museum and the Pratt Museum. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram @MidnightBeading to see her latest creations.
Who are the Sugpiaq/Alutiiq people?
“The Alutiiq / Sugpiaq people are one of eight Alaska Native peoples. They have inhabited the coastal environments of south central Alaska for over 7,500 years. Their traditional homelands include Prince William Sound, the outer Kenai Peninsula, the Kodiak Archipelago, and the Alaska Peninsula. Here people lived in coastal communities and hunted sea mammals from skincovered boats.” (THE ALUTIIQ / SUGPIAQ PEOPLE, Alutiiq Museum, 2022).
To learn more about the Alutiiiq/ Supiaq values, cultural art, subsistence, land acknowledgment and more please visit the Alutiiq Museum here.
Additional Resources:
https://www.alaskanativelanguages.org/sugpiaq-alutiiq
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-vPGJN6jkM
https://www.uaf.edu/anla/collections/map/
https://www.travelalaska.com/Things-To-Do/Art-Culture-History/Alaska-Natives/Aleut.aspx
https://www.alaskanative.net/cultural-knowledge/
https://www.nativefederation.org/alaska-native-peoples/
