2025 Project Award

Emily Johnston, a Cup’iq elder, will travel to bring her family together from three remote Alaskan communities – Mekoryuk, at the northern edge of Nunivak Island, Platinum near Goodnews Bay at the southwestern edge of Alaska’s mainland, and Bethel, an important rural hub –  to teach them how to harvest, process, dry, and braid the best quality rye grass to preserve her community’s tradition of weaving baskets, bowls, trays, and dance fans.

When asked what she would like the public to know, Johnston shared that she specializes in making grass baskets, bowls, trays and dance fans, and learned how to weave grass from her grandmother Pansy and her mother Carrie starting at the age of nine.

(Left to right) Woven rye grass dance fans with reindeer fur and sea otter, 2024; Large lidded woven rye grass basket with a seal gut design, 2024; Woven rye grass with a caribou design, 2023