2024

August 26, 2023, Alaska: Artist Sasha Huber and Tlingit hunter, fisherman and skin-sewing artist Khaách Jeremiah James traveled together from the village of Yaakwdáat (Yakutat) to the Agassiz Lakes and Agassiz Glacier. These are on the traditional lands of the Kwáashki' Kwáan near the Malaspina Glacier on the Alaska-Canada border. 

The Agassiz Glacier was named in 1886 by William Libbey, a member of that year’s New York Times expedition to the area. There are over 80 places named after the Swiss-American glaciologist and racist Louis Agassiz (1807–1873) globally, and even some on the Moon and Mars, plus seven animal species.

After moving to the USA in 1846, Agassiz became one of the most influential “scientific” racists of the 19th century. His ideas can be found in those of Nazi racial hygienists, admirers of Mussolini, Ku-Klux-Klan activists, creationists, and White suprematists.


On their journey, Jeremiah collected a flask of glacial water for the future renaming Potlatch ceremony. This will take place in Yaakwdáat (Yakutat) – the ancestral home of Jeremiah and his family.

Credits Director: Sasha Huber
Guardian: Khaách Jeremiah James
Cinematography: Jonathan Clabburn
Edit: Jonathan Clabburn
Colour Grade / Online: Jussi Myllyniemi & Vadim Morozov, Whitepoint Digital
Sound Design: Iain Grant
Research: Hans Fässler, Sasha Huber
Advisor: Judith Dax̱ootsú Ramos
With Special Thanks To: Francesca Du Brock,
Anchorage Museum, Aron L. Crowell, Lamont Hamilton,
Niko Laurila, Judith Dax̱ootsú Ramos, Petri Saarikko, Yakutat Tlingit Tribe