Karl Duncan

The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) is pleased to welcome two new trustees, Karl Duncan (Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, and San Carlos Apache) and Lily Hope (Tlingit). IAIA Board of Trustees Chair Beverly Wright Morris (Aleut) said, “We are delighted to add these talented and distinguished artists and educators to our board of trustees.  They will add their unique voices to aid the board in its mission of advancing Indigenous arts and cultures.”

Karl Duncan is the Executive Director of the Poeh Cultural Center at the Pueblo of Pojoaque and a graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA). A proud member of the Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, and San Carlos Apache Tribes, his work is deeply rooted in his heritage and commitment to Indigenous culture.

He serves as Chair of the City of Santa Fe’s Arts Commission, President of the Buffalo Thunder Incorporated Board, and Vice President of the Continuous Pathways Foundation. Duncan’s achievements include establishing the Pathways Indigenous Arts Festival, a premier showcase of diverse and top-quality artworks by admired Indigenous artists. In 2022, the Poeh Cultural Center was recognized as a Model Native Museum & Cultural Center by the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums (ATALM). Duncan also facilitated the return of 100 pieces of Tewa Pueblo pottery from the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI), demonstrating his commitment to cultural repatriation. He has spoken at Yale University on museum collections engagement and cultural sensitivity, sharing his expertise in collections stewardship.

Duncan is a dedicated mentor for the Pueblo of Pojoaque Youth Council and the Pueblo of Pojoaque Youth Hoop Dancers, where he coordinates and teaches Native American hoop dancing. He remains committed to advancing the preservation and celebration of Indigenous cultural heritage. His vision is to continue empowering future generations through mentorship and leadership in the arts and culture.

Lily Hope

Lily Hope was born and raised in Juneau, Alaska to full-time artists. She is Tlingit Indian, of the Raven moiety. Following her matrilineal line, she’s of her grandmother’s clan, the T’akdeintaan.  

She learned Ravenstail weaving from her late mother Clarissa Rizal, and Kay Parker, both of Juneau. She also apprenticed for over a decade in Chilkat weaving with Rizal who, until her untimely passing in December 2016, was one of the last living apprentices of the late Master Chilkat Weaver, Jennie Thlanaut. Lily feels the pressure to leave honorable weavers in her place.   

Lily’s contemporary works in textile and paper collage weave together Ravenstail and Chilkat design. She is one of few designers of dancing blankets. She teaches both finger-twined styles extensively in person (and virtually since COVID-19), in the Yukon Territory, down the coast of SE Alaska, into Washington and Oregon. She demonstrates internationally and offers lectures on the spiritual commitments of being a weaver.  

Committed to co-creating as her mother was, she’s constantly looking for ways to collaborate with other artists, often spearheading multi-community projects, or managing huge campaigns, like the Weaving Our Pride and The History & Future of Yeil Koowu, which highlighted over 20 indigenous artists and brought these artforms to the forefront.  

 She owns the only public-facing Northwest Coast weaving studio in Southeast Alaska, where she demonstrates, educates, collaborates, assembles teaching kits, and sells fine woven art. Hope’s work incubates in the Portland Art Museum; the Houston Museum of Natural Science; Museum of Man and Nature in Munich, Germany; The Eiteljorg Museum; The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture; The Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art; The Hood Museum of Art; the Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe; Sealaska Heritage Institute; the Smithsonian American Art Museums, and many private collections.

She is Assistant Professor of Northwest Coast Regalia Arts at University of Alaska Southeast, Juneau (UAS). She holds a BLA in Communication and Theatre from UAS, and a Business and Entrepreneurship Certificate from the Institute of American Indian Arts.