Sydney Akagi (Tlingit) is a Chilkat and Ravenstail weaver working at the intersection of Indigenous knowledge systems, contemporary form, and environmental advocacy. Her practice extends the visual and structural language of Northwest Coast weaving into new conceptual territory, engaging portraiture, abstraction, and the translation of lived experience into textile form.

Rooted in Lingít Aaní (Southeast Alaska), Akagi’s work is informed by an ongoing relationship to the Taku River and its salmon systems. As both material and subject, these ecological networks shape her approach to process, time, and responsibility. Her weaving’s operate within a continuum, holding ancestral design systems while actively re-articulating them through a contemporary lens.

Recent bodies of work explore the presence of the human figure within Chilkat structure, incorporating elements such as adornment, tattoo, and mark-making to consider identity, transformation, and the visibility of Indigenous bodies across time.

Akagi began weaving in 2018 and has maintained a full-time practice since 2020. Her work has been supported by the Rasmuson Foundation, Native Arts and Cultures Foundation, the Bill Holm Center, the Native Arts and Crafts Business Development Program, and Bunnell Street Arts Center. She is also an ambassador with Salmon Beyond Borders, advocating for the protection of transboundary salmon ecosystems.