Tribe: Unangan
Chugach Alaska Shareholder
1: How does being Native show up in the work you do?
Aurora: Being Native Shows up Everyday in my work simply because I Am. I proudly state my Native Genes on my Public Formats. I tell my clients about my experiences as a child in the village. I talk about my culture. Our way of living off the land. The community I came from and our love for helping others.
2: How can Native women be better represented in the beauty industry?
Aurora: More access to schooling via more grants and workshops geared towards setting our women up for SUCESS. Giving them all the tools they need to put them into an ever-growing industry with endless opportunities. Beauty is often out of reach. I would like to help our Native Women by eventually creating some of my own scholarships and to work with the best beauty school in Anchorage, The Esthetician District. Where my friend Anissa Eastepp Runs and teaches the most advanced and up-to-date training that Alaska has.
3: Do you have connections to the Native American community where you live?
Aurora: I have some connections to the Native community here in Oregon; however, I would love to reach more! I would love to connect even more to help our relatives down here as well!
4:What is it like being Native Alaskan and living outside of the state?
Aurora: Living outside of Alaska has its Benefits for sure—bigger city. More access to Fresh Produce and cheaper prices. However, I miss my Native Foods terribly bad. I do, however, get my salmon from Oregon Native Peoples. They are a family with a gilnetter, just like my family in Alaska !! They take orders, go out on the Columbia River, catch it that day, and bring it to me!! Tutuilla Native American Family!! They even smoke some as well!! That makes me feel like home.
5: What is your favorite traditional food?
Aurora: My favorite traditional food would have to be Spawns! Herring Roe on Seaweed!! I got to have some at my mas house just last summer !!! Sooo yummy! It takes me back to picking spawns on the rocks as a kid! And my very close second is Kippered and Smoked Salmon ! I'm lucky enough that my friend Lavon Gall brings me some almost every time she comes down!! There is one place at the Oregon coast that does some really good smoked salmon! Newport Beach! Barnacle bills! It's just a shack thing, but boy… it's the closest thing to my Grama Vi and my ma's Smoked fish I've ever found !! My great-grandmother Annie Cozichuck passed down that way of salting and then smoking the strips to my grama and then to my ma. She was from the Aleutian island of Unga. She then settled in Cordova.
6: What is the last film, song, or art you experienced that moved you?
Aurora: My friend from Mt Edgecumbe is an Amazing Artist who puts her heart and Soul into her Artwork; she moves me every time I see a new piece that she has done. I have commissioned her to do a huge canvas piece for me to have in my Spa. This piece will be Native Angel Wings. They will be a mixture of her culture, Haida and Tlingit, and my culture, Aleut. These wings will cover a back wall. My clients will stand against the wall so I can take their picture with the wings behind them. I will then show them who their true angel is. It is them.
We are our own true angels . I was always praying and asking for someone to save me. And then I learned that the only one who could truly save me was myself. One of my Goals in life is to show my clients that they are strong, beautiful, and brave enough to be their own Angel. And that is my objective. As women, we take on so much of the world's problems. Sometimes we need to take time to remember how amazing we truly are. How much we actually need to show up for ourselves. Standing next to a mural with wings proves that we are Truly Powerful and Majestic! Women are everything. We need to build women up and help strengthen the power within them. Often women are broken and have low self-esteem. My job is to help build them back up and show them they can be their own angels.
7: What do you see for the future of Native Alaskans?
Aurora: I see Native Americans killing the Game!! I see representation in so many places !!! I see us on film and tv and the runway!! I see us doing amazing !!! We already are!
8: What advice do you have for new Native entrepreneurs?
Aurora: My advice for New Native Entrepreneurs is … Start!! Don't wait! There is never a better time than today to follow your dreams! It is never too early or too late. Just start!!
