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All the United States Alaska Anchorage Grandma Olga Statue
AO Edited

Grandma Olga Statue

Pay homage to a preeminent matriarch, and the native Dena’ina people, at this sculpture installation in Anchorage.

Anchorage, Alaska

Added By
Virginia Brown
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A bronze statue of “Grandma Olga,” an important Dena’ina matriarch, near Ship Creek   Courtesy of Visit Anchorage/Kathleen Bonnar
A bronze statue of “Grandma Olga,” an important Dena’ina matriarch, near Ship Creek   Courtesy of Visit Anchorage/Kathleen Bonnar
The “Grandma Olga” statue at Port of Alaska   Courtesy of Visit Anchorage/Terika Kons
“Grandma Olga” statue   Felipe Mahecha / Dreamstime.com
  ciffergan / Atlas Obscura User
  ciffergan / Atlas Obscura User
  ciffergan / Atlas Obscura User
Clear September day.   Hetaira Thais / Atlas Obscura User
Example of fishing traps used.   Hetaira Thais / Atlas Obscura User
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About

A sculpture of Dena’ina matriarch Olga Nicolai Ezi, known affectionately as “Grandma Olga,” stands proudly next to a bronze fish-drying rack in the Ship Creek Small Boat Harbor near downtown Anchorage.

Located along the banks of Ship Creek, a still-thriving urban salmon fishery, the bronze sculpture is part of a larger public art installation honoring this well-respected Dena’ina leader, her family, and their native customs. The Dena’ina were the original inhabitants of this south-central part of Alaska, and the only coastal Athabascan tribe. 

Small in stature, but highly influential, Olga Nicolai was born in 1875 in the Tyone Lake, Copper Center regions, where her father was a noted medicine man. In 1896, Olga married Simeon Ezi, one of the last chiefs of the upper Cook Inlet. 

Credited with much of the tribal lineage, the couple and their five children lived in the Native Village of Eklutna and took pride in the Indigenous customs—fishing in summer and hunting and trapping in the fall and winter. The family also operated a small boating business, shipping supplies from Anchorage to nearby villages. 

Dena’ina artist and University of Alaska Fairbanks graduate Joel Isaak sculpted the installation, called One’s Spirit, over roughly two and a half years. The artist spent months talking with Alaska Natives about their unique features and customs, which shows in his detailed metal work. Olga’s shoes, for example, would have been made of fish scales. The artist mimicked that unique texture in his work. The statue was officially unveiled in January 2019.

In all, the Grandma Olga section of the installation includes the elder, a fish trap and rack, and bronze salmon lying on the concrete. Plaques nearby detail her contributions and those of the Dena’ina people. The surrounding area’s stunning coastal views and scenery make it worth a visit, too.

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Native Americans Fishing Tribes Installations Statues Art

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Virginia Brown

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Hetaira Thais, ciffergan, colleencourtney c93b920e, jphillips5105

  • Hetaira Thais
  • ciffergan
  • colleencourtney c93b920e
  • jphillips5105

Published

August 16, 2023

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Sources
  • https://eklutna-nsn.gov/about/
  • https://www.knba.org/news/2019-05-24/bronze-sculpture-of-grandma-olga-pays-tribute-to-denaina-matriarch-heritage
  • https://www.anchorage.net/plan-your-trip/about-anchorage/the-denaina-people/
  • https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/alaska-indigenous-art-anchorage-1.4963599
Grandma Olga Statue
25 Small Boat Launch Road
Anchorage, Alaska, 99501
United States
61.225052, -149.904323
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