My name is Fran Houston. I’m Áakʼw Ḵwáan, Raven Moiety, Dog Salmon from the Yaxté Hít (Dipper House). Born and raised in Juneau, Alaska, the homeland of my Ancestors. My Tlingit name is Seikoonie. My mother is Rosa Miller; my father is Leo Houston, Sr. I have been involved with cultural events, activities, and meetings with my mother and learned from her. In 2017, I was assigned as the Áakʼw Ḵwáan Tribal spokesperson by my mother, to continue her work.

“The way Juneau looked back then, and the way it is now, I kinda miss the way it was. The baseball fields where we used to make up our own games… I miss the bridge… the way the sun was hitting it: it was gold. Memories are wonderful… You can’t bring ‘em back, but they’re here.”