Digitizing historical postcards from the CVTC Permanent Collections & Archives
Photo taken after presenting CVTC’s Community Impact Archival Project at the 2024 ATALM Conference. Standing with CVTC Culture and Historic Preservation Department staff, Norma Johnson, Skylar Hosman, Angela Wade and Anchorage Museum’s Director of Conservation and Collections, Monica Shah.
Founded in 2018
The Cultural Heritage Steward: Selena Ortega-Chiolero
Selena Ortega-Chiolero is a cultural worker and museum professional whose career spans museums, galleries, and nonprofit organizations across Turtle Island. Her wide-ranging experience includes museum administration, curation, collections stewardship, development, event planning, and public programming.
Selena holds dual bachelor's degrees in Art History and Asian Studies from California State University, Sacramento. She also earned certifications in Museum Studies from the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and in Cultural Heritage Tourism from the International Institute of Tourism Studies at George Washington University. In May 2024, she completed her Master of Fine Arts in Cultural Administration (Tribal Museums and Cultural Centers) from IAIA. She was a 2021–2023 Fellow with the University of Virginia’s Rare Book School as part of the Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship for Diversity, Inclusion, and Cultural Heritage, and is a 2024 alum of the Archives Leadership Institute.
A first-generation Mexican American with Indigenous roots in the Tarahumara community of the Barranca de Cobre in Chihuahua, Mexico, Selena grounds her work in her family’s cultural traditions and history, which continue to guide her professional path and personal mission.
Selena currently serves as Museum Specialist for the Chickaloon Village Traditional Council (CVTC), where she stewards the Permanent Collections and Archives that document and celebrate the history and cultural expressions of the Ahtna Dene of Nay’dini’aa Na’ Kayax (Chickaloon Native Village). She also supports the Tribe’s initiatives in cultural site preservation, cultural tourism, and repatriation.
Committed to equity and Indigenous sovereignty in cultural heritage work, Selena is an active member of the Native Emerging Professionals Network with the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums. She also serves as a Council Member for the Society of American Archivists and is a co–Principal Investigator on the Indigenous Archival Training Program led by the Native American Archives Section. Through her work, Selena strives to reframe cultural heritage practices to honor Indigenous identity, lifeways, and knowledge systems.