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 work is rooted in a commitment to community, cultural sovereignty, and the transformative power of Indigenous knowledge.
With experience in museum administration, curation, collections stewardship, development, event planning, and public programming, Selena brings a holistic and grounded approach to cultural heritage work.
She holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Art History and Asian Studies from California State University, Sacramento, and has earned certificates in Museum Studies from the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) and in Cultural Heritage Tourism from George Washington University’s International Institute of Tourism Studies. In May 2024, she completed her MFA in Cultural Administration (Tribal Museums and Cultural Centers) at IAIA.
Selena is a 2021–2023 Andrew W. Mellon Fellow for Diversity, Inclusion, and Cultural Heritage through the University of Virginia’s Rare Book School, and 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 histories, which continue to shape her path and purpose.
She currently serves as Museum Specialist for the Chickaloon Village Traditional Council (CVTC), where she stewards the Tribe’s Permanent Collections and Archives, preserving and celebrating the history and cultural expressions of the Ahtna Dene of Nay’dini’aa Na’ Kayax (Chickaloon Native Village). She also supports Tribal initiatives in cultural site preservation, tourism, and repatriation.
Dedicated to equity and Indigenous sovereignty in cultural heritage spaces, Selena is an active member of the Native Emerging Professionals Network with the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums (ATALM). She serves on Council for the Society of American Archivists and is co–Principal Investigator for the Indigenous Archival Training Program led by the Native American Archives Section.
Through her work, Selena advocates for culturally grounded practices that center Indigenous identity, knowledge systems, and lifeways.