|
‘ABOUT LINDARAE AND THE LAUGHING BERRY COMPANIES’
LAUGHING BERRY DESIGNS, METLAKATLA CAR RENTALS AND LAUGHING
BERRY TOURS are native-and woman-owned companies, owned by Lindarae Shearer, a Tsimshian member of Metlakatla Indian Community in Metlakatla, Alaska. Shearer was born and raised in Metlakatla, but also lived in Seattle, Washington where she graduated from high school, attended college and worked as an administrator a good deal of her adult life. Shearer came back to Metlakatla in 1994, married, and has remained since then. She feels Metlakatla is a wonderful place for entrepreneurship and has proven it by creating and running three companies.
Shearer created Laughing Berry Tours partly in response to many requests for a knowledgeable narrative of historical, cultural and natural aspects of Metlakatla, but also out of an intense love for her homeland. The name Laughing Berry came about as Lindarae tried to think of appropriate names for her company. She recalled happy times in Metlakatla as a child when her Mother, who was always busy in the kitchen often made her favorite, Laughing Berry jam. The name, always associated with the sound of her beloved, soft-spoken mother who taught as she cooked, and with happy times in Metlakatla, seemed perfect for her company. She states that during all the years she was away from Metlakatla she never stopped missing her home and always intended to come back. Now she feels that she will never leave again.
One year in the recent past Shearer was hired by the Metlakatla Indian Community as a curator for the world-famous Duncan Cottage Museum, the actual home of Anglican missionary William Duncan. Part of her qualifications included a three-year term on the Community Advisory Board of the Thomas Burke Museum at the University of Washington in Seattle. During her term at the Duncan Cottage Shearer did extensive research from the hundreds of
publications contained in Ms. Duncan’s library. She gained enough knowledge from that research, she feels, to incorporate it into her tours. In fact, the stop at the Duncan Cottage is now one of the highlights of her tour.
Shearer also loves the natural beauty of Metlakatla, in particular the plant life, seashores, the mountains and the weather. Metlakatla is located on Annette Island in the southern part of the Alexander Archipelago, where winds originating in the Pacific Ocean are quite vigorous—up to 100 mph during the stormy seasons. It is also a part of the Tongass National Forest, so the rain is plentiful enough to water lush plant life.
Lindarae Shearer not only is an artist of considerable ability, but also is a classical pianist, a writer, event planner and holds a certificate in paralegal studies from Eastern Washington University. Previous to returning to Metlakatla, Shearer studied at the University of Puget Sound, Seattle University and the University of Washington. Her plans are to obtain a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Classical Piano Performance.
|
