April Laktonen Counceller

April Gale Laktonen Counceller, also known as Isiik ("Owl"), is currently the Executive Director at the Alutiiq Museum and Archaeological Repository. She received her B.A. in Anthropology and American Civilization from Brown University in 2002, her M.A. in Rural Developement from University of Alaska Fairbanks in 2005, and her PhD in Language Planning and Indigenous Knowledge Systems from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 2010. April has studied Alutiiq for over 10 years and has apprenticed with fluent speakers Nick Alokli and Florence Pestrikoff. April is among the first in her generation to achieve advanced fluency in Alutiiq. She has also studied Alutiiq language extensively with her mentor Jeff Leer.