Far left:  Lani's Great-Great Grandmother Saantaas' , English name unknown; 2nd to left, Lani's Great Grandmother, Akla, English name: Mary Willard; 2nd to right:  Kaa.it Jennie Warren (Warne) with her friend Mayreld Parker who is wearing the Killer Whale Chilkat Blanket Jennie wove for her; Far right: Lani Hotch removing the Wise Man Robe( a group project Lani led) from her loom in 2012. 

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Lani is committed to keeping the tradition alive in her community and has worked hard participating and teaching others through group projects and apprenticeships since the 1992. She has instigated three group weaving projects and has served as lead weaver on two of those projects, working with as many as eight weavers, though usually working with only two or three at a time.

Lani has woven, or helped to weave, over ten dance robes or wall hangings, has woven four cedar bark hats, and numerous other small projects. Her work is featured in several museums, and a few are in private collections. Lani's weavings work have also been featured in a few international art shows in Vancouver B.C., the Manawa Pacific Heartbeat show at the Spirit Wrestler Gallery in 2005, and the Time Warp show at the Bill Reid Gallery in 2010-2011. Lani placed second in the Sealaska Heritage Institute’s Juried Art Show in 2006, for the Contemporary Arts Division.  Lani is the recipient of various awards  including a Community Spirit Award from the First Peoples Fund in 2011, the Alaska Governor’s Award for the Arts in 2017 for Arts Business Leadership, the Native Arts and Culture Foundation Mentor Artist Apprentice Fellowship in 2017 and United States Artist Fellow in 2020. One of Lani’s highest honors was being named a “Culture Bearer” by her tribe---- the Chilkat Indian Village, in April of 2017.  She is the first and only person (thus far) to be given that honor in her community.

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