Tlingit & Haida is sad to learn of the passing of Tlingit leader Marlene Johnson. Marlene was born and raised in Hoonah, Alaska, where she experienced both the warmth of community and the lasting impacts of assimilation-era policies. She vividly remembers the bitter taste of Lifebuoy soap—used to wash her mouth when school authorities learned she was “talking Indian.” Having the Tlingit language washed out of her is one of the few regrets she holds from an otherwise happy childhood.
Years later, Marlene reflected on the fear surrounding the use of Tlingit. She recalled elders sitting in her mother’s store, laughing and telling stories in their language. As a child, she once told her mother, “Don’t talk Indian,” afraid she would get into trouble. “To me, it seemed like cussing,” Marlene said. “It took our people a long time to realize we weren’t doing anything wrong by speaking Tlingit.”
After completing grade school in Hoonah, Marlene moved to Juneau for high school, graduating in 1953. She received vocational training in accounting and personnel management through a Bureau of Indian Affairs school and pursued further education at the University of Oregon and Washington State University in management and financial administration. She later completed coursework in administrative law at the National Judicial College at the University of Nevada, Reno.
Marlene applied her education in both private business and public service. She worked as an accountant for Coastal Glacier Seafoods in Hoonah from 1961 to 1968 and later became part owner and vice president of Southeast Skyways, a regional air taxi. From 1969 to 1982, she served as sales and personnel manager, managed the Hoonah station, and supervised agents throughout Southeast Alaska.
Her leadership spanned decades of Alaska Native governance. Marlene was a commissioner of the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission; served on the University of Alaska School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences Advisory Council; and chaired the Southeast Alaska Selective Service Board. An original incorporator of Sealaska, she chaired its board for ten years and represented the corporation on subsidiary boards. She also represented Southeast Alaska at the Alaska Federation of Natives from 1971 to 1995.
Marlene was a longtime elected Delegate to the Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska and served as vice president on its Executive Committee from 1961 to 1980. Respected as a thoughtful and formidable businesswoman, her voice carried weight in decision-making spaces. In 2016 she was bestowed the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her lifelong dedication to the betterment of the Tlingit and Haida people by President Peterson.
Marlene and her husband, Clifford L. Johnson, raised six children: Don, Howard, Bob, Patty, Lynell “Pixie,” and Jodi. Her life reflects a legacy of resilience, leadership, and unwavering commitment to her people and community.
Marlene was Tlingit, Yeíl (Raven), T’akdeintaan (Sea Piegeon) clan from Taax Hít. Her Tlingit name was Slath Jaa Klaa Lákooti and she is from Hoonah Alaska.