Culture – Riveted

Klawock | Prince of Wales Island

Laura Domela — Sun, 06 Aug 2017 22:44:06 +0000

Klawock is about 7 miles by road, north of Craig on Prince of Wales Island. Klawock’s early inhabitants were from Tuxekan (a Tlingit winter village to the north), who used Klawock as their summer fishing camp. In 1868, European Americans opened a trading post and a salmon saltery, and in 1878 Klawock was the site of the very first cannery in Alaska. Klawock also has the oldest hatchery in Alaska (sockeye, coho, and steelhead).

We found space on the dock and wandered into town.

The Klawock Totem Park was on our “to see” list — and just a short walk from the harbor.

The Klawock Totem Park has the largest collection of authentic totem poles in Alaska. There are 21 original and replica totems from the old village of Tuxekan, and they are definitely some of our favorites!

We continued walking to get a feel for the town…there’s a large market about a 15 minute walk from the totem park (larger than the market in Craig by quite a bit!). Across the street from the market there’s a long house, a newly constructed carving shed (both closed) and an area in the yard where many old totems have been retired. (We even spotted a couple originals that we’d seen replicas of in the totem park!)

Back at the harbor we took advantage of the internet (well, sort of…it was VERY slow) and got a bit of work done. Dinner on Airship, and an early night. Tomorrow we’ll be heading up into El Capitan Pass. We plan to stop at Sarkar Cove, Devilfish Bay, and the El Capitan Caves, before heading around to Point Baker.

Craig and Hydaburg | Prince of Wales Island

Laura Domela — Tue, 01 Aug 2017 22:14:24 +0000

Airship and Safe Harbour left Coronation Island on Friday morning and cruised all the way to Craig (about 50 nautical miles). The forecast called for south winds to 10 knots and four foot seas—as good as it gets, basically.

The Craig harbormaster found spots for us both on the dock for two nights, but it was a tight and temporary squeeze. Airship was sandwiched between a sailboat and 120-foot Willard called Silverado, a luxury motor yacht that used to belong to Baron Hilton. After the first night, Safe Harbour was booted from its spot so a big seiner could return to its slip.

We explored Craig a bit, did laundry, re-provisioned at the well-stocked grocery store, and went out for a meal at the Dockside Cafe. We met a guy named Joe Sebastian (F/V Alta E) who told us some great stories and gave us some tips about places to explore on our way down Prince of Wales Island. (Thanks Joe!)

The weather has been Alaskan…rainy, gray, windy. We spent Friday and Saturday nights at the dock in Craig, and on Sunday when the wind died down a bit, we left and headed for Crab Trap Cove, just outside of Hydaburg.

We figured we’d anchor in Crab Trap Cove, put out some crab traps (because of course), and then in the morning when the weather was scheduled to improve, we’d take the dinghies the 2 miles or so over to Hydaburg.

In the morning we had a little fog up to the treetops, but it quickly burned off and made for a beautiful sunny day. I (Laura) watched this black bear slowly walking the shoreline, eating grass while I sipped my morning coffee. These photos were taken right before I sneezed and scared him back into the woods. (It was not a loud sneeze by any measure, but it was SO quiet in here and sound travels well across water. Plus, bears are skittish.)

We checked crab traps (three crabs), and then left for Hydaburg after breakfast.

The marina in Hydaburg is pristine compared to most small town marinas in SE Alaska. There’s a huge, covered fish-cleaning station, and the docks look brand new. There weren’t many boats here, which we hope was due to an opening (fishing) and not because no one is using this fantastic facility.

We walked through town and over to the Hydaburg Totem Park. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) established several of these totem parks during the 1930s with the goal of recognizing and protecting local culture. The Hydaburg Totem Park was established in 1939, and the totems in this park (as well as the other parks established at this time) were all brought from other locations. The government hired local Haida carvers to restore the totems or carve replicas if restoration wasn’t possible. (The restoration part of this info doesn’t fit with what we’ve heard, however. It is our understanding that when a totem decays, it is to return to the earth…replicas are often carved but I don’t know the details on the etiquette of restoration.)

We stopped in at the carving shed where four or five guys were at work on a variety of projects. Unexpectedly, they were playing country music (Conway Twitty, specifally…not exactly what we expected to hear in the carving shed). The guys were not chatty at all but invited us in to take a look around.

The projects in progress now are for the future long house currently being built on the edge of the Hydaburg River, which should be done by next summer.

We returned to Airship and Safe Harbour in Crab Trap Bay and pulled anchor. Next stop: Kassa Inlet and Hunter Bay!

Kasaan | The Re-Dedication of Naay I’waans (the Chief Son-I-Hat Whale House)

Laura Domela — Mon, 05 Sep 2016 06:50:47 +0000

Oral history indicates the Haida people have inhabited Haida Gwaii for over 17,000 years. Archeological findings have established habitation on the islands as far back as 13,700 years. Regardless of which number is correct, that’s over 100 centuries of cultural history, dating back beyond 10,000 BC. So when the Haida invite you over to share some of their traditions, it packs quite a bit more weight than a “tradition” like watching football on television at Thanksgiving.

The Haida arrived in Southeast Alaska around 200 years ago from Haida Gwaii. The first clan leader to arrive took the name Son-I-Hat. Son-I-Hat’s household settled at the Old Kasaan village (Gasa’aan) site as early as the 1700s. After the first Son-I-Hat passed on, his nephew (born in 1829) took and carried on the Son-I-Hat name. The village grew to include up to 500 people living in 18 lodges with up to 60 totem poles. In 1862, a smallpox epidemic killed almost ninety percent of the population in Old Kasaan. Son-I-Hat moved his remaining family to a new site (about 10 miles to the north) to a new house he built in 1880. The new house Naay I’waans, was nicknamed the “Whale House.”

By October 2011, the Whale House had fallen into disrepair and a plan was made for its restoration. A team of four carver/craftsmen was tasked with rebuilding the Whale House using traditional methods and with as much of the original components and material as possible. Five years later, the work was complete, and yesterday the village of Kasaan (population normally around 50 people) was packed with hundreds of visitors celebrating the re-dedication of the only remaining Haida longhouse in the United States.

Last summer when we visited Kasaan for the first time, we met several of the carvers on the project. They invited us to come back a year later for the celebration and re-dedication, and so we did!

To start things off, people gathered on the beach in front of the Whale House to greet the canoes from other tribes and clans as they arrived.

Kids playing in the water while the canoes came in. (I heard some people a little unhappy that the kids were ruining every photo, but I disagree.)

This kid got right in on the action of greeting the first canoe to land (from Klawock):

Chief John McAllister warmly greeted every canoe and gave permission to come ashore:

This canoe was designed by Marvin Oliver (Quinault/Isleta Pueblo), and the canoe was paddled over 30 miles to Kasaan from Ketchikan the day before. They are Haida, Tlingit, and Tsimshian (with friends of Salish, Quinault, and Chinook heritage):

Carver, Harley Bell-Holter bringing in the canoe from Ketchikan:

Announcing arrival and asking for permission to come ashore:

We were standing next to this kid’s mom, and I believe she said the piece he’s wearing was carved by his grandfather and indicated it was very precious to her…she was freaking out a little bit every time he leaned over the side of the boat with it (which I get! look how cool it is!)

After the canoes had landed successfully, everyone made their way up the beach to the Whale House for the re-dedication.

First, there was dancing and singing…the dancers/singers danced and sang, circling the Whale House and then filed inside, filling it with the good spirit. When they were finished, the speeches and dedications and thank yous began (much of it in the Haida language, which in itself is incredible since there are only a couple dozen people who still speak Haida, and most of them are over 70).

Julia Coburn, the eldest Haida matriarch, spoke early on, flanked by her daughter Jeanie and her grandson Lee.

The carvers, L to R: Harley Bell-Holter, Stormy Hamar, his son Eric Hamar, and Justin Henricks.

And speaking of carving, would you take a look at this adze work!

Each of the carvers spoke about the effect this project had on them, and it was….you know what? There are just no words to describe how incredible this whole thing was. I’m trying, but the level of heartfelt communication coming from every person was something so special to witness. Harley talked about the longhouse being a beacon not just to Haida people, but to ALL people, and it really feels that way. The community is so friendly and welcoming, and the level of respect and honor for the Haida culture and tradition is impressive.

Stormy Hamar and his grandmother:

He said he was trying to be all cool and then his gram came up and made him get all teary and messed up his cool. It was pretty sweet.

I took quite a few detail shots of people and regalia during the in-between times.

Detail of Chief John McAllister’s head piece (while it was not on his head):

I couldn’t help this next shot. This little boy was grabbing hands of gravel and pouring them over his open sandals. Then, he’d go sit on a stump and remove his shoe, pour the sand and gravel out, put his shoe back on, and then do it again.

The re-dedication ended and everyone made their way back via the trail to the village center for food, more singing and dancing performances, gift-giving, and socializing. The canoes, leaving the shore:

There was a large variety of wonderful food: salmon, halibut, spot prawns, crab, corned venison and cabbage, deer ribs (bbq style), deer stew, and many side dishes including salads, sea asparagus, pastas, fry bread, fresh fruit, and many, many cakes. The Totem Trail Cafe cooks were killing it…it was a potluck though, so I don’t know which things they did and which things people brought (I know we brought a big lemon/caper/pasta salad with shaved brussels sprouts, but that’s all I know.)

Gifts (such as gorgeous, hand-carved war helmets, masks, drums, and other amazing pieces of art) were presented to those who had a key part in enabling this restoration. The potlatch and gift-giving tradition is integral and central to this culture. Interesting side note: Potlatches went through “a history of rigorous ban by both the Canadian and United States federal governments.” The generous, gift-giving economy centered around potlatches was seen as “wasteful, unproductive, and contrary to ‘civilized values’ of accumulation.” (Wikipedia) WTF?

Okay, and now more singing and dancing!

The Carver’s Dance:

And I tried, but I do not remember which dance groups were from which places (and they were not listed in the nice program that was handed out, dangit). They were all wonderful:

That’s carver Justin Henricks there, next to the man holding the carved orca rattle that was AMAZING. He was behind us in the food line (his little son was playing with the rattle), and he told us it was very old and had been in his family for a couple generations.

I mean seriously (I zoomed in), how great is this??

Here’s a short compilation video of footage that Kevin took, to give you some sound and movement to go with the still photos:

As the festivities wound down (some time after 7pm), we made our way along the shoreline trail back to Airship.

It was a beautiful evening, and a beautiful day (in all ways).

We hung out on the boat and talked about the day, and then a little bit later we heard some drumming and singing. I opened the door and listened. On the shore, a group of people was playing drums and singing around a couple of bonfires. The sound carrying across the water, combined with the clear, starry sky, after such an amazing day…we grabbed our chairs and some blankets and sat up on the top deck, thinking it just couldn’t get any better. And it couldn’t have, but then it did.

Háw’aa.