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Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian Kusteeyí the Real People's Way of Being

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Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian Kusteeyí the Real People's Way of Being Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian Kusteeyí The Real People’s Way of Being DURING OUR 10,000 YEARS or more of occupation of Southeast Alaska, the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian people developed cultural traditions that have been modified by rapid culture change that began in 1867 after the Treaty of Cession between the United States and Russia. Our ancient values allowed our People to adapt to the changes and to survive as a distinct cultural group. Today, we are also seeking to integrate our cultural values into the institutions that directly serve our People. The values in Tlingit are: • Haa Aaní: Our Land (Haida: Íitl’ Tlagáa; Tsimshian: Na Yuubm) • Haa Latseen: Our Strength (Haida: Íitl’ Dagwiigáay; Tsimshian: Na Yugyetga’nm) SHI President Dr. Rosita Worl. • Haa Shagóon: Past, Present, and Future Generations (Haida: Íitl’ Kuníisii; Tsimshian: Na Hlagigyadm) • Wooch Yax: Balance (Haida: Gu dlúu; Tsimshian: Ama Mackshm) At Sealaska Heritage Institute, these values help to define our path, guide us along the way, and develop programs to perpetuate the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures. —Rosita Worl, Yeidiklas’okw, Kaa haní President OPPOSITE: Graphics of core cultural values by Robert Davis Hoffmann. iii Copyright © 2010 Sealaska Heritage Institute All rights reserved. SEALASKA HERITAGE INSTITUTE One Sealaska Plaza, Suite 301 Juneau, Alaska 99801 907.463.4844 www.sealaskaheritage.org ISBN 978-0-9825786-3-6 Cover: Haa Shagóon by Robert Davis Hoffmann, Xaashuch’eet, Tlingit of the Tsaagweidí clan, Xaay Hít. Design and composition by Kathy Dye. Tlingit words edited by Linda Belarde. Haida words edited by Dr. Jordan Lachler. Tsimshian words edited by Donna May Roberts. PHOTO CREDITS All photos made by Kathy Dye except the following: Rosita Worl by David Sheakley, page iii; Celebration Grand Entrance and children in regalia by Brian Wallace, page 2; dancer in mask by Bill Hess, page 2; toddler in regalia by Brian Wallace, page 3; Tlingit regalia with military uniforms by Frank La Roche from Sealaska Heritage Institute collections, page 20; “Jan-clet-jah” by Case and Draper from Sealaska Heritage Institute collec- tions, page 20; Auk village by William Partridge from Sealaska Heritage Institute collections, page 20; ANB/ANS representatives by Brian Wallace from Sealaska Heritage Institute collections, page 21; photos of illustra- tions and books by Zachary Jones, page 22; photo of painting by Zachary Jones, page 23; students holding model clan houses and students looking to the right by Sarah Dybdahl, page 26; Byron Mallott by Dixie Hutchin- son, page 29; Juried Art Show by Brian Wallace, page 30; cedar tree by James Poulson, page 35; Southeast Alaska by Todd Antioquia, page 36; John Marks by Richard Dauenhauer, page 48. Contents > About Sealaska Heritage Institute 1 > About Sealaska Corporation 5 Wooch Yax: Balance Social and Spiritual Balance 7 Haa Shagóon: Past, Present and Future Generations Honoring our Ancestors and Future Generations 15 Haa Latseen: Our Strength Strength of Body, Mind, and Spirit 25 Haa Aaní: Our Land Honoring & Utilizing our Land 33 > Donors 38 > Financials 46 > Staff, Board of Trustees, Council of Traditional Scholars 49 v Sealaska Heritage Institute Who We Are SEALASKA HERITAGE INSTITUTE (SHI) is a regional Native nonprofit organization founded for the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian people of Southeast Alaska. SHI was established in 1980 by Sealaska Corporation, a for-profit company formed under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). SHI, formerly Sealaska Heritage Foundation, ad- ministers Sealaska’s cultural and educational programs. SHI was conceived by Clan Leaders, Traditional Scholars, and Elders at the first Sealaska Elders Conference in 1980. During that meeting, the Elders likened Native culture to a blanket. The late George Davis (Kichnáalx, Lk’aanáaw) of Angoon, spoke these memorable words: “We don’t want what you did here to only echo in the air, how our grandfathers used to do things…Yes. You have unwrapped it for us. That is why we will open again this container of wisdom left in our care.” These wise traditional leaders told the new leaders that their hands were growing weary of holding onto the meta- phorical blanket, this “container of wisdom”. They said they were transferring this responsibility to the Corporation. In response to this directive, Sealaska Corporation created its non-profit arm, Sealaska Heritage Institute, to administer cultural and educational programs for the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian. During its first decade of operation, under the leader- ship of David Katzeek, SHI began to administer its scholar- ship program from funds set aside by Sealaska Corporation for this purpose. The second major focus at that time was the documentation of oral traditions, a project led by Tlingit scholar Dr. Nora Marks Dauenhauer and her husband, Dr. OPPOSITE: A sampling Richard Dauenhauer. Over nearly a twenty-year period, of books on Native languages, cultures, and these efforts led to several major publications by the history published by the institute of the Dauenhauers’ work, including: Because We institute over the years. SEALASKA HERITAGE INSTITUTE: WHO WE ARE 1 CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Grand Entrance at Celebra- tion 2008 in Juneau, Alaska; Children dressed in regalia; Children smile at a dancer wearing Eagle Transformation Mask at Celebration 2006. 2 SEALASKA HERITAGE INSTITUTE Cherish You…Sealaska Elders Speak to the Future (1981); Haa Shuká, Our Ancestors, Tlingit Oral Narratives, Vol. I, (1987); Haa Tuwunáagu Yís, for Healing our Spirit: Tlingit Oratory, Vol. 2 (1990); Haa Kusteeyí, Our Culture: Tlingit Life Stories, Vol. 3 (1994); the third edition of Beginning Tlingit (1991); and Aan Aduspelled X’úx’, Tlingit Spelling Book (1999). A number of these publications were co- published by the institute and University of Washington Press. During this period, the institute also created Naa Kahídi Theater, which won national acclaim for its dramatic presentation of Native legends. Soon after SHI was founded, the institute sponsored the first United Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian traditional Celebration, held in Juneau. Celebration 1982 was so popular that our Board of Trustees decided the festival should become a biennial event. New dance groups began to form in response to Celebration, and every other year, the festival grew. Today, nearly every community in South- east as well as Anchorage, the Seattle area, and Canada, are represented by roughly two-thousand dancers in more than fifty dance groups. During Celebration, workshops on various aspects of traditional culture and history also occur. Because SHI is the only major, region-wide organiza- tion dedicated to cultural preservation, its Board of Trust- Sealaska Heritage Institute sponsors ees has mandated that Celebration be dedicated solely a Toddler Regalia Review during to honoring our traditional culture. Today, Celebration is its biennial Celebration, a dance- one of the largest events in the state. It’s broadcast live on and-culture festival held every even year in Juneau. Since its inception statewide television and streamed live on the internet. in 1982, Celebration has grown into In 1997, while continuing to honor the Institute’s mis- one of the largest events in the state. sion statement, “To perpetuate and enhance the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures,” the Trustees adopted lan- guage restoration as the foremost priority of the institute. Few funds were available initially for this objective, but the institute launched an aggressive effort to implement federal initiatives and increase funding to support language resto- ration. Today, SHI sponsors and supports numerous lan- guage and culture programs across Southeast Alaska. The institute also sponsors archival projects, historical research, and new publications. SEALASKA HERITAGE INSTITUTE: WHO WE ARE 3 4 SEALASKA HERITAGE INSTITUTE Sealaska Corporation Founding Sponsor of SHI SEALASKA CORPORATION is a for-profit, regional Native corporation founded under the Alaska Native Claims Settle- ment Act (ANCSA) of 1971. Sealaska is the founding sponsor of Sealaska Heritage Institute, a Native nonprofit formed to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures. Sealaska Corporation established Sealaska Heritage Institute in 1980 to operate its educational and cultural programs. Sealaska is owned by more than 20,000 tribal member shareholders and guided by traditions of environmental stewardship and positively impacting our communities. Sealaska shareholders are legendary traders who are deeply connected to the lands and have successfully adapted to constantly changing environments and global economies. They bring together the wisdom and foresight of their combined heritage to create an enduring corpora- tion that provides business opportunities, benefits, and cultural strength for the people. Today Sealaska is the largest private landowner and the largest for-profit private employer in Southeast Alaska. It is a diverse company with investments in forest prod- ucts, construction aggregates, machining and fabrication, environmental remediation, information technology, plas- tics injection molding and manufacturing, global logistics, wood products, and financial markets. Its status as a Minority Business Enterprise and Small Disadvantaged Business adds to their strength as a govern- ment contractor and commercial diversity supplier. OPPOSITE: Sealaska Plaza. The headquarters of Sealaska Corporation is in Juneau, Alaska. SEALASKA CORPORATION: FOUNDING SPONSOR
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