A white and red canoe glides through Petersburg’s harbor on July 15 as locals welcome the group of travelers at the dock. (Taylor Heckart/KFSK)

Tribal and community members gathered dockside in Petersburg to greet a canoe full of visitors from Kake.

Who are you? Where are you coming from, and what is your final destination?” Sagooch Billy Ware asked from the dock, first in Lingít and then in English. 

The canoe group responded from the water, announcing they were traveling from Kake to Wrangell for a historic totem pole raising

After hearing the response, Will Ware (Lgeiki’’eesh) welcomed the visitors ashore, offering them water, food and shelter. It’s the cultural protocol for landings like these and part of the time-honored Alaska Native tradition for canoe journeys.

Landing in Petersburg was a welcome break after the nearly 12-hour journey. 

Originally, the group had planned to canoe from Kake, on the northwest side of Kupreanof Island, directly to Wrangell, about 90 nautical miles away. But a few days before their departure, there was a change in plans. 

Petersburg resident YaKunda.ein Avery Herrman-Sakamoto found out they wanted to rest in Petersburg. 

I let myself get some rest before deciding to start planning what that’s going to look like and help them, if I can. And that turned into having a really, really wonderful welcoming for them … as well as a wonderful community potluck,” she said. “That’s our neighbor community. We have a lot of family from there, so … this is a really good time for people to reconnect.”

At the potluck inside John Hanson Sr. Hall, the travelers shared stories about their canoe journey so far. 

Burt L. Jackson (“Kiyee”) said they saw over 30 whales, and even got to watch some humpbacks bubble feed. 

“It was great weather. Wind and waves pushed us right to Petersburg,” Jackson said. “Making the journey is just as satisfying as getting to your destination, just because we all enjoy being out in the water together.”

But reaching Wrangell was still his main motivation.

“We were more than honored to get invited to participate and witness their totem pole raisings,” Jackson said. “It’s always a huge deal when anybody raises totem poles.”

The canoers from Kake set out again the next day. Herrman-Sakamoto joined them — embarking on her second-ever canoe journey.

“I think it’s really wonderful that canoe journeys are making a comeback,” she said. “It’s been really beautiful seeing more and more canoes being carved and paddles being carved, and people just being really excited to be in that space.”

They met up with another canoe group, coming from the Prince of Wales Island community of Kasaan, to finish the journey to Wrangell together. 

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