Sha Wha Guwaakaa George Bennett Sr., a Tlingit elder who taught the workshop, focused on a post-funeral ceremony called a koo.éex’. His students hung on every word as he shared centuries of wisdom about Tlingit culture, leaving space for questions and peppering in jokes.
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Petersburg celebrated its second annual Amy Hallingstad Day on June 28, honoring the life and legacy of the late Alaska Native rights activist. While recognizing Hallingstad’s work, family members say it’s not yet done.
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Over 100 years and miles later, the first traditional canoe from Petersburg completed its maiden voyage. After launching late last month, the pullers on kéet yaakw arrived in Juneau on June 2 just ahead of the biennial Celebration festival, and say the 10-day Journey was powerful in many ways.
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A group of canoes from several different communities embarked from Petersburg on May 24 for a traditional Journey to the Celebration festival in Juneau. Dozens of people gathered in Petersburg’s South Harbor to witness the inaugural launch of the community’s first canoe in over a century. The local tribe says the launch itself was also a historic first for the community.
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There are a few things that make the new canoe special. It’s the first one Petersburg’s local tribe has owned, and the first the community has had in over a century. Several canoes from around the region will launch from Petersburg this summer with a group of people traveling to Juneau for the biennial Celebration festival. A lot of time, planning and paint has been put toward bringing the new killer whale canoe to life.
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Sealaska Heritage Institute brought a skin sewing workshop to Petersburg from July 25 – 27, teaching students how to sew clothing items out of animal skins.
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A group of volunteers searched the south end of Mitkof Island for European green crab on July 18, looking for any sign that the highly invasive species had reached central Southeast Alaska after other sightings southward.
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A group from Kake embarked on a mid-June journey this week, traveling by canoe to Wrangell for a historic totem pole raising. Tribal and community members in Petersburg welcomed the visitors to town on Tuesday evening to rest and reconnect before continuing their canoe journey to Wrangell Island.
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