Just before the grand exit Saturday night, a group of Natives, led by elder Paul Jackson, took over the stage and the microphone. They asked the Sealaska Heritage Foundation, organizers of the biennial event, to make the gathering more traditional.

"This Celebration is done for our people. It is our Tlingit way, our Tsimshian way, our Haida way. This is why we do this, so the right teachings can be taught to our young people," Jackson, a Tlingit of the Raven moiety and Sockeye clan, said.

He then asked the foundation to give Celebration "back to the people."

"I don't know where that comes from," said foundation board member Patrick Anderson.

"We have a written plan we manage Celebration by," he said. "We have to deal with the fact that lots of our cultural imperatives have changed. We've had to make adaptations. It's a pretty big logistical event."

For many, such as Anderson, a Tlingit from the Eagle moiety and Thunderbird clan, the event was an overwhelming success. There were a record number of participants, said Dennis Demmert, president of the Foundation. He said he knew Jackson was unhappy with the proceedings, but said he had a different idea of how the Celebration should go than the foundation's board of directors, which approved plans for the event.

"The whole thing about Tlingit protocol is very complex," Demmert said. "We are past the time when people know it well." He said Jackson's understanding of protocol and that of others, including elders, involved in the event seem to have been in conflict.

Following Jackson on stage last Saturday night was Paul Marks, from the Sockeye clan, who coordinated the Celebrations from 1982 to 1990.

"We've got a glass ball here," he said. "We have to be careful with our culture .*.*. how we pick it up. Now, the ball is being juggled around. We don't just sing and dance. We're not all beads and blankets."

There were seven workshops run during the event. They covered a variety of Native subjects, including protocol. Walter Soboleff, an elder Tlingit of the Raven moiety and Dog Salmon clan, lectured during the protocol workshop. He said Celebration '96 was a success beyond any of his expectations.

During the three-day gathering, some said they were disappointed with the crowded schedule -- 65 dance groups with 45 minutes each -- but other than a dispute between members of one clan over the use of a headdress, there was little public dissent. Most participants interviewed during the event gave it rave reviews.

Anderson said there was room made for clans to discuss their own protocol, but not many took advantage of it. Celebration, he said, is a busy event for everyone.

Marks said most people were having a good time, and that what was missing was spiritual. Many of the estimated 4,000 participants, he said, may not have noticed what was missing.