An estimated 4,000 Southeast Natives are here to "open again this container of wisdom left in our care." The phrase is from the entrance song sung for almost an hour as approximately 1,500 dancers attending Celebration marched into Centennial Hall to the rhythm of as many as 100 drums. The "container" referred to in the song is Native heritage.

Paul Moreno, 40, a Tlingit of the Eagle moiety and Wolf Clan dressed before the march at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall. He put on a headdress, leather beaded boots and leggings, plus a yellow, red, green, black and white Chilkat blanket his great aunt let him wear for the procession. Back in Southeast for 2´ years after living in Las Vegas, Moreno said he's still working on understanding his culture.

"I saved my vacation for this," Moreno said. "I'm learning what I can about my culture."

Some of the dancers smeared charcoal on their faces, the mark of mourning for a friend or family member recently passed away. Their expression on the dancers' faces were mixed -- smiling, stern. Their chins, without notable exception, were all held high.

The night before, many of the dancers met for a welcoming potluck and orientation at the Tlingit-Haida Community Center. Some were turned away at the door due to lack of space.

Walter Soboleff, an elder Tlingit from the Raven moiety and Dog Salmon Clan, welcomed the assemblage.

"We see a lot of new people who have come from near and far," he said. "We know you are interested in your culture. Because we are interested in our heritage, we have gathered in this fashion so we can learn from where we come from. We will be singing some of the old songs. We will be dancing some of the old dances."

Soboleff was one of the elders who met with Sealaska Corp. officials in Sitka in 1980 to ask Southeast's regional Native corporation to hold the every-other-year Celebration to keep Native culture alive.

The idea behind Celebration, he said, is to return the spirit of responsibility for one's culture to every Native.

"The burden of preserving the culture is on all the clan members," Soboleff said. The art, songs, dances, ceremonies, legends and interest in language are all a part of that, he said.

While cultural preservation is the central theme of Celebration, it is also a time to catch up on family news, exchange recipes, admire beadwork and renew ties, said Vida Davis, 52, an Inupiaq Eskimo. She, and her 62-year-old Tlingit, Raven, Coho husband Herman Davis are members of the Noow Tlein Dancers from Sitka.

"I've really enjoyed it," she said. "It's like the song they sing at the beginning of Celebration. It's about opening the box of wisdom and passing it down."