Kamehameha Schools Hawaiian Ensemble dancers perform at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Hall on Thursday, the first day of Celebration 2002. The three-day biennial event continues through Saturday at Centennial Hall and the ANB Hall. The Hawaiian dancers will perform one more time at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Centennial Hall. BRIAN WALLACE/ THE JUNEAU EMPIRE

Web posted June 7, 2002

Dance groups from Alaska, Canada, Hawaii and the Lower 48 descended on Juneau this week for the music, dance and Native culture of Celebration, but the trip might not have happened for some without the help of local organizations.

One Tlingit group of 18 students and 14 adults from Teslin in the Yukon Territory held bottle drives and other fund-raisers to help pay for the journey to Juneau. But meals, lodging and in-town transportation provided by Juneau churches and businesses made the trip possible.

Teslin, about 100 miles east of the Yukon capital of Whitehorse, is a Tlingit village of about 400 people where hunting and trapping are a way of life.

The trip was organized by the K-9 school in Teslin. Though individuals from Teslin have attended Celebration before, this is the first school group to go to the festival.

"I'm very grateful to the churches," said Teslin School Principal Richard Burke. "They are each providing a meal for the students."

Along with the cultural enrichment of attending Celebration, the trip gives students a chance to visit museums and the Mendenhall Glacier and to interact with friends, relatives and other students, Burke said.

Teslin Tlingit Chief Eric Morris said educating the youths in the traditional ways is helping secure the future of the Teslin community.

"It has to go alongside with healthy living," Morris said, noting that keeping the youth in touch with their spirituality will help them overcome the obstacles of alcohol and drug abuse.

Morris said exposing the Teslin youths to other Natives during Celebration is important because it gives them a chance to learn from one another. He said "seasoned" dancers who have been attending Celebration since its first year, in 1982, would help inspire young Natives growing up in Teslin.

"They are going to be representing us for years to come," Morris said.

Susan Smith, a Teslin Tlingit Council member, said a Teslin dance group called D'elin Kwan has played a large role in helping teach the youths traditional ways. The dance group has been together for about 20 years and recently started passing on its knowledge of traditional dances to younger villagers.

The D'elin Kwan dance group was not able to attend this year's Celebration, but its knowledge equipped the next generation with the skills needed to represent their cultural tradition. Smith said school kids from grades seven through nine also have formed a drumming group taught by the cultural coordinator for the Teslin Tlingit Council.

Dressed in handmade vests with patches representing their respective clans, the group marched proudly down Willoughby Avenue in Thursday's opening procession that led to Centennial Hall for the welcoming ceremony and opening-day events.

Smith said the vests represent the Eagle, Wolf, Raven, Beaver and Frog clans. She said dance and drumming lessons were taught at the grade school in Teslin prior to the opening of a heritage center last year.

Morris said to have an event like Celebration gives the youths a chance to use the skills they've been learning.

"It's a good time to reconnect and meet new teachers," Morris said.

Timothy Inklebarger can be reached at timothyi@juneauempire.com.