Celebration is a biennial festival of Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian dance, song, oratory and arts held in Juneau, Alaska. Southeast Alaska Natives from all parts of Alaska and the United States return to Southeast Alaska to participate in this spectacular event which has grown to be the largest cultural gathering in the State of Alaska.

While Southeast Alaska Native dance and songs have great antiquity, Celebration, dance groups and memorial recognitions honoring ancestors are new traditional practices that arise from ancient values and practices. Formerly, dance was performed only during ceremonial events in which individuals danced with their own clan and sang songs owned by their clan.

To understand the songs, oral traditions and dance of the Southeast Alaska Natives, one must be familiar with their social organization and traditional belief systems. Children are born into their mothers' clan and moiety. They are members of their mother's clan, and they are identified as children of their father's clan. They dance with their clan and sing the songs owned by their clan. However, children honor their fathers by dancing when their fathers' clan calls forth the children of their clan.

Using an example of an individual who is a member of the Lukaax.ádi Clan (same as mother's clan), and who is also identified and recognized as a Shangukeidí yádi (a Child of the Shangukeidí Clan which is his father's clan), we can demonstrate when this individual would dance in a ceremonial setting. He dances with the Lukaax.ádi when his clan sponsors a ceremony (traditional ceremonies are more often referred to as ÒpotlatchesÓ in the literature). However, when his father's clan sponsors a ceremony, they sing songs for their clan children-the Shangukeidí yádi. At this time, he and other individuals whose fathers are members of the Shangukeidí will come forth and proudly dances in honor of their father's clan. In the current period, children also honor their father and father's clan with a small donation of money when songs are sung for them.

Throughout ceremonial events, different types of dances and songs are performed including entry and exit dances and songs; sorrow dance and songs; and love songs. Special songs and dances are also performed during ceremonies such as the Peace Ceremony and the Spirit Ceremony. Shamans also had their own special, sacred songs and regalia. Songs were also sung during other kinds of activities such as during the paddling of canoes. Different types of dance and ceremony require the use of appropriate regalia i.e., interior dance and songs require interior regalia. Some songs and dance were acquired through trade with inland tribes or from the Aleut who accompanied the Russians into Southeast Alaska during the early 1800s.

With the arrival of Westerners, many traditional customs and practices were repressed by the new civil authorities, teachers and missionaries including ceremonies in which many of the dances occurred. Some Tlingit themselves chose to abandon their traditional ways, or they moved away from their home communities to pursue educational or employment opportunities and were unable to participate in their clans' ceremonial activities. A core of Tlingit, however, continued to practice their ancient ceremonies particularly in the northern regions of Southeast Alaska.

One of the first communities to organize a dance group with individuals drawn from different clans was the Mount Saint Elias Dancers of Yakutat. It was first organized in the 1930s and was comprised of dancers from the five major clans of Yakutat. During the 1960s, the Chilkat Dancers of Haines were organized as a commercial enterprise for the tourist market. The Marks Trail Dancers of Juneau organized themselves as an educational group under the tutelage of Mrs. Jennie Marks. One of their early performances was at the event celebrating the settlement of the initial award of the Tlingit and Haida land claims in 1968.

The formation of new dance groups which were not strictly clan-based aroused the ire of some elders. The Marks Trail Dancers were questioned by elders for taking dance out of their ceremonial context. The elders also raised the issue of clan ownership of songs and noted that the group was comprised of individuals representing different clans. The elders further requested a review of the planned performance. They left somewhat comforted with the commitment that clan ownership of songs would be acknowledged and that sacred dances, such as the sorrow dance and songs, would not be performed in public events.

Celebration arose from the concern of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation that fewer people and younger children were learning the songs and dances of their ancestors. They decided that to sponsor an event to celebrate the grandeur of Southeast Alaska Native dance and culture.

Thus, the first Celebration was held in 1982 with twelve dance groups and 150 dancers showcasing their dance, songs, oratory, art and traditions. In addition, a Forum on Traditional Property Law with a group of clan leaders and traditional scholars, two Tlingit lawyers and two anthropologists was held. Celebration was immediately viewed as a success and widely applauded, and the Trustees elected to continue the event.

Celebration quickly became a vehicle to encourage individuals, families, clans and communities to participate in traditional dance, song and oratory as well as to produce dance regalia and other arts. Without question, Celebration spurred the formation of dance groups which performed along with a few clan-based dance groups.

Dance groups raise their own funds to attend Celebration. Some communities have both adult and children's groups. A few dance groups are known to be especially vigilant in training and practicing. Today, nearly fifty Southeast Alaska Native dance groups have been organized. They perform in their own community functions as well as traveling to other communities and occasionally to exotic places such as Hawaii.

The Trustees were insistent that Celebration should be a festival of performing, visual and verbal arts, but comply with traditional protocols of behavior and rules of ownership of clan songs and crests. They were adamant that sacred cultural practices that occur only in the traditional rituals and ceremonies should not be conducted during Celebration. However, dance groups have occasionally sponsored naming ceremonies or validated ownership of regalia and crests during their performance period. Other cultural practices were transformed and emerged to become part of Celebration.

Over time, Celebration became more than a festival of dance and song. It embodies the values of the Southeast Alaska Indians and binds Native people to their ancestors. Remembering and honoring ancestors are integral aspects of their culture. During traditional ceremonies, a series of rites are held in which names of ancestors are recited which ensure their spiritual presence in the ceremonial activities or in which the separation between the physical and spiritual worlds diminishes. This cultural value has also been translated into a memorial practice during Celebration. Individuals write the names of deceased relatives and donate money to the Foundation on behalf of their relatives and ancestors. These names and the donations are then announced periodically throughout Celebration. In this way, their names and memories are celebrated and survive.

The need to dance in ceremonial regalia also spurred the creation and production of new dance clothing and objects. Rather than commissioning members of the opposite moiety as is the custom, grandmothers and mothers more often took on the task of sewing regalia for their grandchildren and children. Men, joined by a women who customarily did not carve headdresses or other objects, were kept busy carving hats, dance staffs, dance paddles or making and painting drums for the next Celebration. The new regalia also came to be held as private property of the individuals rather than communally owned by the clan which is the traditional practice.

Today blankets and crests are also designed with sequins and even pearls and can be seen along with the older, sacred headdresses and Chilkat blankets. Other evident changes are noted in the increasing number of women who serve as drummers which was a role traditionally held by men.

The trade between inland and coastal Indians also re-emerged. Although in the present period, it is the inland Indian who drives to the coast bringing their furs and beaded goods for which they have become known. The coastal Indians no longer traverse the mountain passes into the interior to bring coastal products although a few continue to drive the highway to visit their inland relatives.

The sponsorship of Celebration is a costly event. Sealaska Corporation provides base funding, but many other Native and community organizations and businesses also contribute to its support. The Foundation also designs and sells tee shirts to help offset the cost of Celebration. The core of work is conducted by an army of volunteers who manage everything from the Clan Leaders and Elders Hospitality Room to the Native Artist Market. Volunteers serve in a variety of capacities-security guards, ushers, emergency medical technicians, ticket takers, floor and parade monitors.

The Board of Trustees' Celebration Committee directly oversees the Celebration because of its special cultural significance. They appoint established and younger leaders to serve as moderators during Celebration, and they meet on a regular basis to evaluate the progress of Celebration. They also appoint the dance group that will serve as the lead dance group for the Celebration which is an opportunity for a community to showcase its dancers. The lead dance group heads the Grand Parade through the winding streets of Juneau and brings in all the dance group during the Grand Entrance and Grand Exit.

The Native Artist Market has also become a regular feature of Celebration. Native artists throughout the region bring their specialties to Celebration. Although the sale of Native food is not permitted in the Artist Market, individuals are often seen discreetly bartering and exchanging Native food during Celebration. Since several hundred thousands tourists visit Juneau each summer, it is an opportunity for Native artists to sell their works.

Workshops on various aspects of Native culture and history are also held during Celebration. Topics such as cultural protocols, the history and background of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, the significance of sacred sites, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act are discussed. Traditional scholars together with academic scholars work together to sponsor the workshops.

The formation of an increasing number of dance groups throughout Southeast Alaska as well as in Anchorage, Seattle and in California attest to the success of Celebration. Young and old are learning the songs and stories of their ancient past. They are learning and affirming the significance of their clan names, crests and histories. They are producing the arts of their ancestors in greater numbers. Celebration has become a vehicle for Native people to transform ancient cultural beliefs and practices embodied in song and dance to accommodate the demands of modern life. It has reaffirmed the identify of young people as Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian and other Native Peoples. Undoubtedly Celebration will continue to be used by Native people as a means transform traditional cultural practices, but its overarching significance it that it is one more means for the Natives of Southeast Alaska to maintain the rich cultural heritage of their ancestors.

Reprinted courtesy of the Sealaska Heritage Institute