Centuries after an advancing glacier forced the Huna Tlingit to flee their homeland, they’re returning home.
The long-awaited dedication of Xunaa Shuká Hít, the Huna Tlingit’s Glacier Bay Tribal House, is today. Hoonah community members are on their way, paddling to Bartlett Cove with paddles they’ve carved themselves. They’re in dugout canoes carved by master carver Wayne Price, along with apprentices Zack James (Tlél Tooch Tláa.aa), James Hart (Gooch Éesh), and Steven Price, Wayne Price’s son.
For the separate project of the tribal house, lead carver Gordon Greenwald, Owen James and Herb Sheakley have been working on the interior screens and four house poles of Xunaa Shuká Hít for years.
People from around the region are gathering for the Huna Tlingit’s return to their ancestral homeland of Glacier Bay. The event is special for another reason as well — it falls on the centennial anniversary of the creation of the National Park Service.
The Aug. 25 celebration will run from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“August 25th will be a full day of memorable sights and sounds,” said HIA Tribal Administrator Bob Starbard in a press release.
“From its inception, the Tribal House has been a cooperative effort between the NPS and HIA; park staff and tribal employees collaborated on the architectural design; completion of various cultural elements including house screns, house posts, and totem poles; operational plans; and educational strategies,” says the release.
Look for coverage of this historic event in the Aug. 31 Capital City Weekly, and on www.facebook.com/capitalcityweekly. The National Park Service is live-streaming the event.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF WAYNE PRICE
Canoes en route from Hoonah to Glacier Bay for the dedication of Xunaa Shuká Hít on Thursday, Aug. 25.
