Morgan Fawcett of Woosh.ji.een of Juneau dances in the Grand Entrance for Celebration 2018 along Willoughby Avenue on Wednesday, June 6, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

Morgan Fawcett of Woosh.ji.een of Juneau dances in the Grand Entrance for Celebration 2018 along Willoughby Avenue on Wednesday, June 6, 2018. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

Sealaska’s Celebration is virtually ready to begin

Coronavirus concerns pushed the event online, to protect celebrants

Sealaska Heritage Institute’s biennial Celebration, held virtually this year, will begin Wednesday.

“Celebration is about celebrating who we are and the survival of our culture,” said Cemaleeda Estrada, SHI’s Celebration coordinator, in an email. “And while we cannot dance together in person this year, we wanted to still provide an opportunity to participate in and enjoy the many things Celebration has to offer.”

The decision to push the event online was made as the coronavirus outbreak began to spread. Anyone will be able to watch the four days of proceedings, either on the SHI Youtube channel or on TV on 360North. Celebration is typically a major gathering, as well as a large economic boon for Juneau, generating nearly $10 million in Juneau in 2018, according to a McDowell Group study.

“Our board of trustees had to make the hard decision to cancel the in-person event due to COVID-19 concerns and the potential spread, especially among our vulnerable villages and elders,” Estrada said. “However, we also know that in hard times like these, we need something positive to look forward to.”

With the Celebration moved online this year, Estrada said, there will be an in-person event held in 2021.

We changed our theme to reflect the situation we are now facing. The 2020 new theme is “Have Courage”, Estrada said. “The phrase is common in our culture, used to offer support to others in difficult times.”

The schedule will resemble previous Celebrations, with advantage being taken of the new format of the celebration, Estrada said.

“It will for the most part follow the same order as 2018 in terms of dance group performances, with new content plugged in along the way,” Estrada said. “New content will include a Juried Art Show and Competition, Toddler Regalia Review, an Indigenous Fashion Show, storytelling, awards for people of distinction and greetings from dance group leaders.”

Celebration was put together by more than 60 SHI employees, Estrada said. The new venue will allow for new ideas.

“While going virtual may have its setbacks, it also has its opportunities as it will allow us to reach many people beyond those who visit Juneau in person,” Estrada said. “It has allowed us to convert our normal programming while also incorporating new materials and ideas that we have never been able to offer before, such as storytelling.”

Have Courage, no need to travel

Celebration’s theme has been changed to reflect the pandemic that caused the every-other-year event to take place virtually. The new theme “Have Courage” is one that event organizer Cemaleeda Estrada said is common in the respective Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian languages.

Here is how it’s said:

• Tlingit—Yee gu.aa yax̱ x’wán (“Have strength and courage”)

• Haida—Gudangáang hl tláats’gaadaa (“Have courage”)

• Tsimshian—Smgit maamxsgism (“Stand strong”).

• Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757.621.1197 or mlockett@juneauempire.com.

More in News

The Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Encore docks in Juneau in October, 2022. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
Ships in Port for the Week of May 28

Here’s what to expect this week.

File Photo
Police calls for Saturday, May 27

This report contains information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Dozens of Juneau teachers, students and residents gather at the steps of the Alaska State Capitol on Jan. 23 in advocacy for an increase in the state’s flat funding via the base student allocation, which hasn’t increased sizeably since 2017 and has failed to keep pace with inflation during the past decade. A one-time funding increase was approved during this year’s legislative session. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo)
What’s next for the most debated bills pending in the Legislature?

Education funding increase, “parental rights” and other proposals will resurface next year.

Emergency lights flash on top of a police car. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
Police investigate assault in Lemon Creek area

“JPD does not believe there is any danger to the public at large.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Feb. 24, 2022, in Orlando, Fla. DeSantis has filed a declaration of candidacy for president, entering the 2024 race as Donald Trump’s top GOP rival (AP Photo / John Raoux)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis launches 2024 GOP presidential campaign to challenge Trump

Decision revealed in FEC filing before an online conversation with Twitter CEO Elon Musk.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Police calls for Wednesday, May 23, 2023

This report contains information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

A channel flows through the mud flats along the Seward Highway and Turnagain Arm in Alaska on Oct. 25, 2014. Authorities said, a 20-year-old man from Illinois who was walking Sunday evening, May 21, 2023, on tidal mud flats with friends in an Alaska estuary, got stuck up to his waist in the quicksand-like silt and drowned as the tide came in before frantic rescuers could extract him.  (Bob Hallinen / Anchorage Daily News)
Illinois man gets stuck waist-deep in Alaska mud flats, drowns as tide comes in

“…It’s Mother Nature, and she has no mercy for humanity.”

Most Read