Getting an insider tour through the native Tlingit village of Kake, Alaska.
 |
| First look at Kake, Alaska |
In the middle of Alaska's inside passage lies a village where native Alaskans have been living for thousands of years. The Tlingit culture has been going strong in the Kake region all this time partly because of the sheer amount of resources and food here, but also because of their ingenuity in harvesting and keeping that bounty through the long winters.
 |
| Settling for grass at the moment |
The long winters also brought a bounty of another kind to this small community...a bounty of time. With daylight hours numbering close to the four hour mark in the heart of winter there was plenty of forced leisure time around these parts. That is when the weaving, carving, dancing, and story telling really took hold. This was the culture that we were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of this week on the Safari Quest.
Pulling up to the village of Kake, whose residents number in the 500-600s, looks like a quaint fishing village from the outside. A couple of rundown canneries hint at a history of booms and busts in the area. The logging industry also hit the wall in the mid 2000's with a combination of falling timber prices and raising electricity costs for the mill. The families that are here focus a lot of their time on the different hunting seasons. Right now they are getting very excited for the incoming salmon runs. And they aren't the only ones.
Down near the salmon streams, flocks of eagles chatter from the tree tops as they wait for the delicious salmon to return as they do each year. Seals and sea lions cruise by checking out the scene from the estuaries, taking a bold risk as the native Tlingit's are still allowed to hunt things like seals and sea otters. And just upstream black bears hungrily eat the sedge grass as they wait for juicier fare.
 |
| Master Carver Mike Jackson |
Our first stop was at a master carver's, Mike Jackson. Here yellow and red cedar trees are turned into animal filled totem poles telling stories of old and marking celebrations of new. At $1500 per foot you can commission your own Tlingit made totem.
Falen, was our guide through the trip. One of the few native Tlingit speakers in the world, she is focus on saving the language by teaching the younger generation as well as taking people like us through the village to experience this bastion of remaining Tlingit culture. As we sat under their 128ft totem pole she recalled one of the stories encompassed in the massive work of art. As she finished her story a bald eagle landed on the very top of totem, giving it a living top piece for a few moments.
The last stop of our tour was possibly our most entertaining. The Kake dancing group, in full regalia danced several songs for us from both the eagle and the raven clans. Then they finished by inviting the group out onto the floor to share in the exit dance. It was pretty amazing to be surrounded by the incredible beadwork, carved headdresses, beating drums, and the realization that these dances have been passed down for thousands of years.
In the middle of Alaska's inside passage lies a village where native Alaskans have been living for thousands of years. The Tlingit culture has been going strong in the Kake region all this time partly because of the sheer amount of resources and food here, but also because of their ingenuity in harvesting and keeping that bounty through the long winters. 
The long winters also brought a bounty of another kind to this small community...a bounty of time. With daylight hours numbering close to the four hour mark in the heart of winter there was plenty of forced leisure time around these parts. That is when the weaving, carving, dancing, and story telling really took hold. This was the culture that we were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of this week on the Safari Quest.
Pulling up to the village of Kake, whose residents number in the 500-600s, looks like a quaint fishing village from the outside. A couple of rundown canneries hint at a history of booms and busts in the area. The logging industry also hit the wall in the mid 2000's with a combination of falling timber prices and raising electricity costs for the mill. The families that are here focus a lot of their time on the different hunting seasons. Right now they are getting very excited for the incoming salmon runs. And they aren't the only ones.
Down near the salmon streams, flocks of eagles chatter from the tree tops as they wait for the delicious salmon to return as they do each year. Seals and sea lions cruise by checking out the scene from the estuaries, taking a bold risk as the native Tlingit's are still allowed to hunt things like seals and sea otters. And just upstream black bears hungrily eat the sedge grass as they wait for juicier fare. 
Falen, was our guide through the trip. One of the few native Tlingit speakers in the world, she is focus on saving the language by teaching the younger generation as well as taking people like us through the village to experience this bastion of remaining Tlingit culture. As we sat under their 128ft totem pole she recalled one of the stories encompassed in the massive work of art. As she finished her story a bald eagle landed on the very top of totem, giving it a living top piece for a few moments. 
The last stop of our tour was possibly our most entertaining. The Kake dancing group, in full regalia danced several songs for us from both the eagle and the raven clans. Then they finished by inviting the group out onto the floor to share in the exit dance. It was pretty amazing to be surrounded by the incredible beadwork, carved headdresses, beating drums, and the realization that these dances have been passed down for thousands of years. 
Comments
Post a Comment
Leaving a comment is a great way to provide feedback, ask further questions, and inspire more answers...so go for it.