Hoonah is 30 miles west of Juneau, and accessible from the Icy Strait Point port. Here, we were introduced to The Huna people from the Tlingit tribe. They wore colorful clothing and what I would term, blankets, and they represented all ages from teenagers to elderly as they told the legend of how creation started.
The Tlingit tribe is divided into two parts -- the Eagles and the Ravens, and they are traced through the mother's lineage. Eagles can not marry Eagles, and Ravens can not marry Ravens, so an Eagle must marry a Raven. I think this could be a problem in such a small community.
The high school (grades 7-12) has about 30 people enrolled (for the entire school!) so think about that. You are a student, you look around, know everyone, probably related somehow to everyone and you know who is an Eagle and who is a Raven. I could imagine you would have a good idea who your marriage partner would be. That is, unless if you go to college -- then the world opens for marriage material. I believe Chad said that the graduating class was 6 last June. Also, he said that when they play sports (he noted basketball) the team would have to fly to the competing school or they would have to fly in. Remember, no roads!
Chad also told us that the Huna people would be featured on the National Geographic channel August 25-26 because they were going to cross Glacier Bay and have a ceremonial opening of their Tribal House. I took note of the day and National Geographic, but when I looked at programming on National Geographic it only said about parks. That was it, and I missed it. Now I have to find it online and watch it. Amazing. It has been over 250 years since they have had a tribal house. I really need to watch this and so sorry I missed it!
There were many expeditions we could have taken here, from whale watching to riding a zip line. No to the zip line but it is the world's largest and highest at 5330 feet long with a 1300 foot vertical drop.
Along the tour, we stopped outside of the school and saw an eagle in its nest with its babies. I took a picture with my zoom, but could not make out an eagle until I saw its head on the photo. Can you make it out? Chad said that soon the eagle would be kicking its kids out of the nest. They were learning to fly.
The totem pole tells a story known only to the family that it was intended for. They do not share the story and sometimes the story dies with them. Chad told us that the story reads from bottom to top.The following are just a few of the totem pole figures and their meanings:
Eagle is an aristocratic lord of the Sky Realm and sometimes transforms into a human dancer.
Raven is powerful, a trickster, curious, deviant, crooked and deceptive but likeable.
Whale is the ruler of his underwater city.
Bear easily transforms into a human and likes to marry good-looking human princesses.
Wolf is powerful and is able to heal human sickness. He fraternises with ghosts at night and can turn into a whale. The pure white one is very powerful.
Also, a house has a totem in the front, and visiting Alaskan Natives can tell who has the power in the village because the higher the totem pole, the more powerful that person.
I left this excursion with an idea of some of the legends of the Alaskan Native. They have a rich history that spans years. I believe I read somewhere that they have existed in these lands for the past 7,000 years.
If you would like to learn more about the Tlingit Tribe, go to hunaheritage.org or for the Huna Tribal House Project (what I missed on National Geographic), go to nps.gov.
Until tomorrow...unless if I get hit with the hurricane/tornado power outage...have a great day...
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