Image credit: Ben McCluckie The Hoonah Indian Association and Glacier Bay National Park welcome you to virtually visit our treasured Xúnaa Shuká Hít (Huna Ancestors' House). Take our guided "Quick Tour" or choos the "Object Tour" to discover the vibrant, lving culture of the Huna Łingít and learn about their enduring connection to Glacier Bay Homeland. Exploring Navigation Options:Launch the tour by selecting the play icon in the middle of the self-guided virtual tour image. Full screen mode is recommended.
Audio Described Video Walkthrough: Launch the audio tour by selecting the play icon in the middle of the audio described thumbnail for a captioned video of the “Quick Tour.” Viewing Tips:
Xunaa Shuká Hít Virtual Tour - Audio Described Video Player is loading. Descriptive TranscriptThis video is an audio described virtual tour through Xunaa Shuká Hít, the Huna Tribal House.
Visit our keyboard shortcuts docs for details
Audio described Xunaa Shuká Hít virtual tour. Production and Reviews
Object Transcript with Photo DescriptionsXunaa Shuká Hít (Huna Ancestors’ House) Virtual Tour object captions and photo descriptions. Each object caption is followed by a photo description. Xunaa Shuká Hít (Huna Ancestors' House) was dedicated on August 25, 2016, the Huna Tribal House was collaboratively designed and built by the Hoonah Indian Association and the National Park Service to anchor the Huna Łingít in their Glacier Bay Homeland. It is located on the shores of present-day Bartlett Cove which supported an array of clan houses before the Little Ice Age. The Tribal House is the culmination of many years of healing and hard work. It serves as the focal point for tribal and park commitments to co-stewarding the lands and waters of Glacier Bay Homeland. Children wearing long colorful regalia wrapped around their shoulders walk on a rocky path away from the Tribal House; a low tan building with tribal designs on the front.
A group of Elders wearing traditional tribal regalia stand shoulder to shoulder in front of the Tribal House; a low tan building with tribal designs on the front. The house front design depicts the two moieties that comprise Łingít social structure, Yéil (Raven) and Ch'áak' (Eagle). Łingít individuals follow their mother's bloodline and are members of her clan. To maintain social balance, one marries one's "opposite." A Raven clan member always marries an Eagle clan member and vice versa.
Artist/Image credit: Jeff Skaflestad To learn more, visit this external (non-NPS) site: Alaska Native Knowledge Network Two black and red formline paintings in a circular design depicting birds (Raven/Eagle) facing each other beak to beak Ch'áak' (Eagle) represents one half of Łingít society. Every Łingít belongs to either the Raven or the Eagle moiety. Each Łingít follows their mother's bloodline. Eagle down is often used in ceremony and dance as a blessing. Huna youth scattered eagle down during a ground blessing ceremony before construction of the Tribal House began. A white headed bald eagle with a bright yellow beak and dark feathers starting at the chest. The bird faces left with one bright eye seen towards the front. A man stands facing left while wearing a hat with a bald eagle design on it, a white head with a yellow beak is on the top and red and green create the feathers.” A young girl stands facing with their back to us, she is dressed in a traditional regalia with red and black fabric and a white bird with wings spread is see on the back.
A man wearing traditional red and black regalia with white accents stands facing towards us. He spreads eagle down feathers around in front of himself. The tináa (copper shield) is an emblem of prosperity in Łingít culture. Wealthy clans possessed numerous handcrafted tináas and gifted or traded them. On our house front, the tináa represents the richness of the Huna Tlingit culture; our wisdom, knowledge, language, and traditions. The red hands grabbing the tináa represent all the outside influences trying to steal our wealth – ignorance, technology, bigotry, drugs, alcohol, and cultural loss. Eagle, however, grasps the tináa more tenaciously, holding on securely for future generations. The tináa shape is commonly depicted on regalia as well as on utilitarian items such as this stone scratching tool from Hoonah, curated at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. A large tináa copper shield with rhombus top and two equal size bottom portions in a rectangular shape. A faded design can be seen on the top portion of the shield. A black and white image of a group of tribe members dressed in regalia in front of a totem pole that stands in front of a low one story building with a line of windows.
A utilitarian stone tool with a piece of cord strung through a hole on the top of the tool. An image with two circular shapes and diagonal lines are etched on to the tool.
Yéil (Raven) represents one half of Łingít society. Every Łingít belongs to either the Raven or the Eagle moiety. Each Łingít follows their mother's bloodline. Raven figures prominently in many old Łingít stories where he is both trickster and creator. A jet black raven with shiny feathers and a shiny sharp beak is seen in front of a bright blue sky. A person wearing a carved raven hat and regalia faces left and has a wooden box in front of him. Raven holds Yaakoosgé, the Box of Knowledge, which contains all the wisdom that our Łingít culture depends on; we are opening the box of knowledge - knowledge of tradition, food practices, songs and clan histories. Lákht (bentwood boxes), are made of a single wooden board which is kerfed, steamed, and bent into shape; a bottom and lid are added on. They are watertight and are used to store food items as well as household goods and clan treasures. Close up of tribal drawing of the Huna Tribal House box of knowledge. A black line drawing of a raven talon holds open a red lid tilted at a 45 degree angle to the right top.
Dark wooden box with carvings of tribal designs and white operculum shells for accents in a symmetrical pattern on the corners and around the middle circle. A light wooden box with a lid and tribal drawings. Two birds facing each other are painted on the box and a human face is seen stacked on top of the birds. Each of the totemic faces surrounding the house front are unique, representing the many ancestral spirits of the Huna clans. Newly born children are named for a clan ancestor whose soul is breathed into them in a naming ceremony. The unending bond between past, present, and future generations of Łingít is known as Haa Shagóon. Łingít personal names are owned by individual clans and remain important today in both ceremony and everyday life. A totemic face with wide eyes and slightly turned down eyebrows, a wide nose and exposed teeth. A totemic face with wide eyes and slightly turned up eyebrows, a wide nose and exposed teeth. An Elder woman with shoulder length white hair cuddles a small child with green and black tribal regalia. Haa Shuká (Our Ancestor), dressed in a fine woven Chilkat tunic, welcomes each visitor with open hands, a universal sign of peace. The Huna Tribal House is a place of peace, healing, and reconciliation. All who enter can expect to be treated with dignity and respect.
Photo credit: Ben McLuckie A large black hand carved with the thumb on the left, a human hand is shown in the bottom middle of the carving. Woven of jánwu kakéin (mountain goat wool) and teey woodí (cedar bark fiber) tightly spun together, Chilkat robes and tunics are treasured clan possessions worn for special occasions. A clan crest is typically featured as the central figure. Mountain goat wool can be collected directly from goat pelts or from the branches of shrubs and trees that catch shed wool. Weavers spin the wool on their thighs. Although mountain goats cannot be hunted in Glacier Bay, Huna weavers continue to gather wool from Jánwu Aaní (Mountain Goat Land) at Mount Wright and Gloomy Knob in Glacier Bay.
Learn about the art of Chilkat weaving at this external (non-NPS) site: ReVision Alaska: Weaving our Identity Photo Credit: NPS Elders wearing regalia stand in a group looking to the right. Two people stand with their backs to us, the one of the left wears regalia with white, black, yellow, and blue, A face is seen in the middle of their back with a yellow stripe across the face. The person on the right wears regalia draped over their shoulders in green, yellow and black. A large face is seen in the center of the back with two arms that reach down. The person wears a hat that has a green and red frog facing front on it.
A woman wearing all black sits on a folding chair with a pad on her right thigh as she rolls wool on her leg as she looks down. To her right is a small table with a skein of wool and a bag of unrolled wool.
The house front and other cultural treasures displayed in Xunaa Shuká Hít are adorned with a combination of traditional Northwest Coast and modern artistic styles. The Northwest Coast art style uses a contrast of shapes produced by connected lines of varying width (formlines) and negative space to represent the balance so important to Łingít and other Northwest Coastal cultures. The building blocks of formline design include the ovoid and u-shape; look for them in the intricate designs of our Tribal House. Black and red are the primary colors used to paint formlines, while the negative space is sometimes filled with a blue/green color. Black and red pigments were made by combining charcoal and red ochre, respectively, with water, animal fat or salmon eggs. The blue/green color is derived from earth minerals, celadonite and vivianite. A black, ovoid formline shape with a thin line at the bottom, medium line on either side that meet at the top and make a thicker curved top line. A black elegant upside down “U” formline shape; top is thick, bottom tips are curved and thinner. Traditional clan house doors are oval shaped, forcing those entering to bend in a posture that precludes aggression. Visitors crouch and enter the doorway backwards, displaying the clan crests they proudly wear on the back of their regalia to all those inside. Our Tribal House has both an oval and rectangular door to welcome and accommodate all our diverse visitors. Néil Gu (Come In). Drawing of a traditional clanhouse that shows two totem poles on either side of the house front, an oval entryway and colorful of images of importance to the tribe. On the roof on the middle of the building is a wood panel smoke hole. Youth stand in two lines on either side of an oval entryway to the Tribal House. They are dressed in colorful regalia with red, blue, white and black fabrics, They are all holding drums and different designs can be seen on the back of their regalia. Our Elders longed for a place where the ancestral wisdom of Glacier Bay Homeland could be held and shared. In this short video, they offer you a traditional welcome to this treasured space. Shi (Łingít songs) record important aspects of clan history. Most Łingít songs are clan-owned and can only be performed by the clan of origin, or with explicit permission from that clan. Songs include simple, repetitive vocables used as "entrance" and "exit" songs as well as more elaborate mourning or love songs, rich in metaphor and emotion. In recent years, the National Park Service and Hoonah City Schools have partnered on workshops where youth compose new songs to document their love for Glacier Bay Homeland. The t'áa yá (walls) of traditional clan houses were lined with raised platforms where clan members slept and stored personal items. Cedar mats divided the platforms into individual spaces or cubicles. Traditional clan houses supported as many as 30-50 individuals including clan members and their spouses. Floor plans of a traditional clanhouse. Text reads from bottom to top: Note: Rafters were used for storing food. Smoke hole was directly over fireplace, steps, doorway, Slaves or servants sleep here. Text to the right reads from bottom to top: cedar mat, cedar mat, boxes and baskets containing family belongings cedar mat, Clan crest screen, boxes and baskets full of ceremonial items, Headman’s Compartment. Text to the left reads from top to bottom: Cedar bark mat separating family areas, cedar mat, cedar mat. Historical image yellowed with age shows people inside a traditional clan house around a fire pit in the middle of the house, that is lower than the rest of the house, a clothes line is strung from left to right and clothing is hanging to dry. A historical photo inside a traditional clan house. A bundled baby is seen in a hammock swing that is suspended from a wooden beam across the inside of the dwelling. Gandaa (Around the Fire) A single fire warmed most traditional clan houses and served as a central gathering area. Higher status residents selected coveted locations closest to the fire. Traditionally, fire pits were several feet lower than the clan house floor so that people could gather around the fire. In more recent years, a woodstove might replace the open fire pit.
Photo Credit: Alaska State Historic Library, Seneca Stoddard A historical image inside a traditional clan house. Men, women, and children can be seen seated around a woodstove with traditional Chilkat woven robes featured in the room. A historical image of a person sitting crouched with their knees drawn to their chest peering into a flaming fire pit. Although gaan ká (smoke holes) were constructed to vent smoke from the fire pit, our Elders often describe traditional clan houses as being filled with lingering smoke. Exterior view of a modern Huna Tribal House with the smoke hole on the right side of the shingled roof. Tribal paintings can be seen on the front of the house. Historical photo of three people sitting together in a clan house around a cooking pot and one man stands off to the back right of the image, dried fish are seen extended from a pole above the cookpot. The room is filled with smoke. The two spruce beams in Xunaa Shuká Hít (Huna Ancestors' House) were harvested near Seward, Alaska. Because they were so large (30" in diameter), they had to be sent to Washington State to be shaped and graded - a federal requirement to ensure safety - and then sent back to Glacier Bay. Shéiyi (Sitka spruce) remains an important resource for the Huna Łingít who rely on its strength to craft buildings and dugout canoes and weave its roots into intricate baskets. The women of Hoonah have long been renowned for their prowess at weaving intricate spruce root and cedar baskets. Xháat (spruce roots) are harvested in spring, roasted on a fire to remove the bark, soaked in rainwater, split, and then woven. Many weavers continue this tradition today. Through a collaboratively developed Vegetation Management Plan tribal members can continue to harvest both cedar bark and spruce roots in Glacier Bay. Sun beams through the misty rain bathing the tall spruce trees in dappled light. An elder woman sits on a honey golden chair with a pocket knife open on a yellow blanket across her lap. She holds a piece of long spruce root in her teeth and hands. Beautiful traditional spruce root basket woven to create an intricate design of long rectangular shapes. A woman with white hair kneels on her knees and gently gathers spruce roots from the forest floor. She wears green gardening gloves and keeps her face down towards her work. A coil of spruce roots lays among burnt wood with a long stick in the middle of the coil to stir them. Three people sit around a small fire pit with spruce roots sitting on top of chared wood. A woman holds a stick in her left hand a reaches for the roots with her gloved right hand. All the adzed cedar wood that clads the interior and exterior of the Tribal House was handcrafted by tribal members using traditional tools. The Tribal House carvers made their own xhút'aa (adzes) at a forge in Port Angeles, Washington. Two adze tools lay among wood chips and sawdust on the ground. Close up of adze marks on wood grain. During the 2016 Dedication Ceremony, the name Xunaa Shuká Hít (Huna Ancestors' House) was breathed into the Tribal House, giving it life. Red paint was added to each of the corners to protect the building and its inhabitants. This protocol for safeguarding a newly constructed building has been followed since time immemorial. A painted red spot in the corner under the ceiling in a house. The central house screen depicts the cultural geography of the four primary Huna Łingít clans. Each of these clans is also reflected in one of the four house posts. Their territories span Glacier Bay National Park and portions of the Tongass National Forest lands and surrounding waters. Traditionally, the Hít s'áadi (House Leader) and his family slept behind the interior screen. Up to 30-40 clan members and their spouses lived throughout the house. Traditional formline design and more contemporary art forms are blended in this panel. Tall screen carving in the Tribal House interior. Numerous carvings of animals, spirit faces, canoes and a woman wearing a carved hat and an oval entrance hole. Map of the territories of the tribes shown in gray over green land mass and grayish blue water ways. The Pacific ocean is seen to the left of the map. The Hít s'áati (House Leader), as well as dancers and speakers enter the central space of a clan house by passing through the house screen's xh'é (entrance or mouth). The Tribal House's oval entrance is draped with sea otter furs harvested by tribal hunters near Hoonah and shaped by community women. Only Alaska Natives have the right to hunt sea otters. In Hoonah, traditional artisans craft sea otter hides into warm hats, scarves, and gloves and use them to accent woven bags and other regalia. The art of skin sewing is being revived through classes and workshops offered in Hoonah and elsewhere. Yáxwch' (sea otter) populations are rapidly increasing in Glacier Bay and nearby areas following reintroduction of otters in the early 1990's. Sea otter hunting is not permitted in the park. A historical photo with a man standing in the middle of of the carved interior screen dressed in regalia, a person wearing a hat is seen coming out of the oval opening. Two totem poles stand on either side of the screen. A traditional bentwood box is seen in the lower right of the room and traditional robes are draped on the shelf below him. Two muskets lean up against wooden platforms.
T-shaped Ltu.áa (Lituya Bay) on the outer coast of Glacier Bay is treasured Homeland for the T'akhdeintaan Clan. The design captured on the house screen mirrors that depicted on the Lituya Bay Robe, at.óowu (clan-owned regalia/items), of the T'akdeintaan Clan. This moose hide robe, taken from the community years ago, was repatriated to the T'akhdeintaan Clan by the University of Pennsylvania Museum in 2011. Ariel view of the outer coast bay with a small islands in the center of the bay, white snow covered mountains form a breathtaking background. A man wears a clan owned moose hide robe with black, red, and white faces on the back, other people are seen in regaila. Ltu.áa (Lituya Bay) supported several Łingít villages along its shores. Both oral history and written records document interactions between French explorer Jean François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse and Łingít living there. Artists on Lapérouse's voyage captured some of the first western images of Łingít life.
Artist: Blondela - Atlas du Voyage de la Perouse, circa 1792; Gaspard Duch du Vancy - Atlas du Voyage de la Perouse, circa 1792 Drawing of a historical village or fish camp, people are seen working on canoes, carrying branches, tending children and drying fish. Plank A-frame like structures are present on the beach. Historical drawing of a meeting between explorers and tribal people sitting near a plank A-frame like structure. A man to the left wears a knife strapped to his ribs and holds a hatchet in his hand. Two people are seen in the shadows to the right of the image talking to the apparent tribal leader. A drawing of a woman wearing a long fur robe over a tattered dress, she sits under a tree facing forward with someone sitting just past her left shoulder facing left. Three people are seen to the left of the woman in the distance. A small box is seen at the woman’s feet. Tsunamis have swept through Ltu.áa (Lituya Bay) many times in history. One such catastrophic event which likely occurred in the late 18th/early 19th century destroyed several Łingít villages, washing residents out to sea. This tragic event is memorialized in Łingít oral history as well as with The Wave Song, Teet Shi, and an accompanying women's dance that is only performed at sacred ceremonies. The world's largest earthquake-generated tsunami took place on July 9, 1958, in Lituya Bay. The force of the giant wave swept away vegetation as high as 1720 feet leaving a bathtub ring evident today along the shoreline. A group of women dance wearing regalia, one with two white large tassels tied to her headband. Their faces are downcast and eyes are closed. Tsalxhaan (Mount Fairweather) is a sacred mountain of the T'akhdeintaan Clan. A place of shamanic ritual, the surrounding area is known as Yéik Ye Aaní (Land of the Spirits). Only shaman and their assistants are known to venture there and respectful Łingít refrain from pointing at this sacred place. White capped mountain with two peaks, blue sky in the background. Kaasteen is honored by Huna Łingít as a central figure in the story of the rapidly advancing glacier that destroyed Łingít villages during the Little Ice Age. Even today, the Chookaneidí Clan offer Kaasteen food, tobacco and song at glacier faces in Glacier Bay. Though story versions differ, she symbolizes the resilience of the Huna clans who have adapted to a changing world over and over again, and the sacrifice that current generations continue to make on behalf of those to come. Wood carving of a woman’s face, long hair, abolone shell eyes and lip ring. Group of elders and tribal members having a ceremony in a circle holding a traditional blue blanket outlined in red; drumming, singing in front of a tidewater glacier, ocean water in the background. Sít'k'i T'ooch', (Little Black Glacier), like all living and non-living things in the Łingít world, has a spirit and can be pleased - or offended - by human actions. During the Little Ice Age, Sít'k'i T'ooch' responded to an offense by rumbling down the valley, destroying villages in its path. It is represented here as the major, central feature of the house screen in recognition of its defining role in Glacier Bay Homeland. The blue coloration of many glaciers is an effect of highly compressed snow that absorbs all light waves except for blue. Some glaciers may appear brown or black as they pick up sediment and rocks along the way. Aerial photo of two glaciers; one large brown and one large white that fall into an ocean inlet. Snow capped peaks in the distance. As quickly as the glaciers advance during the Little Ice Age, they retreated in following years. For many years, the open waters left in the wake of the retreating glaciers filled with icebergs. The second name for Glacier Bay, Xáatl Tú (Among the Ice) recalls that time period. The unique formline faces surrounding the house screen represent the icebergs that filled Glacier Bay Homeland during the Little Ice Age. Historical black and white photo of a small boat with people rowing among many icebergs in a long inlet of water. Mountain range in the backround. Chookanhéeni (Grassy River) is a sacred landscape for the Chookaneidí Clan. Its salmon-rich waters supported the clan well into the 1940's. Through special reserved rights, the tribe is developing a Culture Camp at Chookanhéeni where traditional knowledge and life ways can be passed from Elders and Culture Bearers to youth. This innovative arrangement will allow not only the Chookaneidí Clan, but generations of Łingít, to gather in, and learn from Homeland. In 2023, Elder Shirley Kendall shared her experiences of growing up at Chookanhéeni with Huna youth. Aerial photo of forested landscape with snow mountain peaks along the horizon. Light green lines a freshwater bay shoreline. Elder walking arm in arm with people on each side. Many youth walk alongside yellow kayaks on a beach. Water and mountains in the backdrop. Elder sitting on a cooler holding walking cane, dressed in white jacket, black pants and blue float coat vest. Wéitadi Noow (Fort of the Young Woman in Seclusion) became the new home of the Wooshkeetaan Clan when they fled the advancing glaciers during the Little Ice Age. Tucked into the headwaters of Excursion Inlet, this palisaded fort was easy to defend against marauding outsiders. The Wéitadi Noow blanket depicts the palisades and the wolves that guarded the fort and is treasured at.óowu of the Wooshkeetaan Clan. The word "noow" means "fort" or "safe place" and can refer to a palisaded fort or an area providing protection via steep cliffs. Clans constructed or lived in forts during periods of resource scarcity and intense warfare, particularly during the deprivations which followed the Little Ice Age. Wooden armour (like the piece from Hoonah curated at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History) protected warriors from arrows and blows. There are numerous ancestral Łingít fort sites located within Glacier Bay National Park. Another blanket, owned by the Chookaneidi Clan, depicts a bear in a palisaded fort. Men gather wearing colorful regalia; robes and hats. Blue ocean inlet with snow covered mountains and low wispy clouds hover the shoreline. Display of brown, long, narrow slats of wooden chest armour woven together with ties on each end. Person in regalia; wooden brown hat and robe with beaded brown bear in front of white, red, black beaded fence. Oral tradition describes Wooshkeetaan clansmen living at Wéitadi Noow, a fort in Excursion Inlet, sharpening their knives and then sheathing them in preparation for war with an approaching enemy. The image of sharks swimming upside down with their dorsal fin hidden is a metaphor recounting this event. Years ago, tribal employees discovered a finely beaded shark tunic, perhaps 150 years old, on display at the University of Alaska Museum of the North. Using a historic photograph to prove its provenience, the tribe repatriated the tunic in 2005 and returned it to the Wooshkeetaan Clan. Display of red tunic laid out flat with black, turquoise and gold trim. A central figure depicts a shark with black, turquoise, orange and yellow highlights. Historical photo of people in regalia wearing hats, tunics and robes with various formline designs. One man wears a Chilkat woven blanket. Three men in front kneel holding a spear or a rifle. A small canon sits in the center. Yellow arrow points to man in the back wearing shark tunic. Man sits in a chair in a home while a woman holds up a red tunic with black, turquoise and gold trim and totemic shark. When the Little Ice Age glacial advance forced clans from Glacier Bay Homeland, the Kaagwaantaan Clan resettled at Káax'noowú (Grouse Fort), near Point Couverden, where they built many strong clan houses. Ghooch Hít, Wolf House at Káax'noowú was inhabited as recently as the 1930's. An elaborate house screen and two house posts were carried from the original Wolf House to a newly constructed building in Hoonah in the late 1930's. Aged wooden building surrounded by lots of vegitation; red berry bushes and white cow parsnip. A house screen with painted totemic design. Large eagle with spread wings is central, various colored formline design is stretched horizontally under the eagle. Two colorful totemic house posts stand on each end of the screen. The Kaagwaantaan wolf clutches a copper tináa (shield) symbolizing the clans' role in initiating the copper trade with the Eyak and Ahtna Nations to the north. Oral histories tell of a clansman who journeyed north along the outer coast eventually returning with copper treasure. Copper was used to craft tools and weapons, to adorn many items such as masks (like the one pictured recently repatriated from the American Museum of Natural History to the Hoonah Indian Association) and ceremonial pipes and provided the rich blue/green color used to dye wool for Chilkat weaving. Elder with glasses dressed in regalia; black robe and red headband. A small copper shield pendant hangs from his black and turquoise beaded necklace. Display of a copper colored mask with dark human hair set into the top of the mask. Inlayed seashell teeth show prominately. Two primary crests of the T'akhdeintaan - yáay (humpback whale) and k'éik'w (kittiwake) - are reflected on the T'akhdeintaan canoe. A beautifully carved wooden hat, the Yáay S'áaxw, was worn at the Dedication Ceremony of Snow (Whale 68), a humpback whale whose skeleton is displayed along the Łingít Trail in Glacier Bay. During the ceremony, the T'akhdeintaan Clan breathed the name Tsalxháan Tayee Yáay (Whale Beneath Mount Fairweather) into the skeleton. Humpback whales frequent the waters of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve and range widely across Alaska's coastal waters. Three men stand in purple, black/green and turquoise/red regalia in front of a humpback whale skeleton display. Each man wears a uniquily carved, wooden hat with animal crests on them. Each man have their hands crossed in front of their bodies. The Wooshkeetaan canoe depicts the clan's primary crests, tóos' (shark) with ch'eet (murrelet) flying above. Formline shark designs can be easily recognized by a row of sharp teeth. Explorer and traveler Eliza Scidmore purchased this silver bracelet, adorned with the shark, in Bartlett Cove from a Native silversmith. Łingít living at Ghaathéeni and Dundas Bay routinely sold handcrafted items such as silver and basketry to tour boat passengers. Today, this and two other richly carved silver bracelets are curated at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Historical silver bracelet with a formline shark engraved; round eyes, long gills and wide mouth with jagged teeth. Historical black and white photo of people in traditional dugout wooden canoes interacting with people in a large ship. Water is calm, mountains are in the backdrop. The Chookaneidí canoe carries the images of two primary clan crests, náakhw (octopus) and cheech (porpoise) which figure prominently in the clan's history. Richly beaded octopus bags are treasured regalia for many Łingít, both men and women. A tradition borrowed from the Cree and Cree-Métis, these wool or felt bags were originally used to store tobacco, pipes, flints and other utilitarian items. They first appeared in Łingít culture in the mid-1800s. Giant pacific octopus are common in Łingít territory as are harbor porpoises. Display of historical brown bag beaded in red, white, turquoise, orange, yellow and green. Bottom of bag is split into four “legs” with red and black tassels and purple, blue, red and white beads at the end of each “leg.” Smiling child dances wearing a black robe and red hat adorned with beads and buttons. A colorful beaded, black bag drapes over her shoulder. Red formline design of an 8-legged octopus with turquoise and black accent. The Kaagwaantaan canoe depicts the clan's primary crests, ghooch (wolf) and xóots (brown bear). The wolf is depicted on both modern and ancestral regalia including a dance apron recently repatriated to the Hoonah Indian Association by the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Glacier Bay supports several packs of wolves. They are secretive, but it is thrilling to find their tracks on the beach or hear their howls at night. Brown bears are found throughout Glacier Bay often seen on beaches or barren mountainsides. Display of an historical tanned hide apron with formline wolf design; large black eyes, red teeth and claws line the top. Tanned hide fringe hangs below with copper and black deer toes. Smiling dancer wearing white regalia with brown, red and black formline, brown fur headband with buttons and furry wolf pelt drapped over left shoulder. Brown robe with formline designs in red, green, black and red. Central figure is a wolf with pominent teeth and tongue hanging out of mouth. Smiling dancer in red and black regalia with formline and buttons trim. She wears a wooden wolf headdress with a furry wolf pelt down her back. Her hands are out front with palms up. Four primary clans comprise the Huna Łingít, but our village and our culture are made strong by so many others. The fifth canoe honors all those who steward our lands and waters and help protect and preserve our culture. Five people dressed in red smile as they sit in a large red, black trimmed wooden dugout canoe. Colorful designed paddles are pointed up. Strong and resistant to rot, cedar bark can be twisted into lengths of cord and rope or fashioned into ceremonial neck rings and headbands. The cedar rope and carved rocks attached to the house screen symbolically anchor the Huna Łingít in their traditional Glacier Bay Homeland. Historical image of two men dressed in colorful regalia. One wears a tanned hide robe, a shell hat and holds a wooden tool. The other man wears a Chilkat robe, tall hat and ceremonial cedar bark neck ring. A Chilkat robe and other colorful regalia are displayed behind the men. Dancing elder in regalia with mustache and beard, painted red and black cheeks wears cedar bark rope over his right shoulder and a cedar bark hat. He holds an eagle feather, dance fan in his right hand. Cedar bark, twisted, rope headband worn by a person wearing a red jacket and black backpack. Children dressed in regalia are in the backdrop. The Chookaneidí Gáas' (House Post) displays stories that shaped the Clans' history. In one story reflected here, two Chookaneidí men sacrificed themselves in a battle with a giant octopus that was ravaging canoes from the village of Hoonah. The men used a gwalaa (dagger), similar to one curated in the American Musuem of Natural History to kill the giant creature. The Chookaneidí claim the octopus as a crest that adorns regalia today, including a moose hide robe repatriated from the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Wood carvings of an octopus face with a red cut and man holding a dagger. Two men dancing with colorful octopus tunics and white furry ermine headdresses. Historical ivory dagger with pointy end, carved bear face at top, twine and copper in the middle. Ancient stories tell of a young Chookaneidí girl who raised a tiny fledging songbird, ts'ats'ee, she taught to call out "Chook-an-eidí" to all who passed by. Could the tiny bird of long-ago have been a Chickadee, whose alarm call, "Chick-a-dee-dee," sounds so similar? Chestnut-backed Chickadees feed in and around Bartlett Cove throughout the year. Wood carving of small bird on a twig, black outlines the beack, eye and feathers. Live gray, black and white bird with brown and black wings clings to a twig. The Kaagwaantaan Gáas' (House Post) depicts the primary crests of that clan - the wolf, the killer whale, and the brown bear. These crests are often depicted on Kaagwaantaan regalia. The name "Kaagwaantaan" comes from the Kaawaagani Hít (Burnt House or Burnt Timbers Houses), a clan house named when a group of young warriors kicked embers from a fire too near a clan house, burning it to the ground. Kéet, the killer whale, frequents Glacier Bay and the waters of Icy Straight and Cross Sound. Wood carved wolf with black eyes, eyebrows, ears and along its shoulders. Wood carved killer whale adorned with with black formline on the fins, face and dorsal fin. Man dances with black and red tunic regalia wearing a black killer whale hat with red lips, white eyes. His lower legs are dressed with Ravenstail leggings. The base of each of the four house posts is wrapped in copper, reflecting the wealth of each of the clans today. Oral histories tell a long-ago story of Kaakex'wti, a man of the Eagle moiety who journeyed north along the outer coast of Glacier Bay to Eyak and Ahtna country, returning many years later with treasured copper which he shared with the Kaagwaantaan Clan. The Kaagwaantaan continued to develop the copper trade, becoming a large and wealthy clan. Each house post is embraced by copper reflecting the wealth of each of the clans today. Outer coast sandy beach with flowing stream out into the ocean. Overcast, foggy skies cover mountains in the distance. Tóos' (shark) and ch'eet, a small seabird called the murrelet, figure prominently on the Wooshkeetaan Gáas' (House Post). As crests of the Wooshkeetaan, they represent stories important to the clan. Both Kittlitz's and marbled murrelets are common in Glacier Bay. Glacier Bay is believed to support the largest population of Kittlitz murrelets in the world. Both salmon sharks and sleeper sharks occur in Glacier Bay; either could be the creature beloved by the Wooshkeetaan. Wooden carved totemic shark with prominent teeth. Wood carving of a small bird diving. Black formline of wings, back and head. Elder dressed in black and red regalia. Grey and white shark are on the tunic and headband. Pearl buttons outline them both. Beaded, small seabird with black, red and white formline design. The bottom figures on the Wooshkeetaan Gáas' (House Post) reflect the perilous journey our Tlingit ancestors took, traveling on meltwater rivers that flowed beneath expansive glaciers to reach the coastal shores that would become our Homeland. Water surging from the bottom of a blue, brown glacier. Small iceburgs float in the tidewater. In 2020, the Wooshkeetaan Clan held a ceremony before removing two aasdaagháadli (Cork Around the Tree) that had grown at the top of the Wooshkeetaan house post. The clan wanted to protect the integrity of the post while honoring the fungus as a living being. Two layers of brown shelf fungus grow out of a wood beam crevice. Man dressed in dark jacket and jean pants stands over a metal burning fire pit. His right arm reaches forward to place contents in the pit. The central figures on the T'akhdeintaan Gáas' (House Post), a spirit dog, an Íxt or shamanic figure and a mountain goat, reflect sacred events which took place on Tsalxhaan, Mount Fairweather. T'akhdeintaan Clan Elders are honored to wear priceless at.óowu (clan owned regalia), such as the Shaa Keitl Kʼoodásʼ (Mountain Dog Shirt), during ceremonies. At.óowu is passed down within a clan and is stored and cared for by a designated clan caretaker. Wooden carved formline shows three animal figures below a totemic image of a mountain. Elder enters the Tribal House Chilkat design, oval door. He wears blue, red regalia with multi color formline design and a carved white, seagull totemic hat. He carries a walking stick in his right hand. Jánwu, mountain goat, roam the cliffs and ledges of Glacier Bay and were commonly hunted by Huna clansmen before the park was established. Their meat and tallow is treasured, their horns are used to craft elaborate spoons (like the one depicted here in the American Museum of Natural History collection, made in Hoonah) and shamanic headdresses. Goat wool is essential to weaving the robes and tunics worn in ceremony. Although hunting mountain goats is not permitted within Glacier Bay National Park, tribal members are permitted to gather goat wool along the cliffs where goats are common. Female white mountain goat with horns stands next to a kid on a steep brown rock surrounded by blue skies. Hand with palm up holds mountain goat fur. Woman kneels outside on pebbles and displays mountain goat fur. More loose fur is scattered around the rocks in front of her. Large, light brown, horn spoon with thin, dark handle and carved totemic figures. Ghaanaxháa, an archway along the outer coast of Glacier Bay, is a sacred place for the T'akhdeintaan Clan. Black-legged kittiwakes (K'éik'w, members of the gull family) line the cliffs of Ghaanaxháa. The curved arch, and the kittiwakes who live there, are captured on a moosehide robe owned by the T'akhdeintaan Clan. The kittiwake is a crest of the T'akhdeintaan and clan women are often affectionately referred to as "seagull gals." Their playful mimicking of kittiwake calls provides light-hearted moments in ceremonies and events. Two elders lean into one another smiling. Both wear white long sleeve shirts, black vests with white seagulls beaded on their vest and headbands. They stand on a boat with a large rock arch behind them. Three woman stand together wearing white dresses and sashes with beaded seagulls drapped over a shoulder. Many other woman surround then at the gathering. Display of tanned hide robe with fringe on the outer edge. Green and black outlines the robe, with red, black and turqouise formline inside the outline. Black formline shapes the arch, turquoise seagulls surround the arch. Dance staffs are traditionally used during ceremonies to welcome dancers and important guests. These staffs depict Yéil (Raven - left) and Ch'áak' (Eagle - right), the two Łingít moieties. Shorter dance staffs adorned with human hair were repatriated to the Hoonah Indian Association from the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Two youth stand outside on a rocky beach. Dressed in a black/red robe and a black/blue tunic. Each hold a long wooden paddle with black formline eagle and raven totemic design. Group of youth dressed in colorful regalia dance, drum and sing outside as they move up a metal ramp. Youth form an arch holding two long wooden paddles with black formline eagle and raven totemic design. Display of two traditionally wood carved paddles. Formline face is just above the handle. Human hair set into the trailing side of each paddle. S'áxt' (devil's club) branches are hung above each Tribal House doorway. Many Łingít believe that devil's club offers protection to a house and all who enter. Devil's club is also a potent náakw (medicine), highly prized by the Łingít. Five large, green leaves with long stems and thorns glow in the sunlight. Forest canapy is in the background.
Go Outside - Colorful yellow, turquoise, white and black Chilkat formline design painted onto the Tribal House oval door. Mountains, ocean and shoreline are seen in the distance through the open doorway. Two spruce dugout canoes, hand carved in Hoonah for the Tribal House Dedication ceremony, landed on the shores of Bartlett Cove for a joyous return to Homeland during the 2016 Dedication Ceremony. As is traditional, individuals on the shoreline asked, "Who are you and why do you come?" and when answered, welcomed the canoes to Homeland. The canoe carving project began in 2015 and involved many community members who assisted with the carving and crafted their own individual cedar paddles for the journey. Three traditional red and black wooden dugout canoes filled with people sit on calm waters on a misty foggy day. Pullers paddles are raised. Raised on May 20, 2017, Yéil Kootéeyaa (Raven Totem Pole) reflects individual Raven clans with modern day connections to Glacier Bay Homeland. The pole is topped by the Keeper of Songs. Colorful graphic of a carved wooden Raven totem pole with painted accents in red, black and turqoise representing clan animals. Tlingit clans and English animals are listed in black text. Carved wooden Raven totem with painted accents in red, black and turqoise representing clan animals stands outside in front of a forest on a snowy day. Raised on May 20, 2017, Ch'áak' Kootéeyaa (Eagle Totem Pole) reflects individual Eagle clans with modern day ties to Glacier Bay Homeland. The pole is topped by the Keeper of Oral History.
Photo credit: NPS Colorful graphic of a carved wooden Eagle totem pole with painted accents in red, black and turqoise representing clan animals. Tlingit clans and English animals are listed in black text. Carved wooden Eagle totem with painted accents in red, black and turqoise representing clan animals stands outside in front of a forest on a fall day. The Huna Łingít sought out, and seasonally settled again near L'éiwshaa Shakee Aan (Sand Mountain Land) in present day Bartlett Cove. They established a fish camp on Lester Island, called Ghaathéeni (Sockeye River). In ancestral times, Ghaathéeni (Sockeye River) supplied all the salmon the clans needed to survive. As the land rises in response to glacial rebound, the sockeye salmon population has been cut off from the lake necessary to its reproduction. NPS staff monitor the salmon population at Ghaathéeni (now called the Bartlett River) and in other streams throughout the park. Large rock sits at the bend of a river. Grasses and forest lines the shorelines. School of salmon fish swim underwater. Graphic drawing portraying life in the Bartlett Cove area before the Little Ice Age. Łingít are talking, fishing, boating, preparing food. Large village at bend in the river. Snow covered mountain range and glaciers in the backdrop. The Wooshkeetaan Clan recount stories of fleeing to the top of the Beartrack Mountains during an ancient flood time. There they hid in rock "nests" until the waters retreated and they returned to lower elevations. Archeologists have found numerous rock cairns, té xóow (rock nest), at high elevation throughout the park which may be memorials to ancestral flood times. Using a variety of dating methods, scientists believe the cairns were built over a period of time spanning from 500–1500 years B.P. Twin snow-capped peaks, low forest and ocean front on a clear blue sky day. Rock cairn overlooking ocean inlet and snow-capped, coastal mountain range in the background. The Yéik Ye Aaní (Land of the Spirits), Fairweather Range is sacred to the T'akhdeintaan Clan as a place of shamanic ritual. Several artistic representations of Tsalxhaan (Mount Fairweather) are displayed inside Xunaa Shuká Hít. Fairweather Mountain Range at sunset, ocean in the forefront. Names and elevation listed above each mountain peak. Mountain spirit formline design carved into wood inside the Tribal House interior screen. Follow the Łingít Trail west to the Healing Totem Pole, Sea Otter Canoe, Ceremonial Beach, Glacier Bay Lodge, Visitor Information Station (VIS), Bartlett Cove dock, Forest Trail and campground (Bartlett Cove Trails Map). Discover ethnobotany plants and occasional wildlife along the way! Wooden carved story pole with intricate designs displayed outside along the Łingít Trail surrounded by a forest on a sunny day. Two elders talk with visitors under an open shelter next to a traditional seal hunting dugout canoe on display along the Łingít trail. Colorful beach strawberry sign describing the wild strawberries in English and Łingít along the Łingít Trail. Follow the Łingít Trail east to the main road which leads to the Bartlett River trailhead (Bartlett Cove Trails). Discover ethnobotany plants and occasional wildlife along the way! Colorful trailhead sign including maps, descriptions and pictures of the Bartlett River and Bartlett Lake trails. Colorful gray current sign describing the wild currents in English and Łingít along the Łingít Trail.
NPS Photo |
Last updated: February 7, 2025