Glacier Bay National Park’s New Totem Poles

Posted by Jeff on May 31, 2017 @ 4:58 pm in Conservation | 0 comments | Last modified: May 31, 2017

At Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, the glory of nature is on display. The park is packed with 3.3 million acres of glaciers, wildflowers and water. But the area’s indigenous people haven’t always been celebrated. The Huna Tlingit people, whose ancestors lived in what is now the park, have had a contentious history with the National Park Service.

But the relationship has improved in recent years. Now, in honor of the Huna Tlingit’s connection to the area, two gigantic totem poles—each weighing 2,000 pounds and rising 20 feet tall—have been erected in Bartlett Cove.

Members of the Hoonah Indian Association and national park employees carried the poles to a newly dedicated Huna tribal house by hand, then erected them in a ceremony that included dancing and speeches. The poles are made of red cedar and the carvings of eagles and ravens represent clans of the area.

The tribal house, known as Xunaa Shuká Hít, will serve as a gathering place for tribal members whose ancestors traditionally occupied the area. As the National Park Service notes, such multiple families lived together in such homes during the winter months.

Xunaa Shuká Hít is the first permanent tribal house to be built in Glacier Bay in over 250 years. In the 1700s, the Native Alaskans who lived in the area were forced to flee due to glacial advances. Though they planned to return, those plans were thwarted when Glacier Bay was made into a national monument and then expanded to become a national park.

Read full story…