Weavers Sojourn
--NPS Press Release. Author Mary Beth Moss
The salon of the M/V Christian was silent, save for the engine’s background hum as the 65-foot vessel pulled into Bartlett Cove on 23 June 2011. Fifteen pairs of hands quietly twined the beginnings of traditional Tlingit spruce root baskets that – centuries ago—would have been used to store berries, dried fish, or household items. The intricate process of weaving requires careful concentration, while occasional questions and replies were murmured there was none of the casual conversation that typically accompanies a boat trip into Glacier Bay.
The weavers – 5 instructor and 10 students –were participating in a summer long workshop sponsored by the National Park Service (NPS), Hoonah Indian Association, Huna Heritage Foundation (HHF), the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), Lutheran Association of Missionaries and Pilots (LAMP), Health Consortium (SEARHC) designed to transmit traditional spruce root gathering, processing of Huna Tlingit tribal members. The program was conceived of by a group of Master Weavers, women who had earned a University of Alaska Southeast Endorsement in Northwest Coast Art/Weaving in 2005. They recognized that the complex and time consuming art would soon be lost if not passed on.
Funding provided by the NPS through a cooperative agreement with HIA, a grant from SEARHC’s Wise Woman’s Program and in-kind contributions from the USFS and LAMP facilitated the workshop. USFS personnel assisted the weavers in locating a healthy stand of 30-50 year old spruce on Tongass National Forest lands in the Hoonah area from which to harvest the roots. Student weavers learned to offer their t
hanks to the spruce trees before they carefully dug roots from the forest floor, eventually replacing the moss an other ground cover to ensure the trees’ survival. Roots were later “cooked” over a large fire, peeled and split into long thin strands. The tedious process of preparing the roots took many hours; Master Weavers estimate that every hous of digging roots requires 8 hours of material preparation.
Once enough weaving material was prepared, the group boarded the M/V Christian which provided a comfortable floating platform for a 4-day retreat in Glacier Bay, the homeland of the Huna Tlingit. Captain Stan Berntson and 1st Mate Sharon Geldaker piloted the vessel, prepared meals and facilitated shore excursions, allowing the workshop participants to focus on their weaving tasks. Operated by the Lutheran Ministries, the vessel is frequently used to support cultural programs throughout Southeast Alaska. NPS Staff Mary Beth Moss, accompanied the group to provide cultural and historic information about the Park and assist with shore excursions.
Several small baskets were completed on the 4-day journey; others will continue to take shape over the coming summer months. Next year, the Huna Heritage Foundation, in partnership with the Smithsonian Institute and NPS, hopes to send Master Weavers to the Smithsonian collections facility in Suitland, Maryland to study and be inspired by traditional baskets woven by their ancestors. Ultimately, the NPS plans to display completed baskets in a traditional Tlingit tribal house planned for the Bartlett Cove area. While funding to construct the facility is still in the works, cultural elements of the long house, including a 156 x 30 foot house screen, house posts and totem poles are being designed and carved I Hoonah today in anticipation of its completion.
Anthropologists visiting Southeast Alaskan community in the late 1800’s described the Huna Tlingit women’s proficiency at basket weaving, noting that their baskest were among the most skillfully wrought. Hoonah weavers Chris Greenwald, Darlene See, Harlena Warford, Marj Peterson, Daphne Wright, Mary Cook, Misty Voeller, kari Ames, Christine Jack, Cristina Contreras, Cyndy Kaze, Marianne Peterson, Faith Grant, George Carteeti, and Kathy Marvin are committed to Maintaining this tradition.