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Haines, Alaska / July 12, 1995 Photo Below: A Dancer with a Bear Mask, Klukwan, Alaska
Thompson accepted the new Tlingit name on behalf of the hundreds of people in Hawai'i who helped to build "Hawai'iloa" between 1990-1993 and who sailed the canoe to Tahiti, Nukuhiva, and back to Hawai'i in the spring of 1995. He presented a koa paddle from the canoe to the city of Haines to commemorate "Hawai'iloa"'s visit. "This paddle is made from the same wood we sought when we first decided to build "Hawai'iloa"," Thompson said. "When we couldn't find koa trees large enough in Hawai'i, we had to turn to the native people of Alaska, and you responded. This project is about bringing people together, about working together, about overcoming prejudices and divisions, and about tuming fear into hope." "Hawai'iloa" Captain Wally Froiseth added, "This paddle was used to paddle the canoe into the sacred pass to Taputapuatea, the most sacred marae (site of worship) in Polynesia. The paddle is full of mana (spiritual power), and we are transfering this mana to you." The next day, the crew of "Hawai'iloa" attended a commemorative lunch at Klukwan, a native village of 135 residents, located 22 miles outside of Haines. David Katzeek, chief of the thunderbird clan, told his guests a story about a man who found dead salmon in bits and pieces along a stream. He tried to restore a fish to life, so that salmon would come up the stream again as food for his people. Each time he removed a little bit more of the sand and bits of leaves and branches contaminating the reassembled fish until he succeeded in restoring the fish to life on the fourth try. Katzeek said his grandfather, Jimmy George, who told him the story, gave it the following interpretation: that the bits and pieces of the salmon represented the bits and pieces left of the Tlingit culture today and that the contamination was the materialism that pervades modern life. The culture could only be restored to life through a return to the spiritual beliefs of their ancestors. Lani Hotch, a resident of Klukwan whose father was half Hawaiian, brought out for display a half-finished Chilkat Blanket, woven of goat's hair. One of these intricately-designed, hand-woven, storytelling blankets took about a year to complete. The blankets are used in dances and are considered by some to be the highest expression of Tlingit art. The Chilkat River Valley, in which Klukwan is located, was famous for its weaver. The story of the search for the logs for "Hawai'iloa" inspired Hotch to put the half-finished blanket on display for the Hawaiians. The last master weaver of Chilkat, Jennie Thlunaut, died in 1986. Hotch said that like the Hawaiians, the Tlingits had to look for help outside of their own people in order to begin to recover a lost art. They turned to Cheryl Samuleson, a non-native from Hawai'i, who had taken apart a blanket to analyze its intricate weave. Samuelson showed Hotch and her team of natives and non-natives how to make the blankets, and the team has been working on their first blanket ever since. Samuelson was adopted into the wolf clan of the village and periodically returns to check on the progress of the blanket. Hotch called the blanket a healing robe. Like the canoe "Hawai'iloa", the blanket has brought people together. "There have been many conflicts between natives and non-natives in Alaska," she explained. "Now is a time for healing." "Hawai'iloa" will depart from Haines for Juneau tomorrow and arrive on July 14 at 10 a.m. for a welcoming celebration at Sandy Beach. |
At a potlatch on July 11 commemorating the visit of the voyaging canoe "Hawai'iloa" to Haines, Alaska, navigator Nainoa Thompson was honored with a new Tlingit name--Xaat eesh [Kot eesh], "Island Father." Tlingit elder Judson Brown, who bestowed the honor, explained that the name described a navigator and voyager, someone who looks for islands. Last October, Thompson had been given the name "Goosh Klein," "Big Fin," when he was adopted into the killer whale clan by Brown. "Goosh Klein" refers to the leader of a pack of killer whales.