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Ketchikan, Alaska / June 26, 1995 Photo Below: Captain Wally Froiseth and Navigator Ka'au McKenney Catch a Ride on a Haida Canoe
Last night, over a thousand guests gathered at Saxman Community Hall for a feast, speeches, and entertainment that lasted till 1 a.m. The visit of the canoe had created great aniticpation in the community. "We prayed for good weather," one elder said. "When we saw the canoe coming, my grandson started shouting, 'They're coming! they're coming!"' The canoe left Port Simpson, British Columbia, at 3 a.m. yesterday for the 70 mile crossing of the Dixon Entrance, the second of two open ocean passages on the canoe's Northwest journey. The cloudy skies began clearing slowly as the canoe was towed up Tongass Narrows and the sky was bright and sunny when "Hawai'iloa" reached Saxman and Ketchikan, which are built on the shore of spruce-covered hills, with snow capped mountains in the distance. Richard Jackson, a Tlingit leader who helped organize the reception in Ketchikan, noted that a pod of killer whales, traditional guardians of the Tlingit nation, came through Tongass Narrows earlier in the day, "opening the way for the canoe to enter Alaska and travel onto Juneau. The canoe symbolizes the bond between our people. The visit is a celebration of our cultures." Nainoa Thompson, director of the "Hawai'iloa" project, explained the purpose of the visit was to show the people of Alaska that "the promise to build a canoe out of the logs donated by Sealaska has been fulfilled. This visit is the culmination of a 5 year project begun in 1989 to build a voyaging canoe out of traditional materials." After no suitable logs were found in Hawai'i, Sealaska, a native corporation owned by the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian people, donated 9 spruce logs, valued at $41,000 dollars to the people of Hawai'i. The logs were bought at auction and cut on United States Forest Service land on Shelikof Island in Soda Bay, Prince of Wales Island, west of Ketchikan. Two of the largest logs were carved into the hulls of "Hawai'iloa" by master canoe builder Wright Bowman, Jr. The canoe was launched in the summer of 1993, and after sea trials and modifications, made it first voyage to the South Pacific in the spring of 1995. During a slide presentation about the 1995 voyage of "Hawai'iloa" to the Marquesas Island, Thompson praised the leadership of Judson Brown, a member of the Board of Trustees of Sealaska Heritage Foundation, in getting the logs to Hawai'i. He compared Brown's contribution to the project with the contribution of Mau Piailug to the revival of non-instrument navigation: "The canoe could not have been built without Judson's help," Thompson noted. Brown responded, "We gave you wood to help you make your journey to your ancestral homelands. You gave us much more. You have shared with us your civilization, your spirit, your dreams. You have taught us that we can strive for and achieve the same kinds of things in the revival of our civilization." Willard Jackson of the Tlingit tribe, who was invited to ride on the canoe after it entered Tongass Narrows, said that the visit of the canoe has brought the three native nations in the area together in celebration. "I felt a peace on board the canoe this morning as it went through the calm waters. I felt the unity of the four nations--the Tlingit, the Haida, the Tsimshian, and the Hawaiian. An outstanding performance by the Cape Fox dancers closed the evening. Sixty members strong, the group drummed and chanted and danced, filling the large hall with stately rhythms and a religiously mystical mood. The traditional performances included the Dance of the Killer Whale and the Welcoming of the Chiefs, in honor of Thompson and "Hawai'iloa" Captains Bruce Blankenfeld and Wally Froiseth. The colorful, fringed Chilkat blankets swayed, the white fur caps with ermine tails flying and the wooden masks of ravens, eagles, bears, and wolves bobbed as the dancers spun and dipped on stage. "Hawai'iloa" will leave Ketchikan with the tide tomorrow morning, June 27, at 8 for Hollis, on Prince of Wales Island to meet with the peoples of Klawock, Craig, and Hydaburg villages. Other stops in Alaska will include Wrangell (June 29), Petersburg (June 30), Kake (June 30-July1), Angoon (July 2), Sitka (July 3-5), Hoonah (July 6-9), Haines (July10-13), and Juneau (July14-18). Crew for the Third Leg / Ketchikan to Juneau
The canoe will be escorted by the "Sea Wolf," a 30-foot fishing boat piloted by Ernie Hillman of Sealaska; "Sea Raven," piloted by Byron Mallot will join the canoe is Sitka. |
The voyaging canoe "Hawai'iloa" arrived to a gala welcome in Saxman at 12 noon yesterday. Saxman is a native village two miles south of Ketchikan. The people of Saxman and Ketchikan lined the shore for about three miles, waving and honking their car horns. Native elders and dancers of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian nations greeted the canoe crew on shore.