What others say: A return to a tribal homeland

  • Tuesday, August 23, 2016 5:08pm
  • Opinion

It is a story that is all too familiar: Facing climate change and the destruction of their historical home, Alaska Natives made the difficult, dangerous decision to relocate.

The catch? This particular story isn’t about the Alaska Native village of Shishmaref, which voted last week to move from its coastal location as Arctic seas, powered by melting ice, continue to carve into its land like water through flour. Nor is it about any of the other Alaska Native villages facing similar decisions as global heat records are set seemingly every month.

In fact, it’s not even about this century.

It was the 18th century, and an advancing glacier was overrunning the Huna Tlingit settlement in Bartlett Cove. Though the Huna had no way of knowing it, Europe and other parts of the world were also struggling with severe cold around the same time, part of something most commonly known today as the Little Ice Age.

In the Glacier Bay area, the advancing glacier forced a Huna Tlingit diaspora south and the eventual founding of Hoonah. (According to the National Park Service, Hoonah’s original name, Xunniyaa, means “shelter from the north wind.”)

When the glacier finally shrunk back, the Huna found that their traditional villages and homes had been wiped away.

Until now.

On Thursday, the first permanent tribal house in Bartlett Cove since the mini ice age will be dedicated in a ceremony that is open to the public.

The tribal house, called Xunaa Shuká Hít, will allow tribal members to gather and re-establish a connection with their traditional homeland, while also teaching Glacier Bay tourists about the history of the Huna people.

Ketchikan’s P.K. Builders won the bid to build it.

According to the National Park Service, the $2.9 million house’s design is based on historical records, and Tlingit artists and apprentices have decorated the building to tell the stories of the Huna’s four big clans.

It’s heartening to see this development and move toward preserving Huna Tlingit culture, given that when Glacier Bay was declared a national monument in the 1920s, the federal government severely limited the Tlingit group’s access to the area.

Today, the National Park Service says it works with the Hoonah Indian Association and Hoonah’s government to develop educational programs, sponsor summer culture camps, collect oral histories and sponsor cultural trips to the park.

The tribal house is an important extension of these activities, and an explicit acknowledgment by the federal government that preserving culture is just as important as preserving glaciers and trees.

— Ketchikan Daily News, Aug. 22

More in Opinion

Alex Koplin. (courtesy photo)
Opinion: Public schools do much more than just teach the three Rs

Isn’t it worth spending the money to provide a quality education for each student that enters our schools?

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to reporters at the Alaska State Capitol on Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Letter to the Editor: Law enforcement officers helped ensure smooth, secure energy conference

Their visible commitment to public safety allowed attendees to focus fully on collaboration, learning, and the important conversations shaping our path forward.

Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire file photo
The present-day KTOO public broadcasting building, built in 1959 for the U.S. Army’s Alaska Communications System Signal Corps, is located on filled tidelands near Juneau’s subport. Today vehicles on Egan Drive pass by the concrete structure with satellite dishes on the roof that receive signals from NPR, PBS and other sources.
My Turn: Stand for the community radio, not culture war optics

Alaskans are different and we pride ourselves on that. If my vehicle… Continue reading

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) delivers his annual speech to the Alaska Legislature on Thursday, March 20, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Sullivan, Trump and the rule of lawlessness

In September 2023, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan established his own Alaska Federal… Continue reading

UAA Provost Denise Runge photographed outside the Administration and Humanities Building at the University of Alaskas Anchorage. (courtesy photo)
Opinion: UAA’s College of Health — Empowering Alaska’s future, one nurse at a time

At the University of Alaska Anchorage, we understand the health of our… Continue reading

U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III, R-Alaska, address a joint session of the Alaska Legislature on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: A noncongressman for Alaska?

It’s right to ask whether Nick Begich is a noncongressman for Alaska.… Continue reading

Boats return to the Homer Harbor at the end of the fishing period for the 30th annual Winter King Salmon Tournament on Saturday, March 23, 2024 in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Opinion: Funding sustainable fisheries

Spring is always a busy season for Alaska’s fishermen and fishing communities.… Continue reading

Gov. Mike Dunleavy holds a press conference on Monday, May 19, 2025, to discuss his decision to veto an education bill. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: On fiscal policy, Dunleavy is a governor in name only

His fiscal credibility is so close to zero that lawmakers have no reason to take him seriously.

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, speaks in support overriding Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of House Bill 69 at the Alaska Capitol in Juneau, Alaska, on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini/Juneau Empire)
Capitol Corner: Finishing a session that will make a lasting impact

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman reports back from Juneau.

Courtesy/Chris Arend
Opinion: Protect Alaska renewable energy projects

The recently passed House budget reconciliation bill puts important projects and jobs at risk.

Rep. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna, speaks in support of debating an omnibus education bill in the Alaska House Chambers on Monday, Feb. 19, 2024 in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Capitol Corner: Choosing our priorities wisely

Rep. Justin Ruffridge reports back from Juneau.