by Rain Keating, of Westminster University
photos by Adam Spencer, Round River Instructor
We recently had the honor to spend day at the Haa Kusteeyí Celebration in Carcross, YT. The event is hosted by the T’lingit Nation to bring communities together and celebrate the T’lingit culture. Every two years, the three T’lingit communities in the area – Carcross/Tagish, Teslin, and the Taku River T’lingit – come together to celebrate and live their traditions and culture. The title of the celebration, Haa Kusteeyí, means “we are part of the land, part of the water,” bearing witness to the thousands of years that the T’lingit have lived with the rivers, salmon, forests, and waters of northwestern and coastal BC.
The weekend event was hosted at the T’lingit Carcross Learning Center, a building with a great potlatch hall and large totem poles in front. There was a beautiful traditional art display in the event center including hand carved cedar masks and trapper mittens. A supply of enough Taku River sockeye salmon to feed one thousand people allowed for a salmon filleting contest and hours of hands-on learning experience for anyone who was interested. Many children cut their first salmon with the guidance of T’lingit elders. All participants had great respect and appreciation for the salmon.
The youngest salmon fillet competitor.
Sockeye salmon give their beautiful nutrients to the people and forests of BC.
Round River students were invited to participate in a Tug-of-War – which was unlike any other I have seen! The long rope was laid across the Nares River and thirty people pulled on either side trying to bring the other team to a wet loss. The war music of choice was played by a group of Dené First Nation men with traditional drums. The Yukon College mascot even joined in to pull hard during one of the matches.
Once the Tug-of-War was over, we explored downtown Carcross and listened to live music to before the great Inland Tlingit canoe race began. The canoes – each holding over 10 people – were carved from a single cedar tree to absolute perfection, with unique paintings on each, depicting wildlife of extravagant color.
Dinner preparation was in full swing after the canoe race and some students volunteered to help in the kitchen. Outside of the kitchen, music was being played and people were building their appetites in workshops on traditional medicine, paddle carving, and cedar hat weaving. Per T’lingit tradition, the seating in the great Potlach hall was reserved for elders, leaders, and dignitaries, and the youth all helped to prepare and serve the others. For the feast, The Taku River T’lingit had brought in hundreds of pounds of freshly fished sockeye salmon from the Taku River. Before the salmon was offered, elders held a salmon ceremony: they selected the finest salmon, set it upon a beautiful wreath made of local pine boughs and fireweed flowers, and gave it to the open fire, to give thanks to the river and to the salmon for its bountiful generosity.
After the feast, we watched the Taku River T’lingit dancers, as the whole potlatch hall of over 1,000 people appreciated their traditional songs and lessons. The dancers were dressed in traditional clothing and some of them wore headdresses that resembled wolves, as the dancers were members of the Wolf clan of the Taku River T’lingit First Nation.
While driving home we saw a massive cow moose (Alces alces) and were reminded of the wild place we have all called home for the last few weeks.
The celebration was incredible and we were welcomed whole-heartedly, to which we all are very appreciative.