CRUISE WEST TRAVELOGUE NO. 9 - METLAKATLA, ALASKA

CRUISE WEST TRAVELOGUE NO. 9 - METLAKATLA, ALASKA

SPIRIT OF YORKTOWN

GOLD RUSH INSIDE PASSAGE – JUNEAU TO SEATTLE

August 15, 2010 to August 25, 2010

METLAKATLA

After Alyssa came over the intercom system and said “Wake up Yorktown, we will be passing Ketchikan this morning on our way to Metlakatla”, we got dressed and went down for breakfast and coffee in the lounge. It was interesting approaching Ketchikan from the north past the lighthouse on the north end of Gravina Island. Being in a small ship gives you an entirely different perspective of the area around you because you are so close to ground level. When you are on the larger ships, you are hundreds of feet in the air and looking down on everything.

There were no large cruise ships at the dock in Ketchikan as we passed by, so it was easy to find Creek Street and our favorite restaurant “Steamers” which is right along the dock downtown. As we were going by, many of us realized we were traveling very slowly. .

As soon as the ship was tied down and secured to the dock, the passengers were guided to buses up the hill where we were taken to a Tshimshian Clan House for a native cultural dance presentation. Metlakatla is home to both Haida and Tshimshian natives. Their Clan House includes groups from Raven, Eagle, Humpback and Wolf clans. Metlakatla’s main source of income is fishing; and there is a beautiful small harbor near the Clan House full of fishing boats and personal boats as well. This is a self-governing community because they opted to retain their reservation status rather than to incorporate with the Alaska Native Claims Settlement.

We entered the Clan House and instructed to sit on the wooden steps that lined the edge of the interior. A young Tshimshian man dressed in full native clothing came out and began telling us about their culture and introduced the rest of the dancers. This dance group travels all over the lower 48 states performing at schools and different cultural events – including performing at The White House – to share their traditions with others. There are eight different coastal tribes – Tlingit, Tshimshian, Haida, Northern Kwakiutl, Bella Coola, Southern Kwakiutl, Nootka and Coast Salish.

The dance group is composed of babies to elders. Each person makes their own costume. The beading is extraordinary with the detail they incorporate into the patterns. Beads made from shells were used by several of the women. The patterns on the back of their costumes represented the specific clan they were from (i.e. humpback, raven, etc.). One of the older women wore a beautiful red, full-length cape with a whale appliquéd on the back. The band around the entire cape was about 4 inches wide of ¼ inch shell beads that she had meticulously sewn on in perfect alignment with several other bright colored beads interspersed to add color. She had long black hair that fell softly to below her shoulders. She wore wire rimmed glasses and smiled when she danced showing her love and passion in her soft facial expressions.

The Tshimshian people are very proud and very willing to share their culture with you. During the performance of song and dance we were encouraged to get up and dance with them. We were told beforehand that if you did not accept their invitation to dance with them it would be an insult. So, when one of the dancers held out their hand to me, we quickly stepped down onto the floor and moved around the dance floor with our arms outstretched as if we were eagles and then brought our hands together and motioned up and down as if we were whales. It was fun and we were joined by about 50% of the people with us, so there was a large group on the floor.

We wandered through their small shops down the hallway from the Clan House where the women were selling their homemade items. There was everything from jewelry to hand-woven baskets to handmade moccasins. As we went outside, we noticed a totem pole facing the small harbor that was carved of several figures, one of which was holding a Holy Bible. After our allotted time for shopping had come to an end, we were scurried back on the buses and transported back to the ship. We all boarded and went to the dining room for lunch where it was then announced that we only had one working engine and that a crew had been flown in with parts to make the repairs. It was about 12:30 at this time. We were given the opportunity to leave the ship again if we wanted and go explore the town. Jim took off exploring and I took a nap! We finally departed Metlakatla about 5:30 p.m. that evening. At dinner they announced that we had the all-clear from the Coast Guard and were good-to-go. Because of this engine trouble, however, we would not be able to go into Misty Fjords National Monument as originally planned. I think the majority of us were just happy that the ship engine was repaired and we were underway.

So we traveled out of Metlakatla into the Chatham Sound heading south along Porcher Island and Pitt Island.