Acknowledgment Ceremony
By Lillian Petershoare
In 1902, unbeknownst to Southeast Alaska Natives, President Theodore Roosevelt signed a Presidential Proclamation which created the Alexander Archipelago Forest Reserve. Five years later he signed another proclamation, creating the Tongass National Forest. Tongass National Forest lands are the ancestral lands of the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian. These ancestral lands consist of, but not limited to, hunting preserves, fish camp sites, winter villages sites, gardens, and sacred burial grounds. The clans of Southeast Alaska managed and protected their traditional lands; they had stream caretakers and guards as overseers. It was understood that you did not encroach on another clan’s traditional territory. For example, my Grandfather Willie Peters, a commercial fisherman, was of the L’eeneidí (Raven, Dog Salmon), and had asked his wife’s clan for permission to fish the Taku, the traditional area of the Yanyeidi (Eagle, Wolf).
For decades, Southeast Alaska Natives voiced their frustration with the Forest Service for taking their traditional lands. This protest occurred by individuals meeting with agency officials and at Alaska Native Brotherhood (ANB) and Sisterhood Grand Camp Conventions. At an October 2005 meeting in Kasaan, a group of Elders brought the Forest Service’s removal of smokehouses to the attention of the Deputy Forest Supervisor Olleke Rappe-Daniels. She committed to researching the issue, and assured the elders that if the claims against the Forest Service were substantiated, the Tongass National Forest would apologize. Rappe-Daniels asked a Forest Tribal Relations Specialist, John Autrey, who had for many years been a Forest Archaeologist to do the research.
At a meeting at the Forum of the Environment, many Tribal leaders and Southeast Alaska Natives voiced their insistence that the Forest Service address the removal of smokehouses. Tribal Relations Manager Lillian Petershoare elevated this issue to the Regional Forester Denny Bschor. Autrey summarized his research in a white paper that confirmed that the Forest Service had from the beginning of the mid 1930s through the 1960s, in accordance with federal law, removed summer fish camps and cabins from land. In a meeting with Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (CCTHITA) President Bill Martin, Regional Forester Denny Bschor committed to apologizing for the removal of the smokehouses and cabins. President Martin agreed to host the Apology Ceremony at the 2008 General Assembly of CCTHITA. The leaders each appointed an individual to work together to plan the ceremony. The Forest Service appointed Lillian Petershoare and Bill Martin appointed Carrie Sykes; the two women led a joint planning committee which consisted of Forest Service staff and Central Council Executive Vice-Presidents Richard Peterson and Rob Sanderson, Jr. to plan this momentous ceremony.
As Central Council is a regional tribe, both leaders decided to host an Acknowledgment Ceremony as opposed to an Apology. Bschor’s acknowledgement recognized the devastating impact that the removal of the smokehouses and cabins had on Southeast Alaska Natives and their “Our Food is Our Way of Life” culture. Respected elder Walter Soboleff, Sr. led the response with the words “Of course, we will forgive them.” Bschor directed forest and district level leaders to work with local Tribal governments to find ways to address these issues.
On April 21, 2010, at the 75th Tribal Assembly, Alaska Region Deputy Regional Forester Paul Brewster, and Tongass National Forest Supervisor Forrest Cole presented President Bill Martin and President Emeritus Ed Thomas with hand-carved eagle and raven staffs. The staffs commemorate the beginnings of a healing process that addresses the profound cultural repercussions of the Forest Service’s removal of Alaska Native fish camps and smokehouses. The eagle and raven, known as the lovebirds, are powerful crests in Southeast Alaska; they are a unifying symbol honoring balance, and they comprise the Central Council logo.
Donald Frank, Forest Service Tribal Liaison for Admiralty National Monument and Angoon resident carver Jamie Daniels, created the eagle and raven staffs commemorating the 2008 Acknowledgement Ceremony. Donald’s son Steve Frank assisted with the carving and his daughter Rose Frank assisted in painting the staffs. Donald and his brother-in-law Peter McCluskey Jr. aided Paul Brewster and Forrest Cole in the presentation of the staffs.
President Richard Peterson graciously allowed us to use these commemorative staffs during the performances of this show.
Since the 2008 Acknowledgment Ceremony, Regional Forester Beth Pendleton has worked closely with Tribal Leaders to further strengthen relationships with Tribes. She hosts a monthly meeting with the Alaska Tribal Leaders Committee, she supported the commissioning of House Posts for the Juneau Forestry Sciences Laboratory (installed in 2013), and she worked closely with CCTHITA President Thomas to deliver a joint report at the 100-year ANB Convention highlighting Forest Service partnership projects with Tribes in Southeast Alaska. At this 2012 ANB Grand Camp celebration, the staffs were brought out as a powerful symbol of respectful and honorable relationships, and continued partnerships.
By Lillian Petershoare
In 1902, unbeknownst to Southeast Alaska Natives, President Theodore Roosevelt signed a Presidential Proclamation which created the Alexander Archipelago Forest Reserve. Five years later he signed another proclamation, creating the Tongass National Forest. Tongass National Forest lands are the ancestral lands of the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian. These ancestral lands consist of, but not limited to, hunting preserves, fish camp sites, winter villages sites, gardens, and sacred burial grounds. The clans of Southeast Alaska managed and protected their traditional lands; they had stream caretakers and guards as overseers. It was understood that you did not encroach on another clan’s traditional territory. For example, my Grandfather Willie Peters, a commercial fisherman, was of the L’eeneidí (Raven, Dog Salmon), and had asked his wife’s clan for permission to fish the Taku, the traditional area of the Yanyeidi (Eagle, Wolf).
For decades, Southeast Alaska Natives voiced their frustration with the Forest Service for taking their traditional lands. This protest occurred by individuals meeting with agency officials and at Alaska Native Brotherhood (ANB) and Sisterhood Grand Camp Conventions. At an October 2005 meeting in Kasaan, a group of Elders brought the Forest Service’s removal of smokehouses to the attention of the Deputy Forest Supervisor Olleke Rappe-Daniels. She committed to researching the issue, and assured the elders that if the claims against the Forest Service were substantiated, the Tongass National Forest would apologize. Rappe-Daniels asked a Forest Tribal Relations Specialist, John Autrey, who had for many years been a Forest Archaeologist to do the research.
At a meeting at the Forum of the Environment, many Tribal leaders and Southeast Alaska Natives voiced their insistence that the Forest Service address the removal of smokehouses. Tribal Relations Manager Lillian Petershoare elevated this issue to the Regional Forester Denny Bschor. Autrey summarized his research in a white paper that confirmed that the Forest Service had from the beginning of the mid 1930s through the 1960s, in accordance with federal law, removed summer fish camps and cabins from land. In a meeting with Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (CCTHITA) President Bill Martin, Regional Forester Denny Bschor committed to apologizing for the removal of the smokehouses and cabins. President Martin agreed to host the Apology Ceremony at the 2008 General Assembly of CCTHITA. The leaders each appointed an individual to work together to plan the ceremony. The Forest Service appointed Lillian Petershoare and Bill Martin appointed Carrie Sykes; the two women led a joint planning committee which consisted of Forest Service staff and Central Council Executive Vice-Presidents Richard Peterson and Rob Sanderson, Jr. to plan this momentous ceremony.
As Central Council is a regional tribe, both leaders decided to host an Acknowledgment Ceremony as opposed to an Apology. Bschor’s acknowledgement recognized the devastating impact that the removal of the smokehouses and cabins had on Southeast Alaska Natives and their “Our Food is Our Way of Life” culture. Respected elder Walter Soboleff, Sr. led the response with the words “Of course, we will forgive them.” Bschor directed forest and district level leaders to work with local Tribal governments to find ways to address these issues.
On April 21, 2010, at the 75th Tribal Assembly, Alaska Region Deputy Regional Forester Paul Brewster, and Tongass National Forest Supervisor Forrest Cole presented President Bill Martin and President Emeritus Ed Thomas with hand-carved eagle and raven staffs. The staffs commemorate the beginnings of a healing process that addresses the profound cultural repercussions of the Forest Service’s removal of Alaska Native fish camps and smokehouses. The eagle and raven, known as the lovebirds, are powerful crests in Southeast Alaska; they are a unifying symbol honoring balance, and they comprise the Central Council logo.
Donald Frank, Forest Service Tribal Liaison for Admiralty National Monument and Angoon resident carver Jamie Daniels, created the eagle and raven staffs commemorating the 2008 Acknowledgement Ceremony. Donald’s son Steve Frank assisted with the carving and his daughter Rose Frank assisted in painting the staffs. Donald and his brother-in-law Peter McCluskey Jr. aided Paul Brewster and Forrest Cole in the presentation of the staffs.
President Richard Peterson graciously allowed us to use these commemorative staffs during the performances of this show.
Since the 2008 Acknowledgment Ceremony, Regional Forester Beth Pendleton has worked closely with Tribal Leaders to further strengthen relationships with Tribes. She hosts a monthly meeting with the Alaska Tribal Leaders Committee, she supported the commissioning of House Posts for the Juneau Forestry Sciences Laboratory (installed in 2013), and she worked closely with CCTHITA President Thomas to deliver a joint report at the 100-year ANB Convention highlighting Forest Service partnership projects with Tribes in Southeast Alaska. At this 2012 ANB Grand Camp celebration, the staffs were brought out as a powerful symbol of respectful and honorable relationships, and continued partnerships.