We awoke to unfavorably cloudy weather. Our morning five glacier seaplane tour was cancelled, so we spent the morning in the Sealaska Heritage Center, where we learned more about the cultural heritage of Alaska including clothing and traditions, and we even got to witness part of the school’s graduation celebration ceremony.

Totem poles are monuments created by the first nations indigenous peoples in the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. They are only made and found in this region.

Totem poles are carved and erected for one of 4 reasons:

• To tell a story
• To record an event
• To memorialize
• To shame

This one is a shame pole.

During the first contact period of the Tlingit with the Russians, they were very interested in buttons from the western world. The Huna Tlingit called them “oot” which means “suckers of an octopus.” They look like the suckers of an octopus and were a sign to show your wealth. They began to adorn a lot of their clothing with buttons.

This is an example of buttons incorporated into traditional clothing. It is also an example of a shame blanket, similar to a shame totem pole.

Here’s more details and hot gossip from the placard regarding the shame blanket: “This blanket is also a shame blanket resulting from a theft of valuables. The large human head represents the thief. His failure to return the items is the reason the family commissioned the blanket in the 1930s. The octopus has the man bound with its tentacles. The brothers in the canoe represent the family that was harmed by the theft and to whom reparation would be due under ancient Tlingit laws. However, compensation was never paid. If the man’s family returns the valuables that were stolen (or something of equivalent value), then the part that represents the thief will be removed from the blanket and the theft will be forgiven and forgotten.”

We learned about traditional fishing practices as well. Their methods and traditions are respectful and allow for the hunted and fished populations to continue and they do not over fish.

There was some information regarding salmon migrations and fishing practices where the utilized the tides, but I was most interested in the halibut fishing practices.

A wooden hook was crafted with a metal spike. It was designed in such a way that it wouldn’t drag on the bottom of the sea floor and it was just the right size to catch a large halibut. A smaller halibut wouldn’t get caught, and a larger (likely fertile) female fish would be too big to get caught. It was just right to catch a large halibut without disrupting the animal ecosystem.

The metal hook was then tied to a bobber to float on the surface. Some are shaped like birds.

The halibut hook was induced into the Alaska Innovators Hall off Fame in 2018 for having a tangible impact on the quality of life, economic development, the welfare of the people of Alaska and/or global impact. So awesome!

We ate some halibut fish and chips at a nearby restaurant (likely caught by western methods). Luckily the skies cleared for the rescheduled afternoon glacier seaplane.

Here’s the route we took.

The clouds are finally lifting.

Mom gets motion sick easily, so she works her motion sick glasses just in case. The ride was smooth and she felt fine! Placebo or not, the glasses did their job! If they work, they work!

Look how blue the melted glacier water looks on top of the glacier!

The rest of our day consisted of visiting the capital building, winning a little bit of money at the ship’s casino, and dancing at the orange party, which is a tradition for the Holland America cruise line.

Mom is the life of the party! She is so fun!

Remember you can follow along on my Mom’s POV, and see a picture of the seaplane, at her blog rtwstreets.com