Saxman Village

Our excursion to Saxman Village was possibly my favorite part of the whole trip.
It was definitely the part where i wish we had been able to spend more time.

This picture of the Beaver Clan house is a miracle shot, because there were a whole buncha people milling around everywhere, and somehow i managed to get one in focus picture with no people!! 

This is the inside stage area of the house.  A sweet young man came out and gave a little talk about the history of the People.  He did a fine job of telling the story and mentally transporting us from our worldliness.  He wasn't exactly wearing a costume, but had an ornate pouch at his waist, beautiful fur lined moccasins, and a vest with stunning bead work.
And Nike  shorts and crew socks.

A clan chief came out and spoke, and then a lady joined him for chanting and drumming as members of the clan danced for us.  She would tell the story of the song, then chant it while the folks danced their slow and slightly hypnotic dance.  When the song was over, everyone would turn their backs to the audience, displaying their family "crest"...an image of the animal representing the family--their sir name, if you will--while the chantress spoke about the next song.

Think what you will of this next tidbit of information. I am merely tellin' it like it was. I took a ton of pictures at Saxman Village. Most of them were taken in this room, where i was stationary, and the flash was on.

Every single one of the pictures was BLURRY, except for the parts where the backs were to us. Not just fuzzy pictures. BLURRY.
They were not moving that fast.
I was sitting still.

Pictures of the indoor and outdoor scenery came out, but not the pictures of the people.

You decide.

The totems were so intriguing.  I would have loved to wander and see more, and hear the stories associated with them. 

We had a really great tour guide, lively and fun.  "Special Ed," as he called himself, was one of those guys that you love to hear tell a story, but aren't too sure how much of it to believe.  So i am not going to share any of the information that he imparted, for fear of spreading misinformation.  Although i don't have trouble believing the bit about how when a totem falls it is not repaired or replaced, merely removed and used to heat the house or cook the food, or the other interesting thing which i was not aware of--while we all know that the function of the totem is to mark a location and tell stories, i was not aware that they were also used to denote shame.

According to Ed, the People are still holding a grudge against Seward, and here you see him depicted atop his totem of shame, wearing his potlatch hat....

Seems he showed up to a party and insulted his hosts by not bringing the prerequisite gifts, and the People are STILL miffed.

Special Ed told us a couple of great ones.  Says that he married into an Tlingit family, and that in the culture, the young show utmost respect the the elders, particularly where food is concerned.  The story goes that when he and his wife first married, he often found himself eating things he had never heard of before, and one day his mother-in-law brought him a combination of fish and plant matter that was unidentifiable and less than appetizing to eat.  Ed was unable to refuse because it was a gift, she was an elder, and, well, his mother-in-law.  He managed to eat whatever it was without gagging, choking, or regurgitating.  But apparently it was vile. 

When he was done, his mother-in-law asked, "How was that?  I've never had it before."