Metlakatla leaders emphasize their doors are open for business – KRBD

The Metlakatla Indian Community is home to Alaska’s only Native reservation, located on Annette Island less than 20 miles south of Ketchikan. Yet many locals have never made the trip.

So after the final day of the Ketchikan-hosted Southeast Conference in late September, Metlakatla Mayor Albert Smith brought a group of attendees across the channel to show off what the community of about 1,500 has to offer — emphasizing that their doors are open. 

Soon after arriving in the Metlakatla harbor, Smith gathered up the visitors and ushered everyone into the longhouse. Once seated in the ceremonial hall, the crowd was introduced to the 4th Generation Tsimshian Dancers. 

For the first song, one of the dancers wore a tall, open headdress that another dancer carefully filled with down feathers.

“The down that’s being put in there is a sign of peace, and this is how we welcome you all,” explained Matthew Bergtold, who led the group.

As the song began and the man with the headdress started to dance, the down slowly fell across the floor. 

The group was made up of adults and children, some barely old enough to walk, but all clearly eager to take part in the performance. They wore various pieces of traditional regalia, many with flowing red and black robes featuring the distinctive formline designs of the Northwest Coast style.

Each of the songs had a different meaning and purpose, ranging from celebrating victories to fishing for salmon — even cheering on the high school basketball team.

As the dances were introduced, the name David A. Boxley came up repeatedly. He’s a well-known Tsimshian totem carver who wrote many of the songs in the 1980’s and 90’s, and his son, David R. Boxley, currently serves on the Metlakatla Indian Community Tribal Council. After the performance, the younger Boxley reflected on the significance of the dances.

“It’s a great little 40-minute snapshot of traditional Tsimshian culture through song and dance,” Boxley said.

Leaders like Boxley are hoping these cultural connections can attract more visitors to the island.

The reason the songs were written relatively recently, Boxley explained, is that for many years after European colonization, they were prevented from practicing their Tsimshian culture.

“My dad’s generation grew up without any of that. Their parents were punished for speaking our language,” he said. “The remnants of our old people who came over, had to make a transition into a world that didn’t belong to us anymore.”

Boxley said even before the group of Tsimshians relocated to Metlakatla in 1887, they had long been forced to abandon their traditional way of life. 

During the 1970’s though, a kid’s dance group started and Native art began being taught in schools. Then in 1982, his father hosted the first Metlakatla potlatch, a ceremonial gathering of witnesses often involving the raising of totem poles. By the time the centennial rolled around in 1987, Boxley said the grown ups wanted to join in on the dancing.

“So the 4th Generation Dancers means they’re the fourth generation since the founding of Metlakatla,” Boxley explained.

Through his father, he was able to have a front row seat to the Tsimshian cultural revival. But Boxley said there’s still a lot of work to be done.

“Our language is in bad shape. There’s one fluent speaker left in this village and 63 speakers of our language left in the world,” he said. “But through Council, we’ve been able to create a cultural heritage department and start to work toward language courses and things like that.”

Boxley said he’s excited about this Tribal Council, which for the first time in his lifetime, is made up of millennials and Generation Xers. 

“And I think the progress we’re making in the community shows this new, rejuvenated perspective,” Boxley said. “We’re growing, and we want people to see. We don’t want to be closed off.”

A big part of that growth is the Southeast Winds Casino, which features bingo nights and nearly one hundred electronic machines. Multiple jackpots were won the day of the tour. 

If you plan to stay in Metlakatla for more than three days, you’ll need to get a visitor pass. But Boxley said if you want to come play at the casino for the weekend or just experience the village’s cultural and natural beauty for a few days, they’d love to have you.

“We like being good hosts. It’s actually part of our culture,” Boxley said. “The word for ‘welcome’ in our language doesn’t translate to ‘welcome.’ It means ‘a place is set for you,’ or ‘the fire is lit,’ you know, it’s a warm place. ‘Come on in,’ kind of thing. That’s what ‘welcome’ is to our people.”

As the group of conference visitors left the casino to board the boat back to Ketchikan, the locals paused their bingo game to emphatically thank their guests and offer a round of applause.