Chilkoot Indian Association looks forward to new projects focused on Tlingit language revitalization, the arts, tourism recovery and more

The Chilkoot Indian Association is developing plans for several ambitious projects over the next few years. Last week we heard an update on current community projects around Haines, focused on food security, storm recovery and more. Building off of several years of work on financial audits and creating financial stability, the tribe now aims to tackle long-term goals. That includes Tlingit language and arts revitalization, tourism recovery plans, and a new waterfront restaurant. KHNS’ Corinne Smith spoke with tribal administrator Harriet Brouillette about those future projects. 

KHNS: So we talked a bit about how the tribe got here, and the work on the audits and creating more financial stability. Can you talk about the Chilkoot Indian Association’s focus and long term vision for Tlingit language revitalization?

Brouillette: Now that we’re in a good position, we’re able to be better partners, to bring more to the table to offer more focused cultural activities. And one of the things that is very important to us is to re-learn our language. It’s amazing to me that in a short amount of time, we’ve lost our language and … the basis of our culture is based on our language. If you understand our culture, it’s easier to understand the language, so the two go hand in hand.

It’s just, I sometimes think about the fact that our people have been in the Chilkat Valley for tens of thousands of years, generation after generation after generation. All it took was two generations for me to completely lose my language. And I’m hoping that within the next two generations, we will have fluent speakers again. But that starts somewhere. And we are taking baby steps in that direction. This language grant that we’ve received from AMA is the first step towards that.

KHNS: Can you talk a bit more about that? The grant (from the federal Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Native Americans) and the new Tlingit language program, in development now?

Brouilette: Like I said, we’re just in the first step, this is the first phase. So what we’re going to do over the next year is to do an assessment of our community, to see where people are at as far as their proficiency within the Tlingit language, and what their needs are, and what they want to learn. And, basically, to catalog where we’re at, and then we will use that data to apply for additional funding for the next stages, which would be developing curriculum, implementing our curriculum and beginning to teach the language to make sure that language is more accessible to everybody in the community.

KHNS: Will that be offered for all ages?

Brouillette: Well, we really haven’t designed a program yet. I think that’s something that we will be working on over the next year. But we would love to do something similar to Baby Raven Reads, which is a program that’s run through Sealaska Heritage Institute. And that would be starting children young, and doing some sort of immersion teaching on through from beginners, toddler age through our elders. And what we would like to do is to include anyone in the community who is interested, more people who can speak the better off we’re going to be regardless of what their nationality or race are.

KHNS: So another recent grant is the “Chilkoot cultural journey” grant. Can you talk about that in terms of supporting artists and art education here as well.

Brouillette: I think this is a really exciting grant…This particular grant is focused on art. On developing the artists that we have. We have a number of aspiring artists in our community, who could act as a cultural bridge for us. One thing that I think is really important for the health of any organization or any community is to have a thriving art community. We have a thriving art community, I think that we have a thriving, thriving community, a thriving society. So it is important for the artists that we do have to become masters of their craft, masters of their art. And this grant will give our artists an opportunity to work with master artists, to become more proficient in their art. This will allow for instance, just using myself as an example, I would love to learn how to draw formline. I’m not interested in running out and making money. But I think that learning to draw formline is a way of learning spatialization and math and visualization. And it really helps with a person’s critical thinking. Because that formline is a very sophisticated way of drawing. And so I think if we, if we are able to share some of the complexities of our art style, people will have a better understanding of the value and perspective.

KHNS: That’s great, yeah. Can you tell us a bit about the tourism projects, and a new waterfront restaurant at the Chilkoot Indian Association dock? 

Brouillette: So the tourism industry was hit hard during COVID. So we are focusing some of our attention on rebuilding some of that tourism industry in our community. So we’re working with other organizations such as  Sealaska and the Alaska Native Heritage Center are two of the groups that we’ve been in contact with. But we are all working together on separate projects, but supporting each other on trying to rebuild some tourism in our community. And the tribe really hasn’t been involved in tourism in the past, so this is sort of a new thing for us. So we have the dock and we are hoping that one of the capital projects that we can have funded in the near future is to have the area around the dock dredge so we could have larger boats docking in our facility, we will have the restaurant up and running in the next year. We ran into some issues with the design of the building that has caused us to slow down or development of a restaurant, but there are a number of I guess it’s just balls in the air right now that when everything is sort of lands and and things sort of settle out, I have this vision of this beautiful waterfront and things for visitors to see and do. That will make Haines a more attractive destination. And maybe we’ll get some of those folks to come from Skagway. We’re working with the borough on the trail that goes from the Chilkoot Indian Association dock to Picture Point. So because a lot of that property belongs to, or is in private ownership it makes it a little more complicated but the sections that belong to the tribe and to the borough we will be able to put a nice trail in so that folks can walk the waterfront. It’s gonna be beautiful, it will be beautiful when it’s finished. 

KHNS: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Brouillette: We have been working on food security as well. So we have started really small with tomato plants in our lobby, and peas, carrots, and potatoes in our parking lot. And we have been slowly learning how to cultivate. So, this coming year, we have greenhouses that we will be putting up on in our subdivision, where we can just expand our food security program and that will help to supplement our our food box distribution program, and what we’re hoping to do if we can get this restaurant figured out, is to provide the fresh vegetables from our own greenhouses. The idea will be to purchase seafood from our fishermen and grow our own vegetables.

KHNS: That’s great. Thank you so much, Harriet. 

Brouillette: Of course.