Welcome & Purpose
Welcome to the Teslin Tlingit Heritage Celebration 2011! Thanks for coming and helping us begin our journey. We are all very excited to welcome you to our lands and territory through a traditional opening ceremony July 28 at our Inland Tlingit Heritage Centre, Teslin, Yukon.
Throughout our celebration, we will introduce you to our history through arts, dance and music; our language through our elders and our students and our culture through storytelling, personal experience and teachings.
This celebration is a beginning built on a vision from our Elders and Leaders, countless hours of planning and coordination, sponsors & donors, volunteers and dreamers.
Our Vision is that Ha Kus Teyea Celebration will bring Tlingits and Visitors from around the world to celebrate Tlingit traditions and be a continuation of that long and rich tradition of families and friends gathering reconnecting and sharing traditional foods and celebrating Tlingit culture in the warmth of long sunny days of the Yukon summer.
From our colorful Opening to our Farewell on July 31st, we hope to build and strengthen relationships through Celebration and Experience.
Come, Enjoy our Celebration
and be a part of
Our Vision, Our Celebration and Our Future
Purpose
Ha Kus Teyea in the Tlingit Language means the Our Culture or literally the Tlingit Way. Part of the Land, Part of the Water was a quote by a respected elder Virginia Smarch during the early days of land claims negotiations. The complete quote is “that is who we are part of the land part of the water”. July 28th is also Tlingit Day the national day of celebration for the Dàkh ka Tlingit the Inland Tlingit. As long as the Tlingit have live on in the shores of the big inland lakes, July has been a season of coming together and celebrating. A warm season where living for a short time was a little easier, a time to reconnect with family and friends to meet the new born, engage in courtships, tell stories and share in the bounty of the trapping and put the hardships of winter behind. A time to strength the ties of Tlingit Culture, Ha Kus Teyea.
Our Vision is that Ha Kus Teyea Celebration will bring Tlingits and Visitors from around the world to celebrate Tlingit traditions and be a continuation of that long and rich tradition of families and friends gathering reconnecting and sharing traditional foods and celebrating Tlingit culture in the warmth of long sunny days of the Yukon summer.
Our Mission is to welcome and bring together families, elders, dance groups, artists, old friends and new to celebrate Tlingit art and performances and share the bounty of the land and the water in Teslin, Yukon, July 28 to July 31st.
Our goal is to host three full days of Cultural Celebration that has an inland Tlingit flavor and reflects the pride and richness of Tlingit culture. Leading the festivities will be a Traditional lake crossing arrival and greeting ceremony and starting of the Celebration Fire at the Teslin Tlingit Heritage Centre. A Grand Entrance Parade and welcoming with pageantry, flags and Tlingit regalia will follow in the early afternoon. Scheduled daily are Weaving Workshops, Cultural Demonstrations, Storytelling, Canoe Events, First Nations Performers, an Art Market, a Kids Zone and a variety of traditional and non-traditional food vendors. Each evening will begin with a Feast followed by Traditional Performances of drumming and dancing and on Saturday a traditional Hand Games Tournament will be provide hours of excitement. Come celebrate with us!