Carcross/Tagish First Nation citizens and visitors gathered at the grounds of the old Chooutla School on July 20 to take part in the stretching of a healing canoe, hand-carved by Alaskan Tlingit master carver Wayne Price and his apprentice, C/TFN citizen Violet Gatensby.
The pair, with help from several others, spent 63 days carving the dugout canoe, gradually whittling a 15,000-pound (6,800-kilogram), 450-year-old cedar tree trunk harvested from the Alaskan coast into the 450-pound vessel. The stretching, which used steam to soften the wood in order to widen the hull, invert the curve in the bottom and increase the height of the stern and bow, was one of the final steps in the process.
The location of the stretching was no coincidence. C/TFN citizen Harold Gatensby, who attended Chooutla, said it was part of the process of reclaiming the land and re-infusing it with good energy.
The process began at 6 a.m.; asked how long it would take, Price replied, “It’ll be done when it’s done … Trees are like people, every one is different.”
Once completed, Price said he would like to see the canoe put to use, carrying people from place to place on the water.
Contact Jackie Hong at jackie.hong@yukon-news.com