The Observer, September 2003
Community Corner: Tatitlek festival celebrates culture of a Prince William Sound village
By Linda Robinson
Community Liaison
For the ninth year, the village of Tatitlek hosted the Tatitlek Heritage Festival. Staffers Tamara Byrnes and I were invited to attend, and it was wonderful to observe students learning native crafts and to experience their culture. Tatitlek is 25 miles south of Valdez in Prince William Sound and has a population of 90. This year 126 students from Nanwalek, Port Graham, Valdez, Cordova, Tetlin/Tok (Northway), Anchorage and Tatitlek participated in the festivities May 5-9. Visiting students were housed in Tatitlek’s mariculture building and in the school.
Margie Vlasoff displays a handicraft made during the Tatitlek Heritage Fesival.
Sue Johnson, who has planned the event for the past three years, said that students were divided into groups of high school, middle school and primary school students, and offered native culture courses throughout the week. Courses included Native Youth Olympics with instructor Nick Randazzo; beading, Phyllis Sanford; wood carving, Jim Miller and Bob Shaw; skin sewing, Monica Riedel and Patience Andersen Faulkner (who represents Cordova District Fishermen United on our council); dance and drum, Ben Snowball; dressmaking, Lorinda Vlasoff, and basketmaking, Donna Merek. Rena Belgarde taught fish processing, including pickling, smoking and canning salmon.
For the third year, Tatitlek was the first community to pull salmon from Prince William Sound, having received a special permit from Fish and Game. Salmon was served throughout the week, and many jars of salmon canned by the students were on display with the other craft items on the final night.
Each evening focused on a special activity. Monday featured a welcome potluck. Tuesday was appreciation night, this year in honor of teacher Phyllis Sanford, who has taught in Tatitlek for nine years. Also recognized was student Theresa Totemoff.
Wednesday night was a regional forum, followed by a talent show on Thursday. Friday night was the big potlatch and auction (which raised almost $9,000 this year, to be used to put on next year’s festival.) A boat was chartered from Valdez to bring in personnel and families from the oil industry and US Coast Guard, as well as two members of the council staff.
All of the crafts made during the week were displayed and the high school students entertained with music. The middle school students presented a fashion show of the garments they had made, and there was a Native Youth Olympics demonstration. Later in the evening, a DJ played music until the early hours.
Sue Johnson suggested that anyone interested in donating to the auction, helping out in any way, or participating in the festival should contact her at 907-325-2255, or Gary Kompkoff at 907-325-2311.
Grab Those Crayolas!
The citizens’ council coloring book has been published. Thanks to the generosity of thirteen artists, the book is full of the sights of Prince William Sound, including animals, fish, flora, artifacts and tankers. The book will be distributed at public events that the council attends, but if you’d like a copy, please give us a call.
Alaska Oceans Festivals
For the first time this year, two Alaska Oceans Festivals were held to celebrate Alaska’s waters. The first was held in Anchorage under blue skies in the park strip downtown. The following weekend the Seward SeaLife Center hosted a festival called The Last Waves of Summer. Each festival had informational booths, vendors and music. RCAC staff attended both festivals with the booth and a lot of information about the organization was distributed. During the Seward festival, three cruise ships were in town and people visiting the booth, which included a display about invasive species, came from all over the world, many with stories about concerns they have with invasive species in their area.
Upcoming Events
We are preparing for a busy fall. We will be promoting the council and providing information to visitors at the Alaska State Chamber of Commerce Trade show in Kodiak, the annual conference of the North American Association for Environmental Education in Anchorage, the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry in Austin, Texas, and Fish Expo in Seattle.