RE: Poetry #7: For the Xunaa Mothers

Sorry, I can understand how the open-end-ness of this could leave a writer unsatisfied.

I traveled to Alaska in 2016 per a family cruise. We stopped at a town called Hoona (or “Xunaa” in the native Tlingit language) on Chicagof Island, if I recall the exact destination correctly. Regardless of where, this town and its Native American Tlingit population were living out a disheartening drama. Hoona was an extremely successful fishing and cannery town in the early-through-mid 20th century. As such, the town experienced an economic boom that, at the time, was a rare occurrence in particular for Native American peoples. The business has since become unprofitable due to a simultaneous decline in fish population and being overtaken by large fishing boats. The community has kind of been stuck in this dreary state of longing, where all the residents can do is but dream of the better days. Right now the only thing really keeping the town afloat is the tourist and cruise ship industry, and from what I had heard, had only left the community feeling patronized. Anyway, at the time of our going, we were told that the Tlingit population of Hoonah was preparing to make a ceremonial canoe trip en-masse to their ancestral and archeological lands. They were driven from their homeland in the 1700’s by aggressive glaciers and a massive flood. Only a month after we had gone to Hoonah, they made the ceremonial trip by taking 40-ft canoes and paddling a literal 30 miles through open ocean water. To this day, I don’t know what the mentality of Hoonah was after that grand trip... If it even changed at all. I simply hope they found some spiritual reassurance and bonded as a people after the experience.