As the traditional homeland of the Huna Tlingit, the story of Glacier Bay is rich with human history, tradition, and stories that continue to be passed on generation to generation. Huna Totem Corporation’s Alaska Native Voices program works to expand this tradition by sharing this connection to Glacier Bay through interpretation. Native Cultural Heritage Guides board cruise vessels visiting Glacier Bay and provide interpretive and educational programs which include lectures, storytelling, singing, personal interaction and displays of traditional art, tools and craftsmanship.
Guides share their personal experiences, clan and family traditions as well as historic use of the area. Visitors witness and discuss where and how traditional activities would have taken place and where resources were traditionally harvested and utilized through first-hand exposure and interpretive displays. This use is also contrasted with contemporary influences and the effect that these influences have had on their culture and way of life. Visitors are exposed to traditions and methods which have sustained the Huna Tlingit culture and how these methods continue to reflect lessons of sustainability and respectful use of the land to this day.
Huna Totem Corporation has agreements with Holland America Line, American Cruise Lines, Lindblad Expeditions, and Alaskan Dream Cruises to provide cultural interpretation on-board vessels sailing into Glacier Bay National Park in Southeast Alaska. Visitors to Glacier Bay can also explore Native culture through a series of programs and lectures offered each month at Glacier Bay Lodge.
Huna Totem Corporation has received great reviews for this unique program. Our Cultural Heritage Guides have received certification from the National Association for Interpretation and provide an authentic insight into the spiritual and cultural significance of their traditional homeland.
Website: www.alaskanativevoices.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NativeGlacierBay
Meet our Cultural Heritage Guides
Bertha Franulovich has been sharing the stories of Glacier Bay as a Cultural Heritage Guide for 6 years. Bertha was born in Hoonah and has a lifetime of memories of Glacier Bay and it brings her great joy to share these experiences and discover new connections each time she travels up-bay.
Alice Haldane has been a Cultural Heritage Guide in Glacier Bay for 4 years. A fluent Tlingit speaker, she was born in Hoonah and has very personal ties to Glacier Bay. As a talented story teller and singer, Alice enjoys sharing her ancestral homeland through story, song, and personal connections with visitors.
Faith Grant has been sharing the stories and history of the Huna Tlingit as a Cultural Heritage Guide in Glacier Bay since 2007. Growing up in Hoonah and working on fishing boats for over 20 years, has provided Faith with a perspective of Glacier Bay and Southeast Alaska that few can know. She also is skilled in spruce root, red cedar and raven’s tail weaving and creates intricate bead work, porcupine quill jewelry and gumboot earrings.
