(Photo by Shelby Herbert/KFSK)
Members of Petersburg’s tribe unveiled a brand new, 14-foot totem pole at a popular recreation area on July 5. It’s called the Hutli Pole, and it’s part of a larger project to bring awareness to the people who have lived on Mitkof Island since time immemorial.
The pole was made by Lingít carver Fred Fulmer of Everett, Washington and funded by the tribe – Petersburg Indian Association, or PIA. Local Haida artist Janine Gibbons designed the Hutli logo for signage at the plaza: a thunderbird with curved horns and red, yellow, and orange plumage. Her Hutli design was used at the top of the pole as well.
Tribal members gathered in front of the totem pole to welcome it with song, dance, and prayer. Former tribal councilmember Yax Yeidi Brenda Norheim was one of them. She worked on the Hutli project over her last term in office, and said the totem pole is the result of a sweeping, community-wide effort. That collaboration involved the U.S. Forest Service, Petersburg Parks and Recreation, and various other organizations, businesses, and individuals in town.
Working together, we built this beautiful plaza and installed the signs and the Hutli Pole. It is wonderful that the presence of the Lingít people who have been here for thousands of years is finally recognized — and maybe, just maybe, if we listen, we can hear the distant sounds of our ancestors of the past.”
The first phase of the Hutli Project is complete: four informational signs detailing Petersburg’s Indigenous history were installed in the plaza in late June. Then, in the fall, PIA will add a small canoe designed for children to play in.
Dzijúksuk Debra O’Gara, PIA’s tribal council president, called the unveiling of the Hutli Pole a “historic event.” But she said that, ultimately, it’s just a taste of the work to come.
“So, keep your eyes [out],” said O’Gara. “Especially for you all that are visitors! Come back next year, and we’ll have more things. There’s lots of opportunity to volunteer to get involved, and to help really educate ourselves and all of our neighbors, as to the original people who were — and still are — on this land.”
After the ceremony, members of the Tribe hosted a community potluck and handed out a commemorative gift: stickers emblazoned with the Hutli thunderbird logo.
