Celebration

This year’s theme is “Celebrating 10,000 years of cultural survival.”

To limit spread during the events, all staff will be tested daily, temperatures will be taken at the door of each event, and masks will be required. 

Deborah Head was a committed judge during the competition. She parked her car in a friend’s driveway to download pictures.

The virtual Celebration features a four-day live broadcast with recorded performances from 2018 and new videos submitted by past participants.  

Nellie Vale, 10, of Yakutat arrived by canoe to Celebration 2018. The festival is held every two years to celebrate Southeast Native culture, and it unofficially begins with canoes representing various tribes arriving into the Juneau area.

What began 36 years ago as an attempt to save Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures from extinction has become a vibrant reminder that Alaska Native traditions are alive and thriving.