National Outdoor Leadership School - Index

National Outdoor Leadership School - brochure - Index

10
THE
Leader
TEACHINGS OF THE TONGASS, THE TLINGIT & TIME IMMEMOR
BY ERIC BOGGS, NOLS INSTRUCTOR
Massive dorsal fins break the water’s calm, a pod of orcas stea
vanishes as quickly as it surfaced. Nearby, a group of fifteen ka
on a NOLS course are in awe of what we have just seen. M
natural beauty on courses in Alaska is common, but experiencing a pod of
is a rare treat. Little did we know what fortune that pod foretold and t
would experience Alaskan culture to the magnitude we were about to.
Our kayaks are floating amongst
the largest expanse of remaining
temperate rain forest in the world. The
Tongass National Forest ensconces
over 17 million acres of land and
extends 500 miles along the southeastern
coast of Alaska. It embraces
hundreds of islands that together are
known as the Alexander Archipelago. Within
this archipelago thrives old-growth forest that
shelter an endangered species of wolf and high
populations of black and brown bears. Majestic snowcapped
mountains melt into watersheds and feed
creeks in which five different types of salmon spawn.
Deep fiords and tidewater glaciers blur the lines of
land and seascapes. Nestled in its center is Chatham
Strait, a north-south expanse of water with direct
southern exposure to several thousand miles of unobstructed
Pacific Ocean. These are some of the most exposed
waters NOLS paddles in and this archipelago has
taught me how to manage groups in ocean swells and
read the strong currents of these waters, and it has provided
a great classroom for understanding the forest.
There we were. “In it.” Canoeing through a scene of complex
ecological interactions. It clicked, how a subsistence culture
like the Tlingit saw themselves as part of nature.
Thirty fathoms below my 17-foot kayak I suspect
there is a 40-pound halibut. I jig and hope and pray.
I ask the halibut to give its body to me for we will respect
it by eating it all. This fishing technique is not
my own. I have borrowed it from the peoples who inhabited
these waters and forests since before remembered
time. The Tlingit (pronounced klingit) were the
original pupils in the pedagogy, or instructional methods,
of this region. Traditionally, they operated on an
ethic that recognized the interconnectedness of all
things. They believed that all animals have human
souls and if respected through ritual and frugal usage,
they would be encouraged to depart their earthly bodies
and give food to those who needed it.
NOLS is known for facilitating phenomenal
wilderness experiences in the global backcountry. To
many, wilderness often infers the absence of people. But
in most regions of the world, unpopulated
wilderness is a luxury item that cannot be afforded.
As a student on a NOLS Semester in Patagonia,
I was intrigued by this paradox and the cultural elements
of expeditioning. Thinking I was in the “middle
of nowhere,” I realized I was in someone else’s home.
Faced with the choice of ignoring reality or embracing
the cup of maté being passed to me, I took a sip.
NOLS courses offer unique opportunities to interact
with local people in remote regions of the world. Locals
offer knowledge that can’t be found elsewhere and
fill in the gaps of sense of place.
Since Patagonia, I have had the opportunity to
drink cafecito with pescadors in Baja’s rugged desert
peninsula and drink maté with many more Chilean
pobladors, but this Alaska Sea Kayaking course was the
first time I had devil’s club tea with Tlingit emissaries.
Maybe it’s because devil’s club is a fearsome spiky plant
endemic to the Northwest, maybe it’s because I didn’t
know about the health benefits, maybe it’s because I
was reluctant to slow a kayaking expedition down to
enter an unknown village, maybe it’s because I felt
trepidation to bridge the gap between two cultures
with a checkered past.
Before contact with Europeans, the Tlingit population
was approximately 45,000, but disease, as well
as warfare, decreased it to 1,800. Over the last 300
years, Tlingits have fought with Europeans over resources,
ranging from otter-pelt with Russian promeshielaks
to fishing rights and a contemporary
debate over logging with the Forest Service. But how
else to bridge the cultural gap than interaction?
Thanks to pre-course arrangements by sagacious
co-instructor Craig “Raven” Birrel, we had a visit from
Tlingit emissary Mike Jackson. Mike drove out an old
logging road and joined SEK 3 for an evening lecture
on Tlingit culture, logging, education, local ecology
and all things in between.
Mike has a powerful presence. He’s a cross between
a middle linebacker and a spiritual guru; he is also a man
of many hats. He is the community magistrate (a liaison
between the Tlingit corporation and the federal government),
a tribal trust officer, local judge, and facilitator of
circle peacemaking, a traditional form of justice. In this
Tlingit style of restorative justice, offenders of the law are
Josh Stansfield