SHI announces apprentices in Hoonah for next Totem Pole Trail installation

(Sealaska Heritage Institute photo)

Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) has selected two apprentices in Hoonah to work under master carver Gordon Greenwald (Kaach Yaas) as part of Kootéeyaa Deiyí (Totem Pole Trail), a major public art and education project aimed at revitalizing the practice of monumental carving and increasing the number of trained Alaska Native artists.

The apprentices — Cheyanne Jack (Shangukeidí) and Louie White Jr. (T’akdeintaan) — have begun their training and are assisting Greenwald in the design and carving of a new pole that will be installed in Juneau in 2026.

Jack, a lifelong Hoonah resident, said carving has offered a powerful connection to culture and community.

“I learn something new each day by carving totems. It’s something I want to keep learning, and I want to take on and teach others about our history,” she said.

White brings past experience apprenticing on totem poles and studying formline and carving. He joined the project to deepen his knowledge of the Tlingit style of Northwest Coast art and hopes to eventually pass on what he’s learned to others.

The team is currently working at the downtown carving site in Hoonah. Starting Sept. 15, the group will relocate to a shared classroom at Hoonah High School for the fall and winter seasons. Hoonah community members are welcome to visit both locations to observe the process.

The Hoonah apprentices are part of the second phase of Kootéeyaa Deiyí. The goal is to expand the number of artists with training in monumental carving and increase visibility for Indigenous public art. Apprentices who complete the program may be eligible for up to 18 credits toward an Associate of Arts degree with an emphasis in Northwest Coast arts through the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS).

Gordon Greenwald (Kaach Yaas) is a Tlingit artist of the Eagle moiety and Chookaneidí clan from Xáatl Hít (Iceberg House) in Hoonah. He taught grades 7–12 for 34 years and developed the Northwest Coast Native Art curriculum for Hoonah City School District, where he taught for more than two decades.

Greenwald has studied formline design, tool making and carving since the 1970s under master artists and educators including Ernest Smeltzer, David Boxley, Dempsey Bob and Doug Chilton. He led the design and carving for the Xunaa Shuká Hít (Huna Tribal House) in Bartlett Cove, which included four house posts, a monumental interior screen, an exterior house front and three kootéeyaas. Since 2018, he has led Hoonah’s City Totem Project, where he and his team have carved four kootéeyaas and mentored numerous apprentices.

Now retired from public education, Greenwald continues to focus on carving and cultural education full time.

In 2022, SHI installed the first 12 of 30 totems for Totem Pole Trail, an initiative launched through a $2.9 million grant from the Mellon Foundation. The poles form a cultural entry point to Heritage Square in downtown Juneau and reflect clan histories, crests and migrations of the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian people. Each kootéeyaa is accompanied by interpretive signage. (Totem Pole Trail Guide)