There’s a Little Spot of a Town Today
*Alaska Trip Journal Entry 6*
Day 6 was the best part of the trip for me. We headed to an up and coming tourist spot called “Icy Strait Point”:http://www.icystraitpoint.com/ and a visit to the town of “Hoonah”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoonah located nearby. Accessible only by “Bush Planes”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_plane and boat, Icy Strait Point/Hoonah was very small, rivalling Skagway. In fact, where we were able to dock in Skagway, we had to get to Icy Strait Point by “tender”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship%27s_tender. It was a fun ride to get to the town.
Our first stop was the salmon cannery, where our tenders docked. Once we disembarked, we were given charms that we needed to toss into a little bonfire that the employees of Icy Strait Point Cannery created. This was to give us good luck. We explored the cannery a bit and discovered that they no longer can salmon, but actually stuffed animals that can be mailed as gifts or souvenirs. The rest of the cannery housed gift shops ranging from mass produced tourist gear to hand-crafted items.
We then took a little trip to the town, Hoonah. While walking around the town and checking out the sights, we met a woman who was selling an ointment that relieves pain. She was a nice lady and a few of my family, including me, bought some of the ointment. The ointment, which seems similar to “Tiger Balm”:http://www.tigerbalm.com/ (but doesn’t have the distinct smell), actually works. The woman also gave us little pictures of the sights around Hoonah, including bald eagles, the forest behind the town and a painted design that told a story about “Raven”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raven_%28mythology%29. We discovered that the painting is actually located behind one of the buildings. On our way back, we met a few of the cultural performers (and residents of the town). We asked them about the painting and actually got a private showing of it (usually restricted and at a cost) and one of the ladies told the story that the painting described. Turns out, she’s the granddaughter of the man who painted it. Pretty awesome. I was so amazed at the story that I signed up for their “Tribal Dance and Cultural Legends show”:http://www.icystraitpoint.com/excursions_heritage.html. I wasn’t disappointed. They told the tale of the Raven and how he created the world (which was a slightly different version from what the link above tells). The story was told by oral and dance. There were two dances that the viewers could partake in. One was a rollcall of sorts, where folks received a card that either had a Raven, Eagle or Thunderbird on it. When the clan name was called out, the folks with the appropriate card would stand up and mimic the dance the performers did. The other dance was a “mating” dance. One that Raven used. I didn’t join in on that one since it required more movement and I didn’t want hurt people with my awkwardness. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.
The performers had authentic regalia of their lineage and they introduced themselves at the beginning of the show. It was very impressive to hear them recite their family line. All in all, the best stop I’ve experienced on the cruise. My family also got to eat really good crab while I was watching the show. Doesn’t matter to me that I missed out since I don’t eat seafood. 
Speaking of seafood, in the cannery there was a spot telling the tale of the man in Hoonah who caught an 86 pound salmon. Seriously, there were pictures.
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