Watch the livestream of Wooshkeetaan Kootéeyaa rededication ceremony this Friday

Members of the Wooshkeetaan will rededicate the Wooshkeetaan Kootéeyaa (totem pole) in the State Office Building Atrium on Friday, March 11, at 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. This location will be the new indoor home for the Kootéeyaa. The raising of the Wooshkeetaan Kootéeyaa and the rededication ceremony will be live-streamed on KTOO’s website at ktoo.org/wooshkeetaan-kooteeyaa this Friday starting at 1 p.m.

The Wooshkeetaan Kootéeyaa was carved by Yéil Yádi Nathan Jackson in 1980 (assisted by Steve Brown and Dorica Jackson) for the Juneau Centennial celebrations. The design of the Kootéeyaa was guided by Yaanashtúk George Jim, Sr. The pole stood outside Centennial Hall for many years and, in 2016, the Kootéeyaa was placed in storage due to preservation concerns. The Juneau-Douglas City Museum began searching for a new home for the Wooshkeetaan Kootéeyaa in 2020 and moved the pole to the State Office Building Atrium in October of 2021, where it has been lying flat and adjusting to the indoor climate.

The raising of the Wooshkeetaan Kootéeyaa and the rededication ceremony is a collaboration between the Wooshkeetaan, the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, and the Juneau-Douglas City Museum.

Funders for the installation of the Kootéeyaa and the rededication event include: The Rotary Club of Juneau; Museums Alaska Collection Management Grant, supported by the Rasmuson Foundation; Friends of the Juneau-Douglas City Museum; Juneau Community Foundation’s Blackwell Fund; and Alaska Electric Light & Power.

For more information, contact City Museum Director Beth Weigel at 907-586-3572 or [email protected].

(Photo by Michael Penn)