Celebration 2026 opens in Juneau with canoe arrivals, cultural speeches

Sealaska Heritage Institute opened Celebration 2026 in Juneau on Wednesday with traditional canoe arrivals from eight Southeast Alaska communities and speeches that framed the gathering's theme, Enduring Strength, as a response to both external political forces and internal community challenges.

Celebration is a biennial gathering of Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples held every other June since 1982. The 2026 event runs through Saturday and is being broadcast locally and webcast worldwide.

Canoes arrived from Wrangell, Petersburg, Kake, Ketchikan, Sitka, Angoon, Hoonah, and Haines. Karen Tog, a Sealaska Heritage Institute trustee, said the Petersburg canoe was the first from that community in 100 years and that she traveled in a traditional dugout canoe carved by Wayne Price.

In opening remarks, a speaker said the theme was chosen to reaffirm that Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian people have the strength to overcome adversities and current challenges from national political forces that seek to undermine culture and civil rights. The speaker also acknowledged grief within the community, saying some challenges have come from within with the unnecessary loss of many loved ones.

Richard Reinhardt, chair of the Sealaska Corporation board of directors, announced that the House of Representatives had passed legislation for five landless communities after 11 attempts. The announcement drew applause.

Mary Peltola, former U.S. Representative and 2026 U.S. Senate candidate, spoke about the resurgence of cultural practices that were once suppressed. Peltola said Native people across Alaska started dancing again and bringing out regalia in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, and that master carvers younger than her are now practicing. She called the return of traditional canoe practices part of a wellness plan.