Tlingit knowledge-keeper leads bentwood box workshop for Anchorage youth

Youth in an Anchorage Summer Leadership program spent two days last week learning bentwood box making from Joanne Williams, a Tlingit artist and citizen of the Taku River Tlingit First Nation who traveled from Atlin, British Columbia, to lead the sessions. The workshop covered design, construction, and painting. Participants enjoyed the activity, according to the program's social media post.

Williams learned the craft from her grandmother and has since taught it to roughly 2,000 people, mainly in her home community but also to tourists, according to a 2023 CBC News profile. The Taku River Tlingit First Nation's territory extends from the Yukon into British Columbia and down the Taku River to the sea, crossing the international boundary into Alaska. That geography made the collaboration a cross-border transmission of Tlingit knowledge.

Bentwood boxes are traditional waterproof containers made by sawing a plank so it can fold, steaming the wood until pliable, bending it into a square, and doweling the ends once dry. Coastal First Nations communities historically used them to transport household goods and safeguard ceremonial items.

The Taku River Tlingit First Nation has publicly celebrated Williams's work keeping the bentwood box craft alive.