In Alaska, holiday cheer began early this year. Alaskans and Alaska Native peoples spent their long summer days tapping into their inner artist, crafting nearly fifteen thousand beautifully handmade ornaments to adorn the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree.

These ornaments are more than just impressive, festive decorations.

Many of the ornaments honor the state’s rich and historic Indigenous culture, as professional and amateur Alaska artists created designs inspired from nature, forests, wildlife, totem poles, and objects such as traditional Alaskan masks and beads.

Local tribal artist Mary Ann Rainey embraced the creative task by hosting an ornament making class at the Petersburg Public Library. Her classes boasted an impressive turnout and forged forty ornaments to accompany the official Capitol Christmas tree — an 80-foot Sitka Spruce— from Alaska’s National Forests to the nation’s capital.

“Most of the designs we used belong to different Tribes — such as the shark, salmon, halibut, eagle, raven, sea pigeon, hummingbird, wolf — there was a lot of variety of animals,” said Rainey.

Passing down tradition

Rainey shared how her grandmother Kalk’ech (whom she is named after), would make moccasins and create beadwork using traditional beading techniques. Even as an experienced beader and after passing these techniques onto her own grandchildren, Rainey never imagined herself teaching a class on beadwork to more than a dozen members of the community.

“I’ve shown my grandchildren how to craft things like this, but leading a class this size was a first for me. I would see things like this at craft shows and I thought, ‘I can do that.’ It was a fun challenge, and I think people enjoyed the class.”

Rainey is a tribal member from clan Eagle/Shark from the Thunderbird House and plans to make the trek to Washington, D.C with her niece to see the ornaments on the Capitol Christmas Tree later this year.

Don and Vera Starbard, authors of A Tlingit Christmas Caroling and Coloring, were also eager to participate in the ornament making extravaganza. They donated images from their book to local youth to honor the Tlingit culture while contributing to the growing ornament total. The authors also helped with an ornament effort for local youth at the Huna Tribal House in Glacier Bay National Park.

Co-stewardship for all seasons

A testament to the co-stewardship between Alaska’s tribal communities and land management agencies, the Tlingit and Haida tribes —among many others — participated in ornament creation, which further enriched the celebratory showcase of some of Alaska’s most unique features.

The Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center’s Cultural Ambassador Program, a mutual commitment between the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska and the Forest Service to collaborate on managing the Tongass National Forest’s recreation areas, highlighted the power of partnership.

Forest Service staff and cultural ambassadors joined forces to paint bear and fish shaped ornaments in the visitor center.  Many of the painted ornaments were decorated using formline artwork — a type of Pacific Northwest Coast Native design often associated with totem poles, which depicts concepts and objects such as historic events or traditional Alaskan clan crests.

“It was a sure way to bring folks together,” shared Cultural Ambassador Program Manager Jeremy Timothy. “Anyone can be an artist, and when you combine art with history, it becomes a real opportunity to provide education on the rich heritage Alaska culture has to offer. I am pleased that we got the opportunity to create and share artwork from our visitors from around the world. At the end of the day, it’s about bringing folks together and carrying on tradition. That’s what we’re all about.”

Throughout the summer, the Alaska Native Science & Engineering Program led multiple ornament making events for youth, with many designs highlighting Alaska Native masks. Traditionally, these masks serve many purposes, including use in local dances and honoring or warding off spirits. The tradition of using these masks continues to this day.

Ornaments for all

In October, Senator Lisa Murkowski’s office hosted an ornament-making booth at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention, producing nearly two hundred ornaments decorated by convention attendees. The booth also made an appearance at the Alaska state fair, where visitors added nearly five hundred ornaments to the growing total.

The thousands of ornaments submitted for this effort showcase traditions of the past and a vibrant future for Alaska.

“The outpouring of response we received from so many folks across Alaska was truly astounding. It’s really special to see these ornaments serve as a humble nod to the great state of Alaska and its rich cultural heritage,” shared Annette Heckart, the U.S. Forest Service’s Alaska region interpretation and conservation education program manager, who helped spearhead collection of this year’s ornaments.

Alaska’s sparkling efforts will come alive when the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree is lit on Tuesday, December 3, 2024. The decorations honor the interconnection between the Forest Service and tribes, highlighting the unique relationship between land and humans, past and future, culture and tradition. In one word: unity.