In this special episode of A Piece of Kake, elementary students at Kake City Schools answer the question Goodáx̱ X̱át Sáyá? Where Am I From?  

Featuring the voices of students Mila Padgett, Desmond James, Kaleb Adams, Kayaani Mills, Bonnie Lewis, Jessica Padgett, Robert Wooten, Lucas Cavanaugh, Kayden Coby, and Emma Duncan. 

This episode is developed in collaboration with Kake City School District through the Stories of Kake project. Stories of Kake is a year-long residency engaging students in literacy learning in Lingít and English, facilitated by Lingít language leader X̱'unei Twitchell and teaching artists Ryan Conarro and Sarah Campen. Stories of Kake is supported by an Alaska Department of Education and Early Development Early Education Program Grant and the program “Arts, Health, and Well-Being in Alaska,” a program of the Alaska State Council on the Arts. 

Stories of Kake
https://storiesofkake.weebly.com/

L'ingít Language Learning Resources
https://tlingitlanguage.com/

Ryan Conarro
https://www.ryanconarro.com/

George Ella Lyon, Poet "I Am From"
http://www.georgeellalyon.com/

A Piece of Kake is created and produced by Sarah Campen and Mona Evan. Audio engineering by Ryan Conarro. Our theme song 'Saa yee gé' is used with permission of Khaanakh Dr. Ruth Demmert and performed by the Keex' Kwaan Dancers. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions. Our logo is by Tsimshian artist Abel Ryan.  A Piece of Kake is supported by the US Institute for Museum and Library Services and the Organized Village of Kake. 

Come down the beach and join youth and staff for Kake's 35th Annual Culture Camp! We learn how to newspaper king salmon, render seal oil, and process porcupine. We even spend a week away from our phones (!!!). Along the way we learn about the history of Culture Camp and its role in bringing healing to the people of Keex' Kwaan.

A Piece of Kake is created and produced by Sarah Campen and Mona Evan. This episode edited by Erin McKinstry. Audio engineering by Ammon Swenson. Our theme song 'Saa yee gé' is used with permission of Khaanakh Dr. Ruth Demmert and performed by the Keex' Kwaan Dancers. Additional music for this episode sung by the Keex’ Kwaan Dancers and youth, recorded during culture camp. Voices in this episode: Khaanak Dr. Ruth Demmert, Louise Kadake, Bry Bradley, Sassy Sharclane-Wooton, Josiah Jackson, Dakwaaneek Crookes, Tyler Davis, Broderick Jackson, Eric Davis, Sierra Davis. Our logo is by Tsimshian artist Abel Ryan.  A Piece of Kake is supported by the US Institute for Museum and Library Services.

Talia Davis grew up in Kake.  She's a Salmon Girl and a Science Girl.  And maybe also a People Girl?  Talia is studying for her master's degree in fisheries science while working to keep her grounding as a Lingít woman from the village.  She reflects on being a Native woman in science, and shares her work foregrounding indigenous values in natural resource management.  She says:"My goal is that we have management of the land, air, and water that we depend upon."   
 
A Piece of Kake is created and produced by Sarah Campen and Mona Evan. This episode edited by Erin McKinstry. Audio engineering by Ammon Swenson.  Our theme song 'Saa yee gé' is used with permission of Khaanakh Dr. Ruth Demmert and performed by the Keex' Kwaan Dancers. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions. Our logo is by Tsimshian artist Abel Ryan.  A Piece of Kake is supported by the US Institute for Museum and Library Services.

"If you don't know what shellfish gardens are, you're not alone. There's a helpline you can call."  This one's all about clams!  Clam gardens are an ancient technology, built and maintained by Indigenous peoples all along the Pacific Northwest Coast.  Three young men in Kake are seeking to learn about and revitalize the practice. 

For very cool images, visit the Clam Garden Network at clamgarden.com.  The site also has great information about the Haida creation story which Mona references in this episode. Be sure to look up 'The Raven and the First Men', a beloved sculpture by renowned Haida artist Bill Reid which portrays that moment of creation. 

A Piece of Kake is created and produced by Sarah Campen and Mona Evan.  Audio engineering by Ammon Swenson.  Our theme song 'Saa yee gé' is used with permission of Khaanakh Dr. Ruth Demmert and performed by the Keex' Kwaan Dancers. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions. Our logo is by Tsimshian artist Abel Ryan.  A Piece of Kake is supported by the US Institute for Museum and Library Services.

Sarah sits down with Paul Aceveda for a chat on a sunny afternoon in Kake.  Paul shares stories of his father's emigration from the Philippines, and we talk about the yummy confluence of Filipino and Lingít food.  Paul also shares memories of his grandparents, and cultural lessons he wants to pass on to his own grandkids.  Paul says: "It's so awesome to be a grandparent."

In Search Of Southeast Alaskan Adobo - Jennifer Fergesen's great article about Filipino food in Alaska on her blog The Global Carinderia.

A Piece of Kake is created and produced by Sarah Campen and Mona Evan.  Audio engineering by Ammon Swenson.  Our theme song 'Saa yee gé' is used with permission of Khaanakh Dr. Ruth Demmert and performed by the Keex' Kwaan Dancers. Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions. Our logo is by Tsimshian artist Abel Ryan.  A Piece of Kake is supported by the US Institute for Museum and Library Services.

A Piece of Kake is BACK baby!  Stay tuned for more stories of culture, community, and food comin' at you this spring and summer. 

We are delighted to kick off Season 3 with a really special episode.  Last June, members of the Polynesian Voyaging Society brought Hōkūle'a, a 62 foot wa'a (voyaging canoe) to Alaska to launch Moananuiākea: a four-year voyage circumnavigating the Pacific Ocean using traditional non-instrument navigation. Our friend Marina Anderson from Prince of Wales Island got to join the Hōkūle'a crew through Southeast Alaskan waters. Our new friend Moani Heimuli is a member of the Hōkūle'a crew, a captain, and a wa'a builder.  Marina and Moani share with us the art of canoeing and the deep connections between indigenous peoples in Hawai'i and Alaska. Sarah's baby daughter Kōlea also makes some strong appearances.  This episode was so incredible to work on, and we can't wait to share it with you.

You can learn more about the Polynesian Voyaging Society, Hōkūle'a, Polynesian Wayfinding, and more here:
www.Hokulea.com (including a diagram of Hōkūle'a)
www.WaaHonua.com
Hawaiian Voyaging Traditions
Past Voyages
Follow @HokuleaCrew on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for more.

In fall 2023, after predictions of extreme El Niño weather patters and the devastating fires in Lahaina, Hōkūle'a and her crew put Moananuiākea on hold and returned home to support their Maui 'ohana.  Our hearts are holding our Hawaiian relatives as they move through this huge loss. Recently, PVS announced that Mananuiākea will begin again in March 2025.

The song "Star of Gladness", performed here by Israel Kamakawiwo`ole, was composed by crew member George "Boogie" Kalama during the 1976 inaugural voyage of Hōkūle'a from Hawai'i to Tahiti. A link to Bruddah IZ playing in Miloli'i here

A Piece of Kake is created and produced by Sarah Campen and Mona Evan.  Audio engineering by Ammon Swenson.  Our theme song 'Saa yee gé' is used with permission of Khaanakh Dr. Ruth Demmert and performed by the Keex' Kwaan Dancers. Mahalo nui loa to Justyn Ah Chong and Sonja Swenson Rogers at the Polynesian Voyaging Society for supplying additional audio for this episode.  Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions. Our logo is by Tsimshian artist Abel Ryan.  A Piece of Kake is supported by the US Institute for Museum and Library Services.

In summer of 2019, we were honored to sit with Rosalind Shaquanie and hear her beautiful stories of growing up in Kake.  Rosalind passed away last month, and we wanted to remember her by sharing a re-publication of our interview. In this episode, Rosalind teaches Sarah and Mona about seal hunting and processing, and shares a story from one remarkable seal hunting trip when she was a girl.

A Piece of Kake is created and produced by Sarah Campen and Mona Evan.  Audio engineering by Erin McKinstry.  Our theme song 'Saa yee gé' is used with permission of Khaanakh Dr. Ruth Demmert and performed by the Keex' Kwaan Dancers.  Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions. Our logo is by Tsimshian artist Abel Ryan.  A Piece of Kake is supported by the US Institute for Museum and Library Services. 

In this episode, we pay a visit to two of Sarah's favorite people: Anthony Gastelum and Georgie Davis Gastelum.  They give Sarah a tour through the Bear Crossing Center, a space they have developed as Anthony's art studio and a venue for community art-making.  Mona and Sarah chat signs of spring, and Mona introduces everyone to skunk cabbage.  This is our final episode for spring: we will take a break this summer to do harvesting of our own!

A Piece of Kake is created and produced by Sarah Campen and Mona Evan.  Audio engineering by Erin McKinstry.  Our theme song 'Saa yee gé' is used with permission of Khaanakh Dr. Ruth Demmert and performed by the Keex' Kwaan Dancers.  Special music in this episode: Baca Sewa (chant) and Baca Sewa (song) by Cochemea.  Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions. Our logo is by Tsimshian artist Abel Ryan.  A Piece of Kake is supported by the US Institute for Museum and Library Services. 

Join us for a very special episode with Khaanakh Dr. Ruth Demmert.  Dr. Ruth shares the history of the Keex' Kwaan Dancers and her personal journey from knowing "nothing" about Lingít dance and music to dedicating her whole heart to saving Lingít songs and passing them on. 

A Piece of Kake is created and produced by Sarah Campen and Mona Evan.  Audio engineering by Erin McKinstry.  Our theme song 'Saa yee gé' is used with permission of Khaanakh Dr. Ruth Demmert and performed by the Keex' Kwaan Dancers.  Archival recordings of dance performances shared by the Organized Village of Kake. Recordings include: 1971 Totem Pole Raising, youth performances circa 1970's, the Flickerbird song and Yaa Haa Hawee performed by the Keex' Kwaan Dancers.  Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions. Our logo is by Tsimshian artist Abel Ryan.  A Piece of Kake is supported by the US Institute for Museum and Library Services. 

 

C'mon back to Mona's kitchen! Part two of our interview with Joel Jackson.  Hear Mona and Joel's family fishing stories and learn how their smoked coho turns out. 

 A Piece of Kake is created and produced by Sarah Campen and Mona Evan.  Audio engineering by Erin McKinstry.  Our theme song 'Saa yee gé' is used with permission of Khaanakh Dr. Ruth Demmert and performed by the Keex' Kwaan Dancers.  Our logo is by Tsimshian artist Abel Ryan.  Interstitial music by Blue Dot Sessions.  A Piece of Kake is supported by the US Institute for Museum and Library Services.