InTheField: KASYYAHGEI on the Law of the Land /149

Photo by Koa Kalish

Following last week’s In The Field episode featuring Wanda Kashudoha Culp, we turn to Wanda’s longtime friend and partner in justice, Kasyyahgei, as she continues to weave the threads of story and spirit in the Tongass National Forest. Kasyyahgei is a respected Tlingit knowledge keeper, a mother and grandmother, a spruce root basket weaver, and a fierce protector of her community and village of Hoonah. In the 1980s, Kasyyahgei brought a lawsuit against the National Forest Service for logging in Hoonah and, since then, has continued to stand with unwavering integrity and courageously speak truth to power.

Through Kasyyahgei’s spellbinding stories, we are transported to the salmon-filled waters and rich forested landscapes of her home in Hoonah. Meaning “protection from the North wind,” the lands and waters of Hoonah have provided her people with sustenance for generations in an ever-turning cycle of reciprocity ruled by “the Law of the Land.” As in many communities throughout the Tongass, this delicate balance of life greatly shifted when the trees started to come down and trucks criss-crossed through the forest hauling old growth giants on their backs. Leaving a trail of splintered trees in its path, the insatiable, industrial machine of extraction has only shapeshifted in its monstrous form, as cruise ships and tourists in the thousands descend upon Hoonah’s docks every year.

“If we really want to learn who we are, the connection is always to the land, the air, the water.”

— Kasyyahgei / Episode 149

Kasyyahgei by Molly Leebove

Kasyyahgei’s striking account of Hoonah and the imperial history of Alaska are urgently needed to understand the political and economic battles encircling the Tongass today. Lean into Kasyyahgei’s haunting testimony of heart that bridges stories from her childhood, the incredible mycelial worlds humming beneath the forest floor, and the land of talking trees. Bear witness to the life and death that this vast place cradles within its arms and surrender to this well of wonder whose bottom is beyond the reach of the human mind. Then, reawaken and offer yourself to the future of this great mother forest and the generation of Indigenous leaders rising to defend it.   

♫ Music by Cary Morin, Theresa Andersson, Pura Fe, Kermit Ruffins, Lea Thomas

The Trailer

Take Action

The most immediate action step you can take to defend the Tongass is to submit a thoughtful, effective public comment to the Forest Service. Although the deadline for official comments has passed, continued pressure from the public is critical.

Web: www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=54511

Email: akroadlessrule@fs.fed.us

Mail: USDA Forest Service, Attn: Alaska Roadless Rule, P.O. Box 21628, Juneau, Alaska, 99802

Fax: 907-586-7852

In-person delivery to Forest Service: 709 W. 9th Street, Room 535B, Juneau, Alaska 99801

Please share this episode and send out the above links to your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, businesses—anyone who cares about the future of our public lands. You can also download and share Southeast Alaska Conservation Council’s Roadless Rule Toolkit: https://www.seacc.org/roadless_rule_toolkit. 

We request that you support Indigenous stewards of the Tongass by making a direct donation to Kasyyahgei for many years of activist work, public service, and ongoing community organizing in Hoonah and beyond. Make a donation through our website by following the link below. Scroll to the bottom of the page and select DONATE TO LAND-BASED PROJECTS (NON-PROFIT) & add a note that clearly identifies Kasyyahgei and/or Wanda as the recipient of your donation (such as, “For Kasyyahgei” and “For Wanda Culp”). All funds raised will go directly to them. https://forthewild.world/donate

To stay up to date and informed about issues in the Tongass, please check out the following organizations and follow them on social media:
Southeast Alaska Conservation Council 
Sitka Conservation Society
Last Stands
Women’s Earth & Climate Action Network
Audubon Alaska
Lynn Canal Conservation 
Earthjustice

For more resources, readings, and videos on the Tongass and issues raised in this episode, visit our updated webpage: Tongass Campaign / When Old Growth Ends

Beyond these points, we also recognize the need to courageously expand the existing envelope of action. We need a panoply of resistance from established tactics like public comments, advocacy and demonstrations, blockades and encampments, to even more creative gestures of resistance and daring acts of land defense.

InTheField Playlist

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