12/06/2025
There's so much to learn about Glacier Bay past & present, a fascinating blend of geologic transformation and rich indigenous heritage. Wandering Bartlett Cove at the entrance to the park, we had the opportunity to learn much about the area - the ancestral homeland of the Huna Łingít people who have lived here long before the last glacial advance.
Around 1700, the long-stationary Grand Pacific Glacier surged forward and overran their settlements. The clans survived this time of extreme hardship by relocating to Icy Strait in the village of Xunniyaa "shelter from the north wind", today known as Hoonah. As the ice retreated over the next century they returned to their Ancestral Homeland in Glacier Bay.
Through glacial advance and western colonization, the Huna Łingít have experienced many setbacks and cultural loss. Despite this, the Huna Łingít persevere and solidify their connections to their culture and tradition. Efforts to resume traditional harvesting of gull eggs, and the recently completed Huna Tribal House in Bartlett Cove are examples of a new era of cooperation between the Huna Łingít and the National Park Service.
