ART IN YOUR BACKYARD
The Watchman Kootéeyaas - Part I
In the 3600 block of Halibut Point Road, we wondered for years about the enormous log residing in our neighbors’ backyard. Through generations, we knew the family next door intimately - exchanging food, offering help and chatting over the fence. But the “giant log” was BIG in all of our imaginations.
For the first Sitka Arts Guide (published in 2023), the concept of Art in Your Backyard was inspired by the mysterious cedar tree trunk. But at that time, our neighbors were still pondering what to do with it.
“We definitely wanted to use the logs for something significant,” explains Willoughby Peterson, the now-grown son of Gail and Reggie Peterson. “We initially had some other ideas, but then we heard about a desire for totem poles to be erected in front of the Public Safety Training Academy here in Sitka. That inspired us to think in a different direction and we submitted a formal proposal to the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida for the project.” The result is The Watchman Kootéeyaas.
Kootéeyaas (the Tlingit word for storyboards) are also known as Totem Poles and are significant cultural symbols for the Tlingit and Haida tribes, who have lived in Southeast Alaska since time immemorial. Kootéeyaas represent stories, lineage, and important events.
The exciting new endeavor involves three men: Reggie (Master Carver & Historian), Will (Project Manager & Carver) and Jose Figueroa (Apprentice Carver). Keeping it in the family, Jose is Reggie’s son-in-law and Will’s brother-in-law, and married to the well-respected Sitka leader Alana Figueroa.
Jose and Alana met in Peru when she was serving in the Peace Corps. Jose brings enthusiasm and reverence to the project, as well as a background in drawing and construction, and a general interest in history that he inherited from his own father.
“The master carver will create a model before everything is settled.”
“I wanted to be a part of this too,” admitted Jose. “I want hands-on experience and to learn about a culture that I respect. I like to draw, so I attended a formline class with Will. And my own father liked history. He wrote a book about 17 generations of my family’s past. When he found out I was thinking of joining the project, he said ‘Yes, you should do that - you should be the first Peruvian to be part of that.’”
Will stresses the importance of ancestry in Native culture. “It's really cool that Jose’s dad recorded all of his family lineage, because in our culture one of the primary things that gives us value is knowing who our ancestors are.”
Battling the weather in early 2025, the men started removing the tarps protecting the tree trunks from the elements and decided to move the project indoors. Fortunately, they were offered hangar space on the Sitka Campus of University of Alaska Southeast.
Moving the logs was a challenge unto itself. They borrowed a backhoe and hired some friends to carefully navigate the enormous pieces of wood around the house, then transport them through town and over the bridge.
Then, a new challenge emerged. “As we dug in and took them apart, we found rot that would compromise the totem’s longevity,” says Reggie.
In April of 2025, Will received word that Sealaska Corporation would contribute new logs, so that the poles would last for and inspire generations to come.
In talking about the design process, Reggie describes the all-important step of making a prototype. “Generally, the master carver will create a model before everything is settled, before anything is assigned. It's an original piece of art itself.”
In his life as a Tlingit artist, Reggie has experienced a wide variety of both Native and non-Native culture, of restriction and exclusion, and later, perhaps, acceptance.
Born in 1948, Reggie grew up in Juneau, showing early promise as a painter in high school. “But nobody did that kind of work - you were either a logger, a fisherman or a miner,” explains Reggie. He stood firm on his vision of attending a prestigious professional school and ultimately attended the American Academy of Art in Chicago. There, he learned techniques for both commercial and fine art, as well as how to survive the 1968 riots and battle his own personal demons.
Reggie’s journey led him to the little town of Sitka where he honed his craft in totemic carving, learning from his teacher Ed Kasko and a collective of artists working at the then Southeast Alaska Indian Cultural Center. There he also taught classes on the art forms and first met Gail Johansen, with whom he developed a close relationship, married and raised their family of five children.
“I want hands-on experience and to learn about a culture that I respect.”
Will describes his journey. First, studying environmental engineering at University of California Irvine, which he used in helping communities along the Yukon River for five years. Longing to be home, he returned to Sitka to do research and work for the Sitka Tribe of Alaska to monitor ocean acidification.
“And then the pandemic hit, everything slowed down and I was doing more art. I discovered this is what I actually enjoy doing,” says Will. “I decided to open a Native art gallery, X̱'út'aa Hídi. I wanted a name that would highlight the Native people in a respectful way and educate the public. The word x̱út’aa means adze (literally ‘the one that chips out wood’). Hídi comes from the Lingit word hit, which means house.”
Will shifts back to current plans. “The next step is to craft new tools while we wait for the wood from Sealaska. That's kind of where we're at. We're making tools that we will need for carving, and helping Jose to create his first tools. Our new logs should arrive within the next couple of weeks.”
Stay tuned for the next Art in Your Backyard where we will talk about the design and carving phase of The Watchman Kooteeyas project.
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