By ARIADNE WILL
Sentinel Staff Writer
For Seattle-based Tlingit artist Preston Singletary, the dedication of Xóotsk’i Tláa Kootéeyaa, or Little Bear Mother Story Pole, is a chance to reconnect with his family’s roots in Sitka.
“That was my intent – to reintroduce my family to the community by (way of) this sculpture,” Singletary said in a Sentinel interview.
Tourists look at the Tlingit canoe outside Harrigan Centennial Hall today. A wrapped totem, at left, will be unveiled Saturday. (Sentinel Photo)
The story pole is already installed in front of Harrigan Centennial Hall, and will be under wraps until it’s unveiled at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. The pole is a gift from Singletary to Sitka Tribe of Alaska.
Singletary – who works primarily with glass – is a nationally recognized artist who has had exhibitions at the National Museum of the American Indian and other Smithsonian galleries. His work is in collections ranging from the Anchorage Museum to Ethnografiska Museet, in Sweden.
In Alaska, Singletary is on the artist committee of the Sealaska Heritage Institute, where he helps to coordinate education around traditional arts.
The bronze story pole tells a story of Singletary’s maternal great-grandmother, Susie Johnson Bartlett Gubatayo, who was from Sitka. She married George Bartlett, also of Sitka, and their child became Singletary’s grandmother. Bartlett died in 1919 and Gubatayo moved to Seattle in the 1920s with her second husband.
Singletary said that even after leaving Sitka, his great-grandmother made sure to pass on stories and knowledge of her home to the next generations.
“Great-grandmother impressed upon all us grandchildren where we come from and gave us all Tlingit names,” he said. “This sculpture represents her and a story we heard from elders in our family about how she had a grizzly bear as a child.”
Singletary is connected through his matriarchal line to the Kaagwaantaan and is descended from the Box House, or Ḵóok Hít, in Sitka.
“I wanted to gift (the pole) to the Tribe and to the City of Sitka to return the spirit of my great-grandmother to her ancestral homelands,” he said.
The dedication of Xóotsk’i Tláa Kootéeyaa also will be an occasion for Singletary’s family and Gubatayo’s descendents to reconvene in Sitka: Singletary’s mother and her two sisters, as well as several cousins, are coming for the dedication. Singletary said that one of his aunts has never been to Sitka, before.
“This is a really exciting moment for me as a prelude to coming back and spending time with people who are knowledgeable of our shared background,” he said.
Kaagwaantaan leader Harvey Kitka told the Sentinel that the clan welcomes the arrival of Xóotsk’i Tláa Kootéeyaa.
“It will be a real honor for us to see this placement of this story pole,” he said. “We’re very proud of Preston.”
STA Tribal Chairman Lawrence “Woody” Widmark said in a press release that the gift of the story pole is significant.
“Preston may have grown up in Seattle, but his roots are right here,” Widmark said. “Family Story Totem is a testament to the power of our culture and traditions as a source of inspiration, identity and strength.”
City Administrator John Leach expressed gratitude for the gift.
“We’re very proud to have been selected by Mr. Singletary as the location most fitting to display his beautiful work of art,” Leach said in a written comment. “(It) will be enjoyed by our community and visitors alike for years to come.”
