Jan Hill: Master of Many Trades

The Tlingit culture was always a part of our life. It just came naturally. We spent a lot of time in Klukwan, in Champagne, up in Klukshu, Haines Junction and Whitehorse. We were involved with different cultural activities like moose hunting and taking care of the meat, fishing, having gardens and doing all those things, but it was just a way of life. I didn’t grow up with the language. My dad’s mother was sent to Oregon to boarding school at age ten and came back when she was eighteen. Of course, they were punished for speaking the language or trying to eat traditional foods, so all nine of her kids went without the benefit of learning the Tlingit language.

My name is Jan Hill; I was born two days after Christm...

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