Petersburg unveils kéet yaakw with traditional canoe blessing at Sandy Beach

Petersburg unveils kéet yaakw with traditional canoe blessing at Sandy Beach

Tribal citizens wearing regalia (the Séet Ká Kwáan dance group) drum and sing around Petersburg’s new canoe during its traditional blessing ceremony at Sandy Beach on April 19, 2026. (Petersburg Indian Association) More than 100 people gathered to see Petersburg’s first canoe in a century when the local tribe unveiled and blessed it after its first time on the water. Eleven pullers paddled the canoe, or “yaakw” in Lingít, around the tip of Mitko…