I had been taken to some rock cairns which are atop some of themountains in south-eastern Alaska. What was this? Rocks in thoserock formations were used to help tell part of a story, and each rockcairn had different stories associated with it.After being taken to the rock cairns, I had been fascinated byother rock formations from around the world, such as Stonehenge. Ihad always wondered: who were the storytellers that usedStonehenge? What knowledge was shared? The decades passed butmy curiosity about rock formations found around the world neverwent away.

David KanoshYooḵis’kooḵéikTlingit Elder and storyteller,South-Eastern Alaska

I made my own memory boards. As I glued each piece to theplywood, I thought about the stories I would tell with this memoryboard. I had spent an afternoon just putting on five pebbles! Howdid my grandmother make it look so easy? Practice. She’d been atthis for a while.

The beautifully carved totem poles, wooden carved ceremonialhats and even the wooden carved rattles. They are more than art.They serve a very practical purpose. Each had places orloci that Ihad used to elaborately encode information.