Klukwan elder Joe Hotch has a new jacket. It’s black, with yellow embroidery that reads “Chilkat Indian Village – President Emeritus.”
Kimberley Strong, vice-president of the Chilkat Indian Village tribal council, placed the jacket on Hotch at a Nov. 24 ceremony in Klukwan, following passage of a tribal resolution bestowing the title.
Hotch, 84, served as tribal president for about three decades.
Tribal president Jones Hotch Jr. said the tribe wanted to honor Hotch for his long leadership. He thanked Hotch for his commitment to the village and specifically for help toward the Gaanaxteidi clan.
“Joe Hotch still maintains concern for the village, stays current on today’s issues, and gives advice to the council. Making Joe the CIV president emeritus seemed like the perfect thing to do,” Jones said.
The tribe’s bylaws direct the council to “preserve, protect, and cultivate the arts, crafts, culture, customs, Tlingit laws and language of the village” and the tribal resolution says Joe Hotch’s leadership “illustrates the essence [of that article]… in all that he says and does for the tribe.”
Guests at the ceremony honored Hotch with stories about his contributions to the community.
Klukwan student Kaitlyn Stevens read a letter written in Tlingit and English by Hotch’s daughter Joanne Elsie Spud, who could not be present for the event.
“I know that Kaitlyn is capable of reading and speaking the Tlingit portions, and I want my dad to hear, first-hand, how his work is still being carried forward to the next generations,” Spud wrote.
Jeff Klanott, a current CIV Council member who served with Joe Hotch for many years, said, “Joe often told a lot of history at the Council meetings and I wished that I had taken notes on the things he said. One thing he always told us was to keep a sense of humor or we would not survive as leaders. That was well-founded advice as the council often has to make difficult and unpopular decisions and cultivating humor serves to relieve some of that stress.”
Klukwan librarian and videographer Jamie Katzeek made a video recording of the event honoring Hotch. It will become part of the village’s archival collection, to be kept in the Jilkaat Kwaan Cultural Heritage Center now under construction.
Hotch, whose Tlingit name is Gooxdaakashoo, was born May 17, 1930 in Haines to Annie and Victor Hotch. His grandparents are Alice and James H. Lee and Maggie and Dan Hotch.
Hotch’s adopted and clan brother Ed Warren spoke at the recent ceremony about the fun the two of them had as youngsters playing with toy boats and making sails for them.
“Then World War II broke out and we had to grow up fast. Joe and I had to take on responsibilities that had previously been left to adults. Our hands had grown calloused from hard work by the time we were 12 years old,” Warren said.
Warren said Hotch was raised by his father to serve as a tribal historian. Hotch’s knowledge of the village and culture helped him as tribal leader, Warren said.
Hotch spent two years in the Army at Anchorage and Fairbanks in the early 1950s, then returned to Klukwan. He made his living as a commercial gillnet fisherman in Haines.
In an interview this week, Hotch said when he got involved with tribal government, funds were slim. “At the time I was only getting about $300 a year for the tribe and now they’re into millions,” he said. “We had to hang in there as cheap council people to make sure we were surviving as a tribe.”
During his presidency, Hotch served on Sealaska Heritage Institute’s Council of Traditional Scholars and on the Bureau of Indian Affairs reorganization task force. He helped author the Repatriation Policy and Procedures for the Sealaska Heritage Institute, including a resolution on traditional property laws and dispute resolution measures.
Sealaska Heritage Institute President Dr. Rosita Worl has worked with Hotch on repatriation for more than 15 years as a tribal and clan member and as a member of the Traditional Scholars council.
“Joe has been a staunch advocate for the Chilkat Indian Village for as long as I can remember,” she wrote in an email.
She wrote that Hotch has always been dedicated to safeguarding sacred objects and objects of cultural patrimony – such as a Chilkat Brown Bear tunic, a Brown Bear hat and Whale House posts and rain wall.
Hotch also has worked to protect the sovereignty of CIV, the Chilkat River from increased commercial jet boat traffic and the valley from large-scale mining, tribal members said. He serves as a mentor and instructor for Klukwan‘s Tlingit Language Master/Apprentice program.
Hotch continues to be a source of help and guidance as well as a deep reservoir of Tlingit cultural and historical knowledge, said Kimberley Strong. “He is very self-sacrificing, giving his time and his energy to the community. He has great integrity and tries to create harmony within the community.”
Though he now lives in Haines, Hotch said he goes to Klukwan nearly every day to stay tuned to what is going on. He is studying tribal law and strives to stay abreast of fisheries and environmental issues and legislative actions that could affect his community.
“I communicate as much as I can with other native communities so I know what they’re doing and what we need to do. They’re a lot of help,” he said.
At 84 years old, Hotch doesn’t intend to stop working for the tribe anytime soon.
“I can’t be somebody special as emeritus. I need to give to the village and the people as long as I can before I go to heaven,” he said. He also said that “thank you for your work,” is a very good thing to hear.