2025 Traditional Games
Registration is now open for the 2025 Traditional Games, scheduled for April 4-6 at Yaada.at Kalé (Juneau-Douglas High School).
This annual event, co-hosted by Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) and Central Council Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (Tlingit & Haida) in partnership with the Juneau School District, celebrates Alaska Native cultural heritage and survival skills through ancient sports that test strength, agility, balance, endurance and focus.
The competition features three divisions: Middle School (6th-8th grade), High School (9th-12th grade), and an Open Division for adults 18 and older who are out of high school. Athletes will compete in 12 events rooted in hunting and survival techniques that have sustained Indigenous peoples across Alaska and the North for centuries.
Events include:
- Scissor Broad Jump, traditionally used to practice balance needed when jumping on ice floes and to keep warm.
- Wrist Carry, representing the significance of a successful hunt and traditionally tests the strength and endurance of hunters, while showing appreciation for the animal giving itself.
- One-Foot-High Kick, historically used to signal successful hunts.
Other events include the Seal Hop, Kneel Jump, Inuit Stick Pull, Two-Foot-High Kick, Alaskan High Kick and Dené Stick Pull.
Traditional Games embody values of community and mutual support, celebrating skills that allowed Indigenous peoples to thrive in challenging environments.
SHI will livestream the event on its YouTube channel and save the videos on the platform for later viewing.
This event is supported by the following sponsors:
One-Foot-High Kick Level
• Sealaska Heritage
• Tlingit & Haida
• Sealaska
• Charlotte Martin Foundation
Two-Foot-High Kick Level
• University of Alaska Southeast
• Select Physical Therapy
Alaskan High Kick Level
• Coffman Engineers, Inc.
• Juneau Community Foundation’s Blackwell Fund
• Travel Juneau
One Hand Reach Level
• Trickster Company
• Pat Tynan and Rick Harris
To register as an athlete, volunteer, or games official, visit traditionalgames.sealaskaheritage.org. For more information, contact Kyle Kaayák’w Worl at kworl@tlingitandhaida.gov.
Sealaska Heritage Institute is a tribal organization founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goal is to promote cross-cultural understanding through public services and events. SHI also conducts scientific and public policy research that promotes Alaska Native arts, cultures, history and education statewide. The institute is governed by a Board of Trustees and guided by a Council of Traditional Scholars, a Native Artist Committee and a Southeast Regional Language Committee.
CONTACT: Kathy Dye, SHI Communications and Publications Deputy Director, 907.321.4636, kathy.dye@sealaska.com; Kyle Kaayák’w Worl, kworl@tlingitandhaida.gov.
Caption: Two-Foot-High Kick, Traditional Games, 2023. Photo by Stacy Unzicker, courtesy of Sealaska Heritage Institute. Note: News outlets are welcome to use this photo for coverage of this story. For a higher resolution version, contact kathy.dye@sealaska.com.
