The Tree, the Map, and the Flight Home

Angel Jack, Cody Pitka, Collins Mendenhall, Seth Bader, + Dr. Sanjay Pyare

A Cross- Pacific Collaboration

About Me & See Stories

Seth Bader- Youth Education Programs Manager

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See Stories is an Alaska-based Non-Profit Organization.

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Our mission is to help build inclusive communities with film and story.

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We teach film, podcasting, and digital storytelling skills to students across the state of Alaska.

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We help students turn stories into power

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Focus on Alaska and Angoon Youth

Students presenting today live in Angoon, Alaska.

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Alaska Native Tlingit village in Southeast Alaska.

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Population: ~340

A Project 45 Years in the Making

• In 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) into law.�
• President Carter adopted by Deisheetaan Tlingit Clan in Angoon.�
• ANILCA designated over 104 million acres of land to federal preservation �
• ANILCA specified rights for Angoon to develop a hydroelectric facility within newly protected land

Thayer Creek Hydro Project

Student Voices: Impact on Angoon

• Angoon currently relies strictly on diesel for power. It has been a dream for our community to have access to power that is less expensive and environmentally friendly.
• Finally after years of planning, construction of the service roads leading to the hydro project will begin this year, 2025, but the construction will threaten or destroy culturally modified trees (CMTs) at Turn point.
• CMTs are are important because they were here during our ancestor’s time. You can find a CMT by observing it and finding the hack marks that our ancestors did to collect sap, make hats, make bedding etc.
• They are a living connection to our ancestors.
• How can we preserve the CMTs?
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Culturally Modified Tree Documentation

Cody

History of Turn Point

Overview

• Located across the channel from Angoon, Alaska
• An ancestral site that has been cared for thousands of years

Why it is Historical

• Tlingit ancestors lived here since time immemorial
• Spruce trees are more than resources, they provide:
• Shelter
• Canoes and baskets
• Warmth
• Sap for fire starter and “Indian bubble gum”
• Ancestors used these gifts with respect and reciprocity

Importance of Trees

• Spruce trees were essential to daily life and Tlingit culture
• Trees continue to be important to the community of Angoon

Our Work at �Turn Point

Tree Documentation

These trees have been put into 3D models because the trees are going to be removed from the site for our community to have a hydro system.

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We do not want to just forget about them, we also want to pass the history down to our future generations to keep the history of that site alive.

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Angel

Will be sharing about:

• Students taking photos of the CMTS at turn point and making notes about it
• Other students taking those photos and turn them into 3D models and putting them on a story map
• AYS and Wooster

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What We Did

Culturally Modified Trees (CMTs)

• CMTs are trees shaped by human use over generations
• They show the relationship between people and the land
• They carry historical, cultural, and ecological knowledge

Our Student Work

• You just heard about how spruce trees are relatives and part of our Tlingit identity
• CMTs are one way we can see that relationship carried through time
• A group of us went to Turn Point, we took many photos of the trees
• Those photos were used to create 3D models
• While we photographed, we also made observations of each tree

Partners

Alaska Youth Stewards Collaboration

• Same summer, the AYS group worked with the College of Wooster
• Focus: collecting more data on the CMTs

What We Collected

• Tree cores to estimate age
• Hard to get cores because many trees were too rotten
• Other important data was also recorded]

Why It Matters

• Adds scientific knowledge alongside cultural knowledge
• Shows how CMTs connect both community memory and ecology

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Story Map

Story Map Project

• Summer 2025: 3 student-interns created an interactive Story Map
• Integrated ~20 3D renderings of CMT models
• This has been our main project over the past summer

Why It Matters

• Road construction and development at Turn Point began in August 2025
• Some CMTs may be removed
• The Story Map allows Angoon community members and the public to:
• Observe the trees
• Appreciate their cultural and ecological significance
• Carry their stories forward even if the trees are gone
• Story Map Link

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Collins

Angoon, Alaska. 11th Grade. ��I have been doing AISES to try new things, show future generations in Angoon what the trees we documented were like before they were impacted

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Interested in culture and sports- some cultures in Alaska area threatened because not many people know about them

What is the �Kōlea Institute?

Overview

Learning opportunity in Hawaii- Angoon HS students learned alongside Hawaiian and Alaskan college students, professors, etc.

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1 week in Hawaii, documenting endangered trees and other culturally sensitive sites

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Exposure to GeoCultural Mapping with:

-Ground LiDAR

-Drones + Aerial LiDAR

-3D Photogrammetry/ Modeling

Learning and Takeaways

Found endangered trees, met amazing people who know how to fly drones and how to find and identify endangered trees. ��Made a 3D rendering of an endangered Hawaiian “Willi-Willi” Tree. Used this learning to prepare for Thayer Project in Angoon.

�Understanding of basics of LiDAR and how it works. Sparked a desire to do that more in Angoon!

Kōlea Institute

• informal learning environment
• collaborative – accelerate know-how thru connections/mentorship
• focus on local geographical scales and issues
• cyclical/progressive (not “one-n-done”)

The problem with education…does it mirror how we learn?

Kōlea Institute

Kōlea Institute

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•Cross-Pacific: coastal, community & cultural connections & comparisons

•Community-Based: platform for service-learning & local professional development

•Sustained Interaction: year-round, progressive & cohort based

•Co-mentoring: undergraduate-secondary interaction (+ multigenerational)

•Emerging Geo-Technologies sub-theme

Student Perspectives

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Kōlea Institute

An earth-science collaborative to improve remote-sensing applicability for coastal underserved communities across the Pacific

Acknowledgements

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Questions?

Perspectives?

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Mahalo Nui, Gunalcheesh & Thank You!

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History of Turn Point

Overview �Turn point is located right across the channel of Angoon, Alaska and has been a historical site for thousands of years.

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It is a historical site because our Tlingit ancestors have been there since it was first discovered and used the environment surrounding them like the spruce trees to make shelter, baskets, transportation(canoes/dugouts), warmth, collect sap for fire starter, and to chew on calling it “indian bubble gum”.

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The trees are very important to the community of Angoon because it aligns with our Tlingit culture from the resources that our ancestors collected and utilized.

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Our Work at �Turn Point

Tree Documentation

• A hydro system is being built, and the trees will be removed
• Trees at the site are being turned into 3D models

Respecting the Trees

• We do not want to forget these relatives
• 3D models keep their stories alive
• Passing this knowledge down protects our connections

What We Did

Student Work

CMT’s are culturally modified trees that have been around for a long time and show evidence of past human use, these trees are important because they hold lot of important,historical, and ecological knowledge.

Some of the work that students in Angoon have done is a group of them went to turn point to go get lots of photos so that they can can turn those photos into a 3d model along with the photos they made observations of the trees.

Partners

Other Connections

During the same summer the Alaska Youth Stewards (AYS) group collaborated with the college of Wooster to collect more data on the trees that includes tree cores to see how old they are (unfortunately it was hard to get the cores because the trees were too rotten ) but they also got data like …

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Story Map

During the Summer of 2025, 3 Student-Interns integrated ~20 3d renderings of CMT models onto an interactive Story Map. The story map is what we have been working on for the past summer and it is important because we are using the story map �

Road construction and project development at Turn Point has started (August 2025)- the Story Map will serve as a way for Angoon community members, the public to be able to observe and appreciate the CMTs now that they might be gone. The story map serves a lot significance because they

Click Here for Link to StoryMap

Summary

Students from Angoon went to turn point to go get photos of the CMTS and make observations of them, so that other students could take those photos and turn them into 3D models and put them on a story map that has been in the making for awhile.

During the summer the AYS crew has collaborated with with the college of Wooster from Ohio to get data on trees from around Angoon, while here a group went to turn point to try and get notes on the CMTs and other data on them. While a group went to hood bay mountain to get data on those trees and maybe even a few CMTs up there.

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Summary

Student Documentation

• Angoon students: photos and observations of CMTs at Turn Point
• Photos → 3D models → added to Story Map

AYS Collaboration

• Partnered with College of Wooster (Ohio)
• Collected data on trees around Angoon
• Field sites:
• Turn Point – CMT notes and data
• Hood Bay Mountain – tree data and possible CMTs

Significance

• Combines cultural knowledge with scientific research
• Strengthens the record of CMTs and surrounding forests

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What is the Kōlea Institute?

Learning Opportunity in Hawaiʻi

• Angoon HS students joined Hawaiian and Alaskan college students and professors
• 1 week of hands-on learning in Hawaiʻi

What We Did

• Documented endangered trees
• Visited culturally sensitive sites

Skills and Tools

Exposure to GeoCultural Mapping with:

• Ground LiDAR, Drones + Aerial LiDAR
• 3D Photogrammetry / Modeling

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Learning and Takeaways

Hawaiʻi Experience

• Found endangered trees
• Met experts in drone use and tree identification

Hands-On Work

• Created a 3D rendering of the endangered Hawaiian Wiliwili Tree
• Gained first experience with LiDAR technology

Why It Matters

• Learning prepared us for the Thayer Project in Angoon
• Sparked interest to bring LiDAR work back home