Qin Cheghi

QIN CHEGHI: RIDGE WHERE WE CRY Qin Cheghi, "ridge where we cry," now also known as Tanaina Peak, is a sacred Dena'ina place of mourning and remembrance. A similar site, Ch'chihi Ken, is the ridge sloping to the south of Susitna Mountain (Dghelishla), visible to the west. Dena'ina elder Shem Pete recalled that at these sites people could see "their whole country." These ridges served as places to remember their relatives and "that's the place we cry all the time 'caus everything just show up plain." The potlatch (qetitl') is the Dena'ina's most significant ceremony of remembrance. These memorial feasts honored relatives from opposite clans who performed funeral and burial tasks for the deceased. Potlatches included the distribution of gifts, as well as the performance of songs, speeches, and dances by the hosts and guests. Potlatches embody both sorrow for loss and celebration of life and community. The late Dena'ina writer Peter Kalifornsky captured the essence of the potlatch in his work, The Potlatch Song of a Lonely Man. Where else might we be scattered to? Where are our relatives? Where are the friends who might come to us with cheer? Where are our loved ones who might come to us with kindness? Our relatives have come back to us, have come back to us. Our friends with cheer, too, have come back to us, have come back to us. Our loved ones with kindness, too, have come back to us, have come to us. As we admire the beauty surrounding us near Qin Cheghi, let us also acknowledge and honor the Dena'ina who have stewarded this special place for centuries.