The WCA has named Tony Harding as its new tourism director, a role he fills with a deep personal connection to the community’s heritage.

Harding, who is also an apprentice carver, contributed to the totem poles raised last July and the pole placed outside the high school gym in January.

Since stepping into the tourism position in December, he has balanced his new administrative duties with his time at the carving shed and his role as the assistant boys high school basketball coach.

As he settles into his routine, Harding said WCA is actively exploring new ways to expand its reach to tourists. He pointed to the carving shed on Front Street as a major highlight that captured significant public attention last year.

“It brought a lot of foot traffic our way, and it was exciting to see so many people interested in our heritage and our culture,” he said. “And it’s exciting to see kind of a revival of our culture locally.”

The three-day totem-raising ceremony last July drew hundreds of visitors to the island, serving as a successful blueprint for future events. Harding said the momentum from that celebration has already fueled completion of their next project.

“We just finished the next pole we’ll be raising,” he said. “It’s another Kadashan pole, but it’s one where the raven is dominant. The one we raised last year was with the eagle at the top.”

The Kadashan pole raised in July serves as a replica of a 1940 pole, which was originally gifted by Haida relatives to honor intermarriage with Tlingit women in the 1830s. While the new pole is ready, the timing for the celebration remains flexible.

“We don’t know when we will be raising that pole, but it will be sometime in the summer,” Harding said. “We just need to see what date will work best for everyone.”

To further share the community’s history, Harding said the WCA is collaborating with residents to provide 80-minute guided tours that will lead visitors to Shakes Island and the carving shed.

He said he is optimistic about the future of cultural tourism, especially following recent planned developments to add a new dock near the Nolan Center.

“That deal between the City Hall and American Cruise Lines, I think it will generate a lot of interest and more traffic for us,” Harding said. “With the ships docking for longer periods, that encourages us to look at having storytellers or performing different ceremonies, or other things to share our culture. I think we’re in a really good position for the future.”

Harding emphasized that education will be a cornerstone of these efforts, with plans to incorporate talks that provide tourists with a clearer picture of the area’s rich history.

“For the future, we will definitely incorporate some ideas we had last summer during the totem raisings,” he said. “We want to be able to capture and keep the tourists’ attention. We would like to come up with multiple unique aspects of being able to participate in and share our culture.”

As he looks toward the upcoming season, Harding feels the growing interest in the carving shed is a sign of a bright future for WCA programs.

“When I look at the way things went last summer and the growing number of people that stop by the carving shed, it makes me feel like we’re doing something right. I’m new to this, but I’m excited.”