Water with a Purpose - 100% Recyclable Aluminum
Alaska born. native Built. Crafted for all.
At Kuuk, we believe in doing good things with good people. Clean water is our product, but community is our purpose. Guided by indigenous values of respect for the land and responsibility to one another. Every bottle supports sustainable practices and meaningful partnerships that uplift the places we serve.
WATER WITH A PURPOSE.
KUUGAQ "A Place to Find Water". Our community engagement capability is strengthened with Kuuġaq, our 501(c)(3). Our shared vision is to promote indigenous culture, values, and support community initiatives that increase the physical and mental wellness of indigenous communities.
kuuk artists
At the center of our design is art and community.
Holly MititquQ Nordlum
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Inuit artist and traditional tattooer who blends ancestral traditions with contemporary art forms. Through various mediums, including printmaking, painting, and filmmaking, Holly explores the intersection of traditional and modern Indigenous life.
We are honored to feature Holly's artwork on the very first can of Kuuk Water!
Inuit Artist
Lorelei Kruger
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Lorelei Kruger is a Yakama Nation Tribal Member and a self-taught digital artist. Much of her work reflects her cultural identity, often depicting Yakama practices and traditions.
Her art has been displayed at the "Scorpio" solo artist exhibit hosted by Collab Coffee Gallery (2021). Lorelei has also been featured in several newspaper articles, her most notable one as "Artist of the Month" in the Yakima Herald-Republic (2022).
KCTS shared a glimpse of her life as an artist in a segment of an episode called "Made There".
Yakama Artist
Richard Dalton III
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Richard Dalton III grew up in Hoonah and is a proud shareholder of Huna Totem Corporation. His Tlingit name is Teeykat.aa, Yéil (Raven) of the T’akdeintaan clan of the Yéil Kúdi Hít Taan (Raven Nest House) and child of the Chookaneidí clan. From his mother’s lineage, he is half Diné (Navajo) from the Tábąąhá (Edgewater People clan) of New Mexico.
Richard has more than 25 years of experience as a graphic artist, working with companies such as The Daily Record, Luxury Home Magazine, Central Washington University, Microsoft, Art Institute of Seattle, and Shoreline Community College. He earned his Associate of Applied Arts from The Art Institute of Seattle, majoring in Graphic Design. To this day, Richard continues to build his design skills and knowledge by watching and listening to design tutorials regularly.
Before joining our team, Richard was selected to create the new Huna Totem logo.
He worked closely with the Cedar Group from start to finish to help create a new brand for Huna Totem Corporation.
Tlingit / Navajo Artist
Sedna
“Inuit Goddess of the Sea”
Inuit
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Sedna was once a beautiful and stubborn young woman who refused all suitors. One day, a mysterious stranger appeared, promising comfort, riches, and a beautiful life. Sedna’s father, eager to see her married, agreed to the match. But the man was a bird-spirit in disguise, and he carried Sedna away to a remote island nest, where she lived in hardship and sorrow.
Her father, horrified by the trick, set out to bring her home. During their return across the water, the bird-spirit unleashed a violent storm. Terrified, Sedna’s father made a desperate bargain with the enraged sea—his daughter in exchange for safe passage. He pushed Sedna overboard. When she tried to climb back into the boat, he struck her hands with his paddle, cutting off her fingers.
Sedna sank into the depths. As she fell, her severed fingers transformed into the seals, walrus, whales, and other sea mammals that nourish Inuit people. Sedna herself became Mother of the Sea, powerful and eternal, ruling the animals that were born from her body
We honor her by wearing the markings on her fingers and give thanks for providing for our families and our communities.
Tsagaglalal
“She Who Watches”
Yakama
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This artistic arrangement was shaped by moments spent with my family on the Columbia River and is meant to capture the rich history and legends shared among the Yakama people and neighboring tribes.
The center image depicts ‘She Who Watches’, a female Chief transformed into stone giving her the ability to watch over her people along the river forever.
The geometric design bordering that image takes inspiration from patterns woven into Klickitat baskets which were once a heavily bartered item at the trading site where Celilo Falls once existed.
huna totem
“Protection from the Wind”
Tlingit Haida
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HUNA TOTEM CORPORATION FIRST TO PARTNER WITH INDIGENOUS-OWNED KUUK WATER TO SUPPLY RESEALABLE, ALUMINUM-BOTTLED ALASKA GLACIAL WATER AT CRUISE DESTINATIONS
Aluminum Bottles Expected to Eliminate Up to 15,000 Pounds of Plastic at Icy Strait Point in 2025
JUNEAU, Alaska — In honor of World Environment Day, Huna Totem Corporation (HTC), operator of several cruise destinations including the award-winning Icy Strait Point, has partnered with Alaska Native-owned Kuuk Water to provide sustainably sourced Alaska glacial water at its ports of call.
A passion-and-mission-driven business expanding across Alaska and beyond, Kuuk Water aims to provide an ethical and environmentally responsible water option while uplifting Indigenous communities and making a meaningful impact on water sustainability worldwide.
HTC is the first Alaska tourism business to partner with Kuuk Water, and Icy Strait Point will be the initial location to carry the resealable, aluminum-canned and screw-top bottles, featuring a Tlingit design exclusive to Huna Totem Corporation. With the first delivery scheduled by mid-June, Icy Strait Point expects to sell up to 300,000 bottles during the season, eliminating an estimated 15,000 pounds of plastic.
Kuuk Water bottles can be reused up to 10 times, making them a convenient option for guests to refill throughout their trip.
HTC’s other destinations, Klawock Island and Chugach Glacier Gateway, will also soon offer Kuuk Water.
“Every business venture we undertake and every decision we make is rooted in our deep respect for the land, and this latest partnership with Kuuk Water couldn’t be a more perfect example of this,” said HTC President and CEO Russell Dick. “We are not only investing in and supporting a growing Alaska Native-owned business, but we are also eliminating thousands of pounds of plastic at our destinations.”
Kuuk Water reinvests profits to fund its nonprofit arm, Kuugaq, which supports water accessibility and youth wellness initiatives in Alaska and around the world.
“We are committed to making a meaningful impact in the communities we serve, honoring traditions and building a future rooted in connection and respect,” said Kuuk Water President Joe Warren. “We’re so happy to partner with Huna Totem and to extend our impact to the millions of guests who visit Alaska each year.”
To learn more about this partnership, visit https://hunatotem.com/lp-kuuk-water/ (https://hunatotem.com/lp-kuuk-water/)
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