After 49 years, these five Alaska Native Communities
have yet to be recognized by the Alaska
Native Claims Settlement Act

HAINES

WHY WASN'T HAINES INCLUDED IN ANCSA?
Haines satisfies more ANCSA requirements than other Native communities that qualified.

SETTLED PRIOR TO ARRIVAL OF WHITES - Located near the Haines airport, Yandeist’akye’ was an important village site to the local Tlingit. After disease ravaged the village for decades, the last residents of Yandeist’akye’ died in the 1930s. Those who survived fled to Deishu, where their descendants still survive today.

ALASKA NATIVE BROTHERHOOD/SISTERHOOD - The Haines Progressive Club, a forerunner to the Haines Alaska Native Brotherhood and Sisterhood, was organized in 1916. ANB/ANS was established in the early 1920s. In 1929, the ANB filed a land claims case against the federal government.

NATIVE CEMETERIES, GRAVES OR TOTEMS - Local archeological evidence shows fish traps in the Chilkoot River 2,100 years ago and remnants of houses at the Chilkoot village site date more than 800 years ago. There are eight historical Native cemeteries and two shaman burial sites in the Haines area.

OCCUPANCY OF AREA IN EARLY TOWN - The Tlingit of Haines are largely Chilkoot and Chilkat Indians who trace their families back to several communities that existed in the area of the modern community of Haines. One large community has exsited since 1881 and has been a stable component of Haines history.

KETCHIKAN

WHY WASN'T KETCHIKAN INCLUDED IN ANCSA? Ketchikan satisfies more ANCSA requirements than other Native communities that qualified.

SETTLED PRIOR TO ARRIVAL OF WHITES - Back in the 1800s before the arrival of white settlers, the mouth of Ketchikan Creek was a Tlingit fish camp village with large smokehouses and homes.

ALASKA NATIVE BROTHERHOOD/SISTERHOOD - The Alaska Native Brotherhood and Sisterhood in Ketchikan has operated since 1920. In 1929 ANB/ANS helped William Paul in a landmark case to allow Ketchikan’s Native students in public schools.

NATIVE CEMETERIES, GRAVES OR TOTEMS - Ketchikan has the world’s largest collection of standing totem poles. The Totem Heritage Center displays preserved 19th century poles rescued from abandoned village sites near Ketchikan.

OCCUPANCY OF AREA IN EARLY TOWN - The modern town of Ketchikan was built in 1913. By 1960, Alaska Natives were pushed out of town, forcing them to make new villages further away from their traditional homeland.

PETERSBURG

WHY WASN'T PETERSBURG INCLUDED IN ANCSA?
Petersburg satisfies more ANCSA requirements than other Native communities that qualified.

SETTLED PRIOR TO ARRIVAL OF WHITES - The small island town of Petersburg in Southeast Alaska is known for its Norwegian heritage, but Tlingit people had settlements in and around Petersburg for thousands of years before Europeans planted their roots in the 1900s.

ALASKA NATIVE BROTHERHOOD/SISTERHOOD - Petersburg ANB/ANS had an integral part in leading the battle for the first Alaska Native land claims lawsuit in 1929.

OCCUPANCY OF AREA IN EARLY TOWN - Two traditional Native villages were once located in Petersburg: one at the mouth of Petersburg Creek, and the other across the sound in Thomas Bay.

NATIVE CEMETERIES, GRAVES OR TOTEMS - Sasby Island near Petersburg was the traditional burial place for Petersburg Alaska Natives. Sites dating back to 1911 have been found.

WRANGELL

WHY WASN'T WRANGELL INCLUDED IN ANCSA?
Wrangell satisfies more ANCSA requirements than other Native communities that qualified.

SETTLED PRIOR TO ARRIVAL OF WHITES - From its earliest settlement period, perhaps as far back as 8,000 years ago, Native people have taken advantage of Wrangell's unique setting. Petroglyphs found concentrated in the area give evidence of this early occupancy.

ALASKA NATIVE BROTHERHOOD/SISTERHOOD - The Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Wrangell ANB/ANS worked alongside attorney William Paul to win a landmark case in 1922 to allow Alaska Natives the right to vote.

NATIVE CEMETERIES, GRAVES OR TOTEMS - Wrangell has been creating totem poles since the 19th century. There is one large and several smaller burial sites that attest to the occupancy of a large number of Tlingits in the area.

OCCUPANCY OF AREA IN EARLY TOWN - The 10 Stikine River clans lived in separate areas surrounding what is now the modern day harbor.

TENAKEE SPRINGS

WHY WASN'T TENAKEE SPRINGS INCLUDED IN ANCSA? Tenakee Springs satisfies more ANCSA requirements than other Native communities that qualified.

SETTLED PRIOR TO ARRIVAL OF WHITES - The village dates back hundreds of year prior to the arrival of whites. The hot springs made it an ideal place for a winter village. Throughout the inlet were several fish camps owned by the Wooshkeetan (Eagle/Shark Clan).

ALASKA NATIVE BROTHERHOOD/SISTERHOOD - There was an active ANB/ANS chapter starting in the 1920s. By the 1950s as the population declined the group was no longer active.

NATIVE CEMETERIES, GRAVES OR TOTEMS - The main burial site is found on a small island near the community. There is a second burial site close to the current townsite. A third burial site is near Kadashan Bay.

OCCUPANCY OF AREA IN EARLY TOWN - In 1935, the federal government issued an executive land order that recognized the Native community of Tenakee as an “Indian Settlement” and excluded Tenakee from the Tongass National Forest.