Alaska Native History Or How Did We Get Here?

V OLUME 16, ISSUE 10 N OVEMBER 2011 News from the Kanatak Tribal Council Kanatak History 2 The week of October 17-24 was extremely busy for Kanatak tribal members, as many attended either the AFN Youth & Elders Conference and/or the Alaska Federation of Natives Conference. Tribal members spotted at one or Alaska Native History 3 both of the conferences include Joseph Kalmakoff, Brittany Arey, Chaz Alutiiq Basketry 4 Shanigan, Stacey Shanigan, Terrence Jason Shanigan, Shawn Shanigan, Kathy Lakoduk, Isaiah Garner, Jeanette Shanigan, Samantha Shanigan, Native Body & Soul 5-6 Alex Giacometti, Henry Forshey, Chris Forshey, Tess McGowan, Don PAWS McGowan, Nicole Breneman, Ranae Booher, Tony Forshey, James Shani- Tribal Happenings 7-9 gan, Heather Kalmakoff, Savannah Shanigan, Nathan Shanigan, Frieda Byars, Christine Leyland, Gus & Toni Yovino, and Jennifer Rubino, Many Kanatak Programs 10 of the same tribal members were in attendance at the Kanatak Annual Meet- ing on October 23 in Wasilla, Alaska, where once the ballots were officially Struttin’ our Stuff 11 counted and the election certified, Henry Forshey and Tony Forshey were elected to terms on the Kanatak tribal council. The following council mem- Right-Clicked photos 12 bers were elected to offices: Henry Forshey, president; Alex Giacometti, vice-president; Terrence Jason Shanigan, secretary-treasurer. There was a Kanatak Kids 13 drawing for a number of door prizes, donated by Jeanette Shanigan, Gus Yovino and the tribal council, at the annual meeting which were won by the Letter from President 14 following tribal members: Tim Forshey Sr., Shawn Shanigan, Isaiah Garner, Chris Forshey, Ranae Booher, Tess McGowan, Jason Shanigan, Gus Contact Info 15 Yovino and Kathy Lakoduk. Ida Roehl from BBNA also attended this meeting. Thanks to Samantha Shanigan and Jeanette Shanigan who prepared tasty snacks and food for the meeting There were also tribal council meetings on October 24 and November 6, 2011. At the October 24 meeting, tribal council equipment (i-phone, laptop) was procured for Tony Forshey; check-signers, debit cards for council members and other financial matters were settled; there was a discussion of lighting and a security system for the tribal office; sale of the large boat Little Star was discussed again; supervision of tribal employees was determined. At the November 6 meeting issues related to personnel, timecards, mileage, and council debit-card usage reports were discussed and settled. The BIA Providers Conference (Nov. 28—Dec. 2, 2011) in Anchorage, Alaska was discussed and it was determined that all council members should attend. Terrence Jason Shanigan asked that the Native Tribe of Kanatak partner with him on the PAWS program (see pp. 5-6) and requested funding for supplies (straw, dog food, meat products) the council agreed to $2,000 in funding. There was also additional information discussed for security/lighting and contractors. Additional details regarding these council meetings can be found on the Kana- tak website (News) in the meeting minutes for the various dates. N ATIVE TRIBE OF KANATAK P AGE 2 Kanatak, Historically Speaking... Wilbur Erskine, an influential Kodiak merchant who owned waterfront property in Kanatak, and five other men from Kodiak prospected near Kanatak and filed 12 claims in the Becharof oil field. In 1921 oil was discovered at Mt. Demian, 12 miles northwest of Portage Bay. In 1922 Standard Oil Company landed the first drilling equipment and supplies. Apparently, it took 17 days to lighter everything ashore to Erskine’s property across Kanatak Creek from the village. Erskine had invest- ed in Standard Oil and was serving as its land agent. Within two or three weeks the small village of Kanatak was transformed into the typical boomtown with a population of nearly 200. The original village on the east side of Kanatak Creek became known as “Old Town.” The newcomers occupied “New” or “Company Town,” a collection of tents, log cabins, and frame buildings on the spit near the old Russian Orthodox church. Drilling on Standard Oil’s first well was begun in March of 1923. But thick, tough sandstone slowed drilling to only inches per day. By this time “Old Town” had 73 buildings and “New Town” included 59 buildings; the population had swelled to 250. Standard Oil spent three years drilling their first well. But the depth of 5,043 feet only produced a dry hole. None of the wells drilled by other oil companies produced either. Oil fever waned, and by 1926 the oil companies and non-local population began to disperse. However, the school (1923-24) and the post office (1922) which were opened during this time period remained. The 1930 census lists 72 inhab- itants. Kanatak Connection through Memories Sophia Kalmakoff Rane remembers: “There was a large hall in the village where dancing took place, and my mom would play her accordion (or maybe it was a concertina). I was very small, and there were padded window seats where I would fall asleep, and wake occasionally to see her and others dancing. I thought she would never stop.” N ATIVE TRIBE OF KANATAK P AGE 3 Alaska Native History or How Did We Get Here? AMERICANS COME TO ALASKA Great change for Alaska, begun with the arrival of Russians in the eighteenth century, continued with the arrival of Ameri- cans in the nineteenth century. A number of Americans flocked to Alaska and par- ticularly to Sitka before and after the Oc- tober 1867 transfer ceremonies. Accord- ing to one source, more than 30 ships sailed from San Francisco to Alaska in July of 1867. Those aboard were eager to share in the supposed riches of Alaska. By November of 1867, there were about 115 American civilians in Sitka willing to sign a city government charter. Only a few Americans went to other places in Alaska such as Wrangell, Kodiak, Kenai, and the Yukon River valley, although interest in taking fish, fur-bearing mammals, and Castle Hill or Noow Tlein in Sitka is the location where, in 1867, the whales in Alaskan waters remained high. Russian flag was lowered and the American flag was raised, marking One historian has concluded that, in the the transfer of Alaska to the United States. This photo is dated 1898. years immediately after the 1867 transfer No structures remain today. It is now an Alaska state park located at ceremonies, "Sitka was for all practical Lincoln and Katlian Streets. It was declared a National Historic Land- purposes the American frontier in Alas- mark in 1962. ka." The United States purchase of Alaska was the final step in the country's steady expansion across the North American continent. In 1803, less than 15 years after George Washington became the first President of the United States, the new country bought 827,192 square miles of additional territory from France. Known as the Louisiana Purchase, the addition included lands from the Gulf of Mexico to what is now the northwestern United States. In 1818, the United States agreed upon the 49th parallel as its boundary with Canada. In 1819, the United States bought Florida from Spain. In 1842, the U.S.-Canadian border was amended in a treaty. In 1848, the U.S.-Mexican war ended with the United States taking land that became the states of Texas, New Mexico, California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming from Mexico. In 1854, the U.S. purchased additional southern territories in today's Arizona and New Mexico. As a result, by the time the United States purchased Russian interests in Alaska, the geographic area, including what are known as the "Lower 48" states, had come under United States control. The annexation of Alaska took the United States flag beyond those boundaries for the first time. Newspapers of the time gave four reasons why the United States bought Alaska. These were: (1) to maintain Russia's friendship (England's government had been sympathetic to the Confederacy during the recent American Civil War, France had sent troops and set up a dictator in Mexico during the same war, and Russia was a potential ally against either country); (2) to facilitate acquisition of British Columbia; (3) to derive economic benefit from Alaska's resources; and (4) to move closer to the markets of Asia. Individual Americans, however, ap- pear to have come to Alaska right after the 1867 purchase for three more personal reasons. Some came because the government sent them. Soldiers, sailors, and other government officials fell into this category. Some came because they wanted to earn livelihoods in trade and commerce. Merchants, traders, and smugglers fell into this category. Some came because they wanted to earn livelihoods exploiting Alaska's natural resources. Catchers and salters of fish, fur hunters, prospectors, and miners fell into this category. N ATIVE TRIBE OF KANATAK P AGE 4 Alutiiq Basketry Very few classical Alutiiq baskets are preserved today. Museums around the world hold just a handful of ethnographic and archaeological examples of this beautiful and functionally important art. Despite their rarity, baskets were an integral part of Alutiiq households. They held small objects, were used as cooking, drinking and eating vessels, and functioned as containers for food storage and collecting. Very large baskets, fitted with leather straps, even acted as backpacks for the clothing and bedding of travelers. The tight weave of these baskets protected their contents from rain and sea spray. Most Alutiiq basketry was made from spruce roots, dug from the forest floor, cleaned of their outer coverings and split into flexible strands with a fingernail. Other common weaving materials included beach rye grass and baleen. Spruce root baskets were woven upside down, with concentric rings of ex- tra twining to reinforce their base.

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