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As several major mining projects continue to develop upstream of the Stikine River, Wrangell's Native community formally observed the first anniversary of the tailings dam failure at Mount Polley mine on Sunday afternoon. A water blessing ceremony was held outside of the Chief Shakes Island tribal house, with those in attendance including members of the Tlingit and Haida tribes, a delegation of First Nations activists from Canada, and other concerned community members. The visitors included...
Members of the Wrangell City and Borough Assembly were given some positive news about the community’s visitor industry at its meeting July 28, as the Convention and Visitors Bureau presented results of a recently-completed study of that economic sector. Representing the CVB, Brenda Schwartz-Yeager delivered a short presentation on the data compiled by Rain Coast Data, an analytic firm in Juneau which has run similar assessments for Wrangell and Southeast Conference. “It’s kind of a snapshot of our visitor industry,” she explained. The study f...
On Sunday Alaska Native and Canadian First Nations groups will mark the first anniversary of the Mount Polley tailings dam collapse in a ceremony on the Stikine River. On Aug. 4, 2014, a rupture in the tailings dam servicing the British Columbia mine released billions of gallons of metals-tainted effluent into waters that fed into the salmon-rich Fraser River system. Earlier this month the mine’s owner, Imperial Metals, received a restricted permit from the provincial government allowing it to reopen Mt. Polley, using an alternate tailings o...
A good-sized crowd of over 100 people attended the dedication ceremony for the Wrangell Cooperative Association's new cultural center on Saturday. After a welcoming performance by the Shxat Kwaan Dancers, the building was consecrated by Rev. Wilson Valentine of St. Philip's Episcopal Church and cleansed with a traditional placement of cedar boughs by community members. "This is over a decade in the making," said Aaron Angerman, WCA tribal administrator. He expressed the Tribe's thanks for those...
Members of and visitors to the community are invited to join the Wrangell Cooperative Association (WCA) at the dedication ceremony for its new cultural center on July 25 at 5 p.m. Also known as the carving facility, the building will host a variety of cultural activities, including classes, and provide a workspace for artists and crafters and a gift shop for them to sell their creations. “More than just carving’s going to go on,” explained Aaron Angerman, WCA tribal administrator. The facility is envisioned as a center for Native arts, with mul...
It was a sold-out show at the Nolan Center last Friday, as over 200 Wrangellites packed themselves in to watch the New Old Time Chautauqua, a vaudevillian group of performers based out of Washington. The traveling troupe is passing through Southeast Alaska on a summer tour – the "AKqua Chautauqua" – its first visit to the state since 1992. Nolan staff had only planned for a crowd of 160, but word-of-mouth and a pair of parades through town on Thursday and Friday had sparked considerable int...
In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago. June 3, 1915: A public meeting was held last Monday afternoon for the purpose of deciding whether Wrangell should have a Fourth of July celebration or not. A good crowd attended. Mayor Grant called the meeting to order and on motion Mr. P.C. McCormack was elected chairman of the meeting and Paul Stanhope secretary. Mr. McCormack stated that the first thing was to decide if they wanted a celebration or not, and Mr. Wm Thomas made a motion to the effect that Wrangell shall celebrate this year, the...
In the Sentinel 75, 50 and 25 years ago. May 31, 1940: Official program of the Wrangell Potlatch Monday and Tuesday: June 3, 10 to 11 a.m., dedication of Hit Klane (Shakes Community House). Unveiling of new totem pole on Shakes Island. Noon to 5 p.m., Impressive Chief's inaugural ceremony, main event of Potlatch. Starts with arrival of Indian canoes at Shakes Island bringing guests to participate with Chief in his ceremonies. Following brief ceremony at Island, procession will form, led by Indian band, and move in colorful regalia up Front...
WRANGELL, Alaska – The Chief Shakes Hot Springs Recreation Area, a popular recreation site in the Wrangell Ranger District, will undergo repairs beginning this summer. Scheduled work includes foundation repairs to decaying cedar posts on the indoor tub and roof replacements to the indoor tub and outdoor changing room. Work is scheduled to take place from mid-July to mid-August, and the indoor tub and outdoor changing room will be closed to the public during construction. However, this work is necessary to ensure that these facilities are a...
With a new Tribal Council and new items on the agenda for the year, Wrangell Cooperative Association (WCA) is inviting its members to bring their appetites and ideas Saturday to the biannual Meeting of the Association, from noon to 3 p.m. “We want to make it a fun event, for everyone to come down and visit,” explained Aaron Angerman, WCA’s new tribal administrator. The format will be kept informal, with a potluck dinner and different booths set up to inform and take feedback from members on different issues. The event will also provide an op...
Last week's Southeast Alaska Regional Artfest went as prettily as a picture, by all counts. Sixty students and 15 teachers from high schools in Juneau, Klawock, Skagway, Petersburg, Craig, Sitka and Mount Edgecumbe made their way to Wrangell to participate in the four-day event, from April 8 to 11. Fifteen different classes were offered at various locations in town. These were taught by a combination of visiting and local artists, and students were immersed in sometimes brand new mediums of...
The high school is getting ready to sponsor a bit of culture, as it comes Wrangell's turn to host this year's Southeast Alaska Regional Artfest next week. Sixty students and 15 teachers from schools around the region will be represented, coming from Klawock, Skagway, Petersburg, Craig, Sitka, Mount Edgecumbe and Juneau. "We're honored to host the continuation of the Southeast Alaska Artfest," said Wrangell High School's art teacher, Anne Luetkemeyer. Fifteen different classes will be offered to...
In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago. April 1, 1915: James Wickersham, our Honorable Delegate, the man that is making good in Washington, was in our city for a short minute last Tuesday. Mr. Wickersham did not get to see all those he wished to as Capt. Nord was in a hurry. Mr. Wickersham was very enthusiastic over the survey of Dry Straits and stated that the bill had passed before he left Washington and that a government engineer would be along in the early summer to start the survey as the work will be done under the supervision of th...
The populace of Wrangell, Alaska, is much the poorer with the passing of life-time resident, Edward "Eddie" Earl Kalkins, Jr., on January 21, 2015. For over a century, the Kalkins' name has occupied a storied place on the island beginning in 1900 with the arrival of Polish immigrant, Anthony J. Kalkins, and his young son, Edward, to Alaska. Born April 2, 1933 in Wrangell to Captain Edward Kalkins and the former Miss Elsie Vance of Telegraph Creek, B.C., Canada, Ed attended school in Skagway and...
A group of 11 community members gathered on Jan. 21 to discuss and provide direction for how to use Wrangell Cooperative Association’s new carving facility, which was completed in October. The facility’s completion was the second of three phases for cultural development being undertaken by WCA, beginning with the restoration of the tribal house on Chief Shakes Island in 2013 and to conclude with the future recarving of eight totem poles and the training of master crafters. Among others, the planning group included members of the WCA Board, Tlin...
Kicking things off with a new borough manager in Jeff Jabusch, 2014 for Wrangell was not only a period of changes, but also one of building and continued development. Pavement was poured at the Marine Service Center, a number of roads were resurfaced or due to eventually see improvement, and the city was able to showcase itself to other regional communities by hosting several prolific functions. January Wrangell Cooperative Association collected 210 registrations for Tlingit-Haida members at...
In the Sentinel 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago. November 26, 1914: Dr. Pigg has moved his office rooms from over the Wrangell Drug Store to over the Post Office during the past week and is fitting up a very comfortable office in his new location. Dr. Pigg is also preparing to open the Wrangell Hospital in the same building as soon as carpenters get the rooms remodeled some. The new location is very well located for the new hospital and should prove a success. November 24, 1939: Twenty nine states and the territory of Alaska observed Thanksgiving...
The Oakland Museum of California recently returned a lost artifact to Tlingit Haida Central Council, a ceremonial clan hat belonging to the Khaach.ádi clan of Wrangell. The Xhixhch'i S'aaxhw, or Frog Hat, is nearly 200 years old, verlaid with copper and abalone shell, and decorated with ermine skins and woven rings. In a Council news release the hat is said to be a sacred object used in clan ceremonies and is the joint property of the Khaach.ádi. It is uncertain when it will return to Wrangell f...
It was a festive holiday weekend for Wrangell, but the local Tlingit community had particular reason to celebrate as they dedicated a new canoe Saturday inside the Wrangell Cooperative Association's recently completed carving facility. The 30-foot vessel seats up to nine crew members and is constructed of fiberglass and wood framing with a red cedar inlay. It was constructed over the summer at the old carving shed, near the causeway entrance to Chief Shakes Island. "Shane Gillen is the one who...
The inaugural project of Wrangell Cooperative Association's new carving facility began Friday, as a special adzing crew from White Enterprises started work. "We've been hired by Alaska State Museums to create a small-scale tribal house," explained master carver Steve Brown, a former Wrangell resident now based out of Sequim, Wash. Carving for 44 years now, he lived in the borough during the mid-1980s and helped carve the totem poles at City Park. The 22-by-26 foot cedar house they are preparing...
Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Dan Sullivan visited Wrangell Thursday as part of a broader tour of Southeast Alaska. "We're on a pretty big Southeast tour," he explained, visiting Ketchikan and Petersburg before moving on to Fairbanks and Barrow. Early in the day, Sullivan visited Wrangell's Marine Service Center, which he seemed impressed with during an interview before his evening meet-and-greet at the Stikine Inn restaurant. "That looks like a really impressive job creator," he...
By the time the fog finally dissipated Tuesday afternoon, the 56th annual Southeast Conference (SEC) was already underway at Wrangell's Nolan Center. Poor visibility prevented the appearance of the conference's opening speaker, Alaska Governor Sean Parnell, but there were a number of interesting presenters on hand to cover a wide array of topics near and dear to the region. “It's just a great opportunity to learn about all of Southeast,” commented Chere Klein, the Republican candidate for House District 36 in November's upcoming election. “It...
In case you haven't seen past the building's cedar exterior, work on the Wrangell Cooperative Association's new carving facility and cultural center on Front Street continues. “Things are going good at the carving shed,” said Todd White, WCA project manager. “We're right where we're supposed to be.” Workers are currently painting the main room of the facility, no easy task with its high walls and ceilings. “We should have her painted and everything by August 22,” White said. The offices and other sections of the building will be ready for o...
With only a month left to prepare, organizers for the 2014 Southeast Conference (SEC) are finalizing an agenda and adding names to the register of attendees. “We’re happy to have anyone that wants to come,” said Shelly Wright, SEC executive director. Registration opened at the beginning of the month. The Nolan Center will be hosting the conference, which promotes economic interests and brings stakeholders together to discuss issues for Alaska’s southeastern communities. “It is a good draft agenda,” Wright commented. A number of weighty top...
