The work to display a Freedom Rock veterans memorial in Wrangell is underway, with the Iowa artist painting the six-foot-wide boulder in its temporary home at the Marine Service Center. As plans move forward to place the memorial at City Park, a letter from WCA tribal leadership has sparked a broader conversation about how best to honor military service while respecting Indigenous heritage.

The letter, sent to Mayor Patty Gilbert and the borough assembly by WCA Tribal Council President Ethan Petticrew and Secretary Ken Hoyt, outlined the organization’s views on the memorial. While expressing deep respect for military service members, the letter urged decision-makers to prioritize historical context and tribal representation. 

“The location currently under consideration, adjacent to the Indian graveyard, is a place of profound historical and cultural importance to the Tlingit people,” the letter states, noting that ancestral lands should reflect the deep heritage of the region.

“Our ancestral lands are not simply available spaces for the installation of a nationally recognized memorial concept that originated elsewhere.” 

The July 8 letter was distributed to the assembly for its July 28 meeting. Members offered no comment at the meeting, which is the usual practice for informational material included on the agenda.

Petticrew was not available for comment last week. Gilbert had no comment on the matter when contacted last week.

The WCA letter proposed an alternative vision to the Freedom Rock — which the artist has created different versions of in at least 10 states — supporting a memorial “centered on a traditional Tlingit veterans’ totem accompanied by a permanent wall recognizing the names” of those who served.

The letter emphasized that any monument within traditional territory should emerge from a collaborative partnership between the tribe and the borough government. 

The borough is paying the fees charged by the artist and all costs associated with setting the boulder in a permanent display under a shelter to be constructed at City Park.

The rock will be located at the site of the recently removed playground equipment, across from the cemetery and garden area, J.R. Meek, the borough’s marketing and community development director, said on Monday.

“The hope is to have the site prepared for the rock by the end of October, weather permitting,” he said. “When the painting is finished, (the rock) will be kept in a secure location until the site is ready.” 

The artist, Ray “Bubba” Sorensen II, arrived in town on July 20 and went to work painting a patriotic mural on the boulder. He is expected to finish this month.

Borough officials emphasized that potential site conflicts were evaluated early in the planning process.

“The Freedom Rock project has been discussed for the past two years, with official plans underway since late winter/early spring of this year,” Economic Development Director Kate Thomas, said last week.

“During the planning process, the borough evaluated several potential locations for the permanent placement of the memorial. Heritage Harbor was one of the locations initially considered. However, because of its proximity to the Native cemetery and concerns raised early in the process, that site was eliminated from consideration.”

Addressing the artistic vision of the monument, Thomas explained that the design aims to honor a broad scope of military history.

“The artist is working to represent history of service of Alaska Native and Alaska veterans alike, not specifically Indigenous culture,” Thomas stated. 

The WCA letter pointed out that Alaska Natives have served in the armed forces at some of the highest rates in the nation. However, it maintained that honoring military sacrifice must align with sacred history. Installing a nationally standardized monument near ancestral burial grounds, the letter argued, creates a conflict with the history of the land itself.