Over the next year, the over 70-year-old Chief Shakes Tribal House on Shakes Island will be restored, and Todd White is now on board as project manager.
When talking about the project to restore the tribal house, which has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1970, White is obviously proud to be a part of it.
White, of White Construction, said he has been working in the private sector since 1984, and completed over 21 community projects in Wrangell.
“What I bring to the table is the experience of getting stuff done,” he said.
Yet, the project on Shakes Island is the one that makes him most excited.
“I can build 15 more buildings in my life, but it won’t mean as much as this,” White said standing inside Chief Shakes Tribal House Monday afternoon, in awe of its rich history, impressive artwork and cultural significance.
Construction of the tribal house on Shakes Island, which is a replica of the original house erected on the site in the 1800s, began in 1938 and was completed in 1940. The project was a collaboration between the Civilian Conservation Corp, the Forest Service and the local Tlingit tribe.
However, over the last seven decades, the tribal house has rotted in places, and needs to be restored. Despite obvious wear, the outside of the tribal house looks almost exactly as it did 70 years ago, according to a picture published on the front page of the Sentinel on May 31, 1940.
As part of this year’s restoration project, new sidewalls, a new roof and new electrical work will be installed in the tribal house, said White. The cedar beams inside will also have to be replaced.
During the restoration process, artwork inside the tribal house will be taken out and stored at Wrangell’s museum, where it will be put on display, White said.
Last summer, a team of six people dedicated their time to completing much of the adzing work of the project. The team was lead by master-carver Wayne Price, who lived in Wrangell during the 1980s when he worked on the Chief Shakes house posts.
“The experienced members of this historical team are strengthening Wrangell’s connection to its Tlingit heritage by passing down adzing and carving knowledge both on-the-job and after hours to the newer adzers,” the Chief Shakes Tribal House website states.
This year, a tentative start date of April 1 has been set for the project, and White expects work to be completed by the early part of 2013. Wrangellites and visitors can count on a celebration once work is completed, White said.
Tis Peterman of the Wrangell Cooperative Association (WCA) has been in charge of applying for grants to fund the restoration project. So far, Peterman said the project has received two appropriations from the State of Alaska and a grant from the Department of Natural Resources, which have paid for the architectural plans of the project. The WCA has approximately $1.1 million raised for the restoration at Shakes Island.
Peterman has a personal connection to the project — her father helped construct the tribal house in 1938. During her grant-writing process, she said it has been difficult to try to convey how important and how special the house is to the community. One way she tries to describe the site, is say it is Wrangell’s “Washington Monument.”
The tribal house restoration project has been many years in the making, with Peterman personally working on it since 2002. Now with White as project manager at Shakes Island, Peterman said this will free up her time to focus on seeking additional grant money.
“This is a big step to have Todd on board,” she said.
White does not take his new role as project manager, and the responsibility that comes along with it, lightly. It will be an “extremely hard” project, White admits.
“The other thing about it is,” he said, “it’s going to be extremely rewarding.”
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