Haida Gwaii: Images of Wrangell

John in front of the Shake Longhouse on Shake Island, Wrangell

Departing Olive Cove anchorage, we made the remaining two-hour motoring for our arrival in Wrangell. After tying up at the docks, the three of us walked into town for lunch and stopped by the Native Longhouse on Shake Island located on the south end of town. The Longhouse was constructed in the late 1700’s and re-constructed in 1940 when the last “Chief Shakes” was named. In 2015, local Native organizations refurbished the building’s façade along with the interior; the Longhouse was rededicated in a special ceremony drawing Alaskan Natives from across the Southeast.

Totem Shed behind the Longhouse

The many historic poles seen throughout town were taken down and placed under protective sheds behind the Longhouse. The poles will be either refurbished or re-carved before raising them once again. The Native village that thrived at Wrangell in the 1800’s had many totems which were later restored or replicated, these are the totems now stored under the sheds:

More Totems protected by the Shed

The Eagle Totem once stood at the entrance to Shakes Island. The Kadashan Red Snapper Pole and the Kadashan Haida Staff pole both stood to the left of the Longhouse.

The Three Frogs Pole

The Three Frogs post still standing on the right of the house represents three women who became lovers of three slaves belonging to the Chief. The Natives (Shakes) presented a bill for the women’s maintenance but the Chief refused to pay. He ordered the women ejected from the tribe and had the ridicule pole carved. Today an image of the pole appears as part of the banner for the Wrangell Sentinel Newspaper.

Commemorative Pole in Wrangell

A totem standing in town at a small park has been there since 1987, a hand carved replica commemorating a totem restoration project undertaken by the Wrangell Cultural Heritage Committee. The original totem was carved in 1895 to honor Chief Kaalteen, head of the Wrangell Kiks a’di. Another replicated pole stands in front of the Wrangell Post Office.

More Totems under cover behind the Longhouse

Efforts are underway to create a carving facility and cultural center at Wrangell with the eventual hope of hiring a master carver. As we continued our walk north from town out to the airport, we stopped at Petroglyph Beach, a State Historic Site. Ancient carvings can be found on the rocks at low tide. Unfortunately carbon dating is ineffective and dating by organic substances isn’t feasible because the rocks are located on an active beach.

Petroglyph Beach

Archaeologist Larry Roberts believes the petroglyphs were probably carved by early Stikine (Stikine River) Tlingit’s possibly a 1,000 years ago, and Tlingit elder, Dick Stokes, concurs; however, archaeological finds elsewhere in Southeast Alaska indicate that the petroglyphs at Wrangell could be much older.

Petroglyph Copy

Since we were not at low tide at the time of our visit, most of the historic carvings were not visible but copies are on display at the boardwalk overlook. After a pleasant stop at the beach, we continued our walk north and reached the airport having hiked a total of two and a-half miles.