On a blustery Saturday in Kake, more than 200 residents and guests greet each other while slowly filling the community hall in the remote Southeast Alaska Native village. They soon settle into chairs around several large round tables and await the beginning of a momentous event: an apology from the U.S. Navy for bombarding the village in 1869.
Long tables at the front of the room display ancient Tlingit regalia, traditional complex patterns woven of mountain goat wool and cedar bark. Carved, painted wooden hats bearing marks of long respectful ceremonial use rest upon them. Amid the treasured items — and looking out of place — is a 12-inch-tall metal artillery shell on one table and a newly carved totem pole with a charred base on the floor nearby.
Amid the Alaskans, several U.S. Navy officers in dress uniforms stand out in contrast. They mingle with attendees and introduce themselves. A small band of sailor musicians play softly in the background.
Rear Adm. Mark Sucato, Paul Aceveda and Ben Coronell stand beside Rob Mills’ totem pole base that was intentionally blackened by fire to represent the burning of Kake in 1869 during a ceremony on Saturday where the U.S. Navy apologized for the attack. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire)
A Native man dressed in a black vest trimmed with white buttons and adorned with beaded animal symbols of his Raven heritage steps to the podium. He is Joel Jackson, president of the Organized Village of Kake, a federally recognized tribal government with a population of nearly 600 residents.
“I welcome you to a very historic event 155 years in the making,” Jackson says.
“How does a community heal after an ancient wrong?” Jackson asks the assembled crowd seated in the community hall’s large gymnasium. A thick red rubber covering protects the hardwood basketball court floor.
“It is a long time coming,” he says. “This isn’t a celebration. This is going to be a time of mourning for those people we lost. The potential of those people that we lost we’ll never know. All the houses, the shelters that we lost. All the food caches that we lost. The canoes. And this happened in the month of January in 1869 so you know it had to be cold. So we know we lost young ones and elders because of this act of basically a one-sided war.”
[See also: Long-awaited U.S. Navy apology for 1882 bombardment will bring healing to Angoon]
Tim Demmert straightens items on table where a 12-inch-tall metal artillery shell found in the 1940s is displayed alongside Alaska Native regalia at Kake’s community hall during a ceremony Saturday where the U.S. Navy formally apologized for the bombardment of the village in 1869. The unexploded shell was fired on the village during the attack. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire)
Sailors from the USS Saginaw opened fire on Kake’s three villages and two forts, completely destroying the community, according to the official U.S. Navy apology presented during the ceremony. The apology notes that after the bombing, the Navy sent landing parties ashore to set the village on fire, and “possibly killed one elderly Kake woman, and several Kake villagers perished during the ensuing winter due to exposure.”
Differing versions of what led up to the bombing have been offered over the years by the U.S. government and Kake residents. A provisional government account states two Alaska Native men were killed by a sentry in Sitka when they were unaware there was an order not to leave the village there, after which men from Kake killed two colonizers in retaliation, resulting in the subsequent military attack on the village.
A narrative by the Sealaska Heritage Institute states, among details, a Kake clan leader asked for trade blankets and goods as compensation for the deaths of the two Native men in accordance with Tlingít law. But the provisional government refused, resulting in the Kake men subsequently killing two trappers in retribution.
Tim Demmert and his grandmother, Ruth, share a moment of appreciation during a ceremony Saturday at Kake’s community hall where the Navy offered a formal apology for the bombardment of the village in 1869. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire)
The people of Kake, also known as “Keex Kwaan,” have in the many years since rebuilt, restored and renewed their lives in the same place while carrying the burden of memory and loss.
The Native culture considers decisions they make to have impacts seven generations into the future. Jackson notes today’s school children, many of whom are in the audience, are the seventh generation since the Navy bombardment.
On a table near where Jackson is standing is the defused bullet-shaped artillery shell, found in the 1940s while villagers were clearing land for a road.
“It landed on the hillside above us,” he says. “This is not a story. This is history. That shell impacted all of you.”
Jackson praises the work of Rosita Worl, president of Sealaska Heritage Institute, a private nonprofit cultural organization based in Juneau, for being instrumental in achieving the goal of the apology. Likewise, he thanks U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) for her advocacy efforts. Both women are present.
As at most Alaska Native events, the formal posting of the colors opens the ceremony. Kake veterans carrying the U.S. flag and the Alaska flag lead two lines of Alaska Native veterans of various ages into the hall. The audience stands as erectly as the men in dark Navy uniforms who salute the flag. The Navy band plays the national anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance is recited by all.
Kake residents and guests, including U.S. Navy personnel, stand for the national anthem during a ceremony Saturday where the Navy offered a formal apology for the bombardment of the village in 1869. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire)
Next, Kake carver Rob Mills describes the large, short and charred totem pole near the regalia tables.
“This is the bottom of three parts,” Mills says of his work. When completed the unfinished pole sections will be joined to commemorate the bombardment, survival and future healing. The day before the ceremony, Mills intentionally scorched the side of the pole which was blackened by fire to symbolize the 1869 burning of the village.
Kake historian Mike Jackson, Joel’s brother, describes the incident that led to the bombardment.
Kake Chief Tom had lost two sons when the military in Sitka failed to communicate the lifting of martial law imposed upon Sitkans following a disrespectful and brutal incident between the military and Native people. Once resolved, the siege was discontinued and people were allowed to leave Sitka. Chief Tom’s sons departed in their canoe. They were shot by sailors on the U.S. battleship in Sitka harbor who had not learned of the discontinued martial law order.
In Tlingit law, as in many other cultures, “eye for an eye” compensation was expected. Kake people killed two non-Native trappers on a nearby island to fulfill that duty. In retaliation, the USS Saginaw sailed to Kake and destroyed the community.
A color guard of Southeast Alaska Native veterans exits the front of Kake’s community hall during a ceremony Saturday where the U.S. Navy formally apologized for the bombardment of the village in 1869. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire)
After ceremonial prayers on Saturday by Navy Chaplain Ray Rivers, Kake elder Ruth Demmert offers a prayer in Tlingit followed by a translation in English.
“We are still here,” Demmert says, thanking people for witnessing the historic ceremony. It is important “to know what strong, loving people we are and to take care of each other. Gunalchéesh.”
Murkowski steps forward, wearing a long black and red button blanket known as the “Peace Blanket” given by Worl. Murkowski notes the many years she and others have tried to secure the apology. First, it needed to be drafted and signed by the Secretary of the Navy. Then it needed to be signed by the President of the United States. President Clinton rejected it. In 2019, with concerted efforts by Worl, Lt. Gen. Tom Bussiere initiated the process. More time and personnel were needed to formalize the apology.
“It was humbling to be in Juneau for Celebration this year and to announce, ‘Yes, an apology is necessary and the time is now,’” the senator says. Her announcement in June of 2024 addressed a similar bombardment that occurred in 1882 in the nearby village of Angoon. The apology there is planned for Oct. 26, 2024, on the 142nd anniversary of the Navy bombardment. The same team of government officials who are in Kake are involved with the Angoon apology.
U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Mark Sucato reads the military’s formal apology for the bombardment of Kake in 1869 during a ceremony at the village’s community hall on Saturday. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire)
Rear Adm. Mark Sucato, the Navy Region Northwest commander, speaks to the gathering next. He offers informal remarks, recognitions and thanks to many participants.
Then, standing straighter and adjusting his reading glasses on his nose, he reads the formal apology which lists 12 “whereas” statements describing the acts of violence against the people of Kake in 1869. A framed version of the signed apology was displayed on an easel nearby. As he nears the end of the document, he says the words so many gathered waited so long to hear by reading a six-item list declaring “the United States Navy hereby,” among other things:
• “Acknowledges the historical significance of this event, in which wrongful military action resulted in the deaths of several Kake villagers during the ensuing winter from exposure and starvation complicated by the lost supplies and shelter, and the destruction of three villages in Kake, two of which were never rebuilt.”
• “Apologizes on behalf of the United States Navy to all Tlingit people for the pain, suffering and generational trauma inflicted by the bombardment of the villages of Kake.”
• “Expresses its regret for the long delay by the United States Navy in issuing a formal apology and commits to fostering a positive relationship between all Tlingit peoples in Alaska, where all harmoniously steward and protect the land together.”
The room is silent as everyone absorbs the magnitude of the words, and the emotional and cultural impacts.
The formal U.S. Navy apology offered during a ceremony Saturday to the people of Kake for the bombardment of the village in 1869. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire)
After a moment, Joel Jackson stands, turns to the assembled audience and asks, “You have heard the apology. What do you think?”
After another pause, he says, “As tribal people we should accept and move forward.”
Jackson delivers the microphone to Demmert. She thanks the Navy and says, “We accept this apology.” The words are spoken with solemnity.
Quietly other leaders, identifying their clans by name, stand in turn, one by one, to express thanks, offer remarks and state with gravitas: “We accept this apology.”
President Jackson says, “The Organized Village of Kake accepts your apology. The clans are the voice of our people.”
He invites all veterans to stand in acknowledgment. Jackson honors them by stating, “Native veterans have served on all seven continents, including Antarctica. They have served in every major war.”
A sense of relief seems to silently engulf the audience. Nearly three hours have passed since the 1 p.m. ceremony began. Jackson invites Rivers to come forward and offer a blessing for the food prepared by Sitka chef Edith Johnson. She announces the menu, which includes bacon-wrapped scallops, halibut, prime rib, roast potatoes and chocolate torte with raspberry sauce.
Youngsters and Navy officers deliver plates of food to guests who mingle and chat comfortably with each other. Photos are taken to remember the event.
Quiet conversations among people speak of the hope that today’s apology is not simply empty words. They offer thoughts of reparations to make tangible relevant compensation for destroying a village. The military could build a tribal house, five or six homes, a smokehouse, commission a master carver to create canoes, replace food, or support village efforts at the culture camp. Next steps will be likely discussions among the tribe and the Navy.
“This is the right thing to do,” Sucato says in an interview after the ceremony concludes. “The Navy is committed to apologizing to the people of Angoon as well. It’s a long time coming and we are committed to beginning the healing process with our tribal partners.”
The Kake apology is the first formal event of its kind. Angoon’s apology is scheduled for late October. Wrangell was bombed by the U.S. Army. No information about an apology from the Army was mentioned.
As the ceremony concludes, tribal members in their regalia quietly circle inside the hall wearing blackened streaks on their faces as the traditional symbols of loss.
The Kake apology, while decades in planning, was announced fairly recently to the tribe. Kake teacher Jori Grant hurriedly prepared a curriculum to teach the students about the bombardment and the apology. A separate curriculum was created for the kindergarten to sixth graders that focused on apology while a more complex history was presented to the 7-12 grade students. Many students attended and witnessed the ceremony.
As the community hall empties and participants head for home the sense of reserved optimism lingers in the building.
“It’s now a time of healing,” Jackson says. “I’m glad it’s happening in my lifetime. From this time forward we will start healing our people.”
• Contact Laurie Craig at laurie.craig@juneauempire.com.
