The City and Borough of Juneau owns about two-thirds of an area of land on Indian Point (also known as Auke Cape), and is considering returning it to those who originally inhabited it. Now CBJ staff wants to hear from members of the public about what they think.

There’s been a long-standing issue about whether to give the land back to the Auk’w Kwáan, and another movement has sprung up this year. Goldbelt Heritage Foundation Executive Director Dionne Cadiente-Laiti wrote a letter to Mayor Ken Koelsch and the CBJ Assembly in August proposing that the city give the land to Goldbelt Heritage to be the “cultural keeper” of the land.

Indian Point is one of the original village sites of the Auk’w Kwáan but has been out of the tribe’s possession for decades. The land is just beyond the ferry terminal, but before Auke Recreation Area.

At Monday’s Lands Committee meeting, the committee discussed this proposal and decided to reach out to the public for feedback. Members of the community are asked to read the city’s seven-page draft synopsis of the history of Indian Point on the CBJ website.

They’re also asked to provide any information or opinions on Indian Point to city.clerk@juneau.org or to the City Clerk’s Office at City Hall, 155 S. Seward Street, Juneau, Alaska 99801. Comments are due Dec. 15 and will be discussed at a January Lands Committee meeting.

This diagram shows the land that the City and Borough of Juneau owns at Indian Point. City officials are considering giving the land to Goldbelt Heritage as a way of returning the land to the original inhabitants. (Courtesy of the City and Borough of Juneau)