Wayne Price on Why He Wanted to Work on This Project

Wrangell is pretty close to my heart…I have my artwork before the Chief Shakes house posts and then I have my artwork after. When Steve Brown and I did the house posts in the 80s, we did 6 totem poles plus the 4 house posts. So, I spent 6 or 7 years here living in Wrangell. My son was born here in Wrangell—my first born—and I have a pretty good standing history from that time here in Wrangell. So, I went out there carving in a lot of other places, [but] I knew Chief Shakes clan house had to be done. And, they’ve had a rough road to get here. If it wasn’t for a few people standing their post during the hard times, we may not be where we’re at right now. I commend those that stayed with it. I built a clan house up in Anchorage at the Alaska Native Heritage Center in the year 2000 and I know what it takes to build a clan house. Anything about carving wood, I like to be involved. Big projects, I like to be involved…If the chance came up in my lifetime to do the Chief Shakes house, I wanted to be here.