The unsung heroes in the Carving Shed

The Tribal House renovation is crawling towards completion.  The structure itself looks like a near finished product, with foundation, wall and roof construction wrapping up weeks ago.  Finishing the interior could take a couple more months, and some of the house’s artwork, including the screen, still needs to be restored.  The bear screen, which guards the entrance to the Historical Site, will be restored by Master Carver Steve Brown and a couple of the Tribal House’s unsung heroes.

Susie Kasinger - Greg Knight photo

“Nineteen boards left,” exclaimed carver Susie Kasinger.

That was the good news the crew at the Carving Shed got back in late August, as Project Manager Todd White and the crew only need 25 more Cedar planks to finish the Tribal House roof.  Counting the three lay finished in the corner of the facility, and the planks each member of the carving trio were adzing that day, there was finally a finish line in sight.  

“It’ll take us about a week to finish those last 19,” said carver and Wrangell local Susie Kasinger.  “Some boards can take a little longer, depending on how many knots you find and how the grain is treating you.  It’ll usually take about 8 hours to finish one, but Linda finished 3 ½ the other day.”

The Linda she’s referring to is another homegrown adzer, Linda Churchill.  “I was just cruising that day, picking some really good pieces of wood,” said Churchill, whose father was also a carver.  “Picking the right piece takes a little luck.  Sometimes a good looking piece of wood can take you twice as long, you don’t find out until you get going a little bit.”

Linda reached for her adze, a very traditional tool in every sense, except for the tennis racket grip tape on the handle.  “Susie got us the tape from Amazon.com.  I think my fingertips might be permanently square thanks to the adzing.  I’m not sure how bad of shape they’d be in without the tape.”

The trio made adzes of their own under the guidance of Master Carver Wayne Price at the beginning of the project.  Each has picked up a couple other adzes along the way, whether it be a hand-me-down or something they found on eBay.  

Linda Churchill

Kasinger and Churchill, along with Justin Smith of Whitehorse in the Yukon, have had every piece of Cedar pass through their workshop, a temporary carving facility comprising of two shipping containers and an adjoining roof.  While the local ladies say they couldn’t have done it without Smith returning for a second round in the Carving Shed, the real story remains that these two women are fueling a project in positions that historically are rarely filled by females.

“Linda and I aren’t really thinking about that,” said Kasinger.  “We’re just relieved to see the light at the end of the tunnel and the building almost finished.”

Not that they’re excited to be done, but they think it’ll be nice to carve without pressure of a schedule and hopefully carve without the Project Manager watching over their shoulder for a board that takes up to 8 hours to adze.  The two are now getting to show their skills in other areas of the project.  In addition to carving any finishing work, the pair has been re-painting lanterns and are counting down the days until the arrival of Steve Brown, who they will assist in restoring the screen.

Justin Smith

Kasinger and Churchill continue to “man” the shed, while Smith said goodbye to Wrangell until the Re-dedication in May.  If his plans held up, Smith could be finishing off a cross-continent run to Guatemala.

You read that right, running to Guatemala.  He’ll fly to meet his running partners, currently chugging across North America somewhere, then it’s off to Central America to take part in some Aztec/Mayan 2012 celebrations.  And this isn’t Justin’s first cross-continent rodeo.  Before coming to Wrangell last year, he hoofed it from Whitehorse to Panama City for a similar indigenous peoples event.

“It wasn’t so bad,” said Smith of the run.  “I got shin splints once, but that healed up after some rest.  My knee started hurting pretty good at one point, but that just went away.  Got to have good shoes.  It’s all about the shock absorbers.”

For more than 6 months, Smith’s group would crash in guest rooms, on couches, floors, or in tents on the voyage south.  This trip won’t last nearly as long, and Smith says he wouldn’t miss the 2013 Re-dedication for anything.

“This Tribal House, working in the Carving Shed, has been just like its own marathon,” added Smith.  “I am very honored to have been a part of the Shakes Island project.”

The temporary carving facility the trio called home is no more.  It won’t be long before ground is broken on a brand new 4,500 sq. ft. Carving Shed, on the same patch of land they carved on for months, but in the meantime they’ll work from another temporary shed.  Once again it’s two shipping containers and a roof, but this time they have a view as the shed is across the bridge from Shakes Island.  

The girls did have a little bit of a wish list for the new Carving Shed.  Something to battle the heat would be nice, since the temporary facility is built like a greenhouse, letting sunlight in while trapping the heat inside.  Panels were often removed and fans brought in just to get a breeze working.  They would also love a kitchen and bathroom.  They would like to not have to borrow fridge space and a spot to place a coffee pot from the neighbors.  I’d say they’ve earned it.

The 1869 Bombardment of Wrangell

What if I told you that over 150 years ago, Wrangell was almost blown to smithereens by the U.S. Military after a member of the Stikine tribe bit off a white woman's finger?

You wouldn't believe me.  I didn't believe it at first.  How had I not heard this story before?

While not a lot of documentation exists on the Bombardment, most tell a very similar tale.  If you haven't heard of the 1869 Bombardment of Wrangell yet ... spoiler alert!

... The US Army was also involved in a shelling, later in 1869. 

George Thornton Emmons, a US Naval officer in Alaska from 1882 to 1899, and later one the first ethnographers to study Alaska Natives, wrote about the Wrangell incident in "The Tlingit Indians" his masterwork, which was written in the 1930s and 1940s but not published until 1991. 

"The shelling of Wrangell in 1869 by the Army at Fort Wrangel was ordered to enforce the surrender of an Indian named Scutdoo or Scutdor who had killed a White trader in retaliation for the wanton and unjustifiable killing of an Indian name Si-Wau by Lt. Loucks the second in command of the post," Emmons wrote. "Si Wau was drunk at the time and had bitten off part of a finger of (another soldier's) wife."

Emmons noted that Scutdoo was a cousin of Si Wau and felt duty bound to kill a white to avenge the death. The Army shelled a large portion of the Indian village and then took Scutdoo's mother and another Native hostage. Scutdoo gave himself up and was tried, convicted and hanged for the murder.

Emmons reported that before the execution Scutdoo expressed sorrow over the killing and said he had nothing personal against the dead trader and he hoped to meet up with him in the afterlife.

That's the Cliffs Notes version, courtesy of Dave Kiffen from his article US Navy Bombed Angoon 125 Years Ago, which can be found at Sitnews.us.

What that clip leaves out is that the U.S. Military blasted a few cannon balls into what was then Fort Wrangel and threatened to take the whole place down if Scutdoo didn't give himself up to be hung.  Well, he did.  In fact, Scutdoo's hanging was the first recorded in Alaska (Dec. 29, 1869), according to DeathPenaltyUSA.org.

  

The Bombardment made waves in the National news, but somehow isn't remembered when we, the locals, celebrate Wrangell history.  Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) and WCA hope to change that thanks to a new grant.  SHI was the recipient of a one-year National Park Service (NPS) Battlefield Preservation Grant to document 1869 Bombardment through oral history work with elders in partnership with the WCA.  This is the first ever NPS grant awarded to an organization in Alaska to study a U.S. conflict with a Native tribe.

The final report generated through the grant will be given to the WCA and community of Wrangell to allow them to determine what could be done to preserve, market, develop or memorialize the conflict for the community’s advantage.  Some Battlefield Grant recipients in years past have gone on to build memorials, or be recognized as a National Historic Site, like Chief Shakes Tribal House.

Zachary Jones, SHI Archivist & Collection Manager and PhD student in Ethnohistory at University of Alaska Fairbanks focusing on Tlingit and Russian relations, will serve as the primary investigator on the Bombardment and believes “past writings do not do the situation justice.  Reports out there now largely represent only one side of the story.  They didn’t go far enough. One needs to understand Tlingit law, the cultural context and aspects of Federal Indian policy to address the whole situation.  I look forward to working with and serving the WCA and community of Wrangell in bringing this complex issue forward."

Fort Wrangell, 1869, by Vincent Colyer, who reported to President Ulysses S. Grant on the Bombardment

Rasmuson Foundation excited about Tribal House progress after visit

Wrangell Cooperative Association was pleased to welcome one of the earliest and largest contributors to the Chief Shakes restoration to Wrangell, as members of the Rasmuson Foundation paid the Tribal House and Carving Shed a visit on June 25th.

“The Chief Shakes Island Tribal House restoration is exactly the type of project the Rasmuson Foundation likes to get behind,” said Ed Rasmuson, who before becoming President and Chairman of the Board for National Bank of Alaska spent two years running the Wrangell branch after Senator Frank Murkowski.

Rasmuson Foundation members

“I called Wrangell home in 1966 and ’67 and it still holds a place in my heart. I would like nothing more than to see the Native culture preserved for future generations. Throw in the visitors that the restored Tribal House and a new carving facility will bring to town and this was a no-brainer project for us to back.”

“The Rasmuson Foundation absolutely loves Alaska,” added Rasmuson. “We’ve contributed more than $2.5 million to Wrangell projects and are proud to have contributed to Wrangell Cooperative Association (WCA). We can’t wait to see the Tribal House and Carving Shed completed and the totems back in their rightful place again soon.”

Project Manager Todd White, WCA's Carol Snoddy and Ed Rasmuson

WCA’s Carol Snoddy worked for Ed Rasmuson at National Bank of Alaska/Wells Fargo for 30 years and “was very encouraged with the Rasmuson Foundation’s visit.”

“The members and their spouses were all really enthused on the island and genuinely excited to see our progress,” said Snoddy. “I really do believe that Wrangell is one of the bright spots in Southeast Alaska right now and our progress will help to strengthen our community and Native culture. Now it’s time to get the House back together and get those totems back up.”

Project Manager Todd White gave Foundation members a rundown of the project during the Shakes Island visit, showing off the freshly raised corner posts and mapping out the next steps in the restoration.

“The South wall framing is in place,” said White. “We're waiting on the second batch of our Cedar donated by Sealaska so we can finish the front wall, so we’re going to do some roof work in the meantime.”

Speaking on the South wall, White admitted to being a little nervous as Superintendent Richard Oliver made cuts through the corner posts for sill beams and framing.

“I was a little nervous for the first cut,” said White. “There's a lot of pressure riding on the cuts at this stage, not only due to the time and manpower involved in getting the Cedar here, but by the time the logs were finished, delivered and then adzed, they are valued at $30,000 a piece. I just told Richard, ‘If you can't make the cut, nobody can.”

M.J. Murdock Trust Awards $222,000 Grant to Chief Shakes Tribal House Restoration

The Tribal House restoration on Chief Shakes Island in Wrangell was awarded another grant
last week, with the latest $222,000 award from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust inching the
project towards full funding.

After submitting and revising the grant multiple times beginning in 2009, WCA received notice
on May 24 that the grant had been approved. The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust put no
restrictions on the grant distribution, and with the paperwork now officially signed, the entire
$222,000 will be paid out to the WCA at once.

“We extend our congratulations on your receipt of this grant,” said Steven Moore, M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust Executive Director. “We wish you significant and satisfying progress as you seek to strengthen and implement the ideals and mission of the Wrangell Cooperative Association.”

WCA’s Tis Peterman was pleased to hear the funds will arrive at once, and not be piece-mailed to the project. Peterman stated that “Murdock Charitable was very cognizant that we are aiming to get the building renovated this year and wanted to ensure we had all of their funding as we need it.”

“The funding is very close, if not fully-funded” added Peterman. “It will be dependent on the
costs of the materials needed to reassemble the building. The expense of getting the planks from
Prince of Wales Island was more than originally projected.”

Work continues on the Tribal House. Recently, Master Carver Steve Brown recently arrived
from Seattle to assess the project, and under advice from Brown, Project Manager Todd White
and his team are working to reassemble the National Historic Site.

Volunteers still needed for 2013 Shakes Island re-dedication, contact the WCA office

With Tribal House restoration on schedule, Wrangell Cooperative Association is looking for volunteers to help with the re-dedication ceremony, which will take place in May, 2013.  The WCA is in search of committee members and volunteers from all communities to help celebrate the re-opening of our National Historic Site.  If you can help organize housing, transportation, food, advertising, fund raising, dancing, gift giving or assist in any other fashion, please contact the WCA via phone (907.874.4304), email us at wcatribe@gmail.com, or stop by the office in downtown Wrangell.  Thank you.

Wrangell Cooperative planning Shakes Island re-dedication, needs volunteers

With the Tribal House restoration chugging right along, Wrangell Cooperative Association has begun preliminary planning for the Shakes Island re-dedication event.

1940 Chief Shakes Tribal House dedication

The WCA met Saturday, April 28, at the American Legion Hall to begin planning the ceremony, tentatively scheduled for May 2013.  There aren't many Tribal House re-dedications to compare to, so while WCA’s Tis Peterman is planning to for a rough estimate of 500 visitors for the ribbon cutting ceremony, she has left the door open for than number to be much greater.  

“Looking at numbers from similar events around Southeast Alaska, and throw in the fact that Haines and Kasaan are looking to do renovations to tribal houses like Shakes Island, we could be looking at more than 500,” said Peterman.  

Numbers exceeding this estimate will create some extra work to accommodate visitors to Wrangell, especially in the area of housing.  The lack of available beds in town may cause the WCA to get creative with their planning, including perhaps bringing in a ferry to house the overflow, or getting people to open up their homes to visiting parties.

“We will have a better estimate on total visitors after the dance committee gets filled up,” continued Peterman.  “We’ll be conducting an outreach, hopefully recruiting dancers from communities all around Southeast.  We could see as much as 30 dancers per community participating in the re-dedication ... we'll know more after Celebration 2012 in Juneau, we can gauge interest from other communities there.”

WCA is looking for volunteers to pull off a ceremony for the ages.   Committees are being formed to organize housing, transportation, food, advertising, fund raising, dancing, gift giving and much more.  If you would like to help with the re-dedication, sign-up sheets can be found at the WCA office.  

The next WCA meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on May 9^th at the American Legion Hall in Wrangell. 

Concrete being poured, Cedar logs on the way

Project Manager Todd White stated that he was “very happy” with the schedule the restoration is keeping, as walls have already been removed and concrete is currently being poured. 

“The concrete will go a long ways to help to battle moisture and helping prevent future insect and pest infestation by keeping the Cedar dry and off the ground,” said White. 

While the Tribal House will have a new floor and footings, the centerpiece of the structure has been preserved.  

Original restoration plans had the Tribal House’s historic fire pit to be replaced.  Carbon dating conducted on the ash dates the pit back to the late 1800’s and White quickly changed the plans to leave the pit untouched. 

The Shakes Island crew carefully covered the pit with planks as concrete was delivered one wheelbarrow at a time, creating a foundation to ensure visitors will enjoy the fire pit for another 100 years.

In other restoration news, Sealaska has confirmed that the 12 giant, Cedar logs donated to the project have been found by the Sealaska Timber Corporation on nearby Prince of Whales Island and delivered to Thorne Bay to be finished by the Thaja Plicata Lumber Company. 

 

Delivering the logs to Wrangell is expected to be a 10-day process, but the Cedar will be transported as quickly as possible to begin adzing.  Wood currently occupying the carving facility will be moved to containers located on the site of the future Carving Shed to make room for the giant, Cedar logs, which are the priority.

Shakes Island and the Civilian Conservation Corps

By Emily Moore

The Shakes Island Restoration Project belongs to a long history of restorations at Wrangell that dates back to the 1930s (if not before). During the Great Depression, the U.S. Forest Service oversaw a restoration of Shakes Island as part of a major federal initiative to preserve Tlingit and Haida totem poles in Southeast Alaska. Local Tlingit men were hired to do the restoration work through the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the relief program that was the hallmark of President Roosevelt's New Deal. The hope of the CCC restoration program was to provide local men with short-term jobs preserving totem poles in a "totem park" that would attract tourists and thus provide long-term jobs for Native artists. During the New Deal restoration project, the lead carvers at Wrangell were Joe Thomas and Tom Ukas. Many other local men helped to adze boards, rough out the totem poles, and erect a new version of the Shakes House. When the park was completed, Natives and non-Natives celebrated with the Wrangell Potlatch, June 3-4, 1940. It was then that Charles Jones, who had also worked for the CCC, was named the next Chief Shakes.

Shakes Island is one of six totem parks established by the CCC in Southeast Alaska during the Great Depression. (Klawock, Hydaburg, Kasaan, Saxman and Totem Bight are the other parks.) The CCC also restored totem poles at the park in Sitka and carved three totem poles for Juneau. Some scholars have argued that these New Deal totem parks represented a government appropriation of Native heritage. They point out that the idea of a "totem park" was not a Tlingit or Haida concept, and that traditionally totem poles were not preserved but were allowed to decay naturally. While this is true, it is also important to note that Tlingit and Haida peoples have adopted the New Deal totem parks for their own cultural needs. The Wrangell Potlatch and the succession of Charles Jones to the rank of Chief Shakes is one example of how Wrangell Tlingits used the totem park to advance Tlingit traditions in the 1940s. And the Shakes Island Restoration project today shows how the park continues to serve as a site for Tlingit art and culture. A hundred years from now, historians may study this restoration project as part of a long and proud tradition of totem pole restoration at Shakes Island.

Emily Moore is PhD Candidate in the history of art at the University of California, Berkeley. Raised in Ketchikan, she is completing her dissertation on the six totem parks in Southeast Alaska created during the New Deal, 1938-1941. Anyone with information on carvers who participated in the New Deal projects are encouraged to contact Emily at emilylmoore@berkeley.edu, so that she can honor their role in this early restoration project. You can also view her presentation to the Sealaska Heritage Institute by going to http://vimeo.com/29455942.

Photo is courtesy of University of Washington Libraries. The caption reads "Tlingit totem pole being carved inside the Civilian Conservation Corps workshop, Wrangell, Alaska, 1939."

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.