Artifacts taken from Kake in the early 1900s were brought home from an Oregon university this month. “When I looked at them, it was like looking at my past and my elders,” said Lincoln Bean, vice chairman, Organized Village of Kake. via JuneauEmpire
A black tote holding Alaska Native artifacts sits on the ground of the Juneau International Airport on Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022. It was flown from Seattle after being filled with 25 Alaska Native artifacts held at George Fox University in Oregon.
In the belly of the plane sat a sturdy black bin locked by zip ties and scattered with fragile stickers holding 25 Alaska Native artifacts ranging from spruceroot-woven baskets to ceremonial paddles to headdresses that were taken from the village in the early 1900s.“We’re going home,” Hughes said. “These artifacts are coming home.”
The pair said they believe that some of the artifacts may have been given as a gift to visitors of the village. They said it is more likely, however, that most were taken by the Religious Society of Friends in Alaska — also known as Quakers — who built a mission in the village in late 1891, then left after the building was handed over to the Kake Memorial Presbyterian church in 1912.
Quakers were part of the historical movement in which many Alaska Native children were sent away from their families, communities and culture to boarding schools in the state — or across the country — and were forced to divorce themselves of their Indigenous identity in exchange for U.S. values and culture.
“When we opened it up, the excitement and the spirits were alive, it’s like walking in an air-conditioned room — the spirits came alive,” Hughes said. “It’s good to see you, we’re happy to see you.”
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