A Path to Healing: Moving Forward with Pride

OVER 150 YEARS AFTER the Kake Bombardment, the Tlingit community of Kake, Alaska, is actively pursuing healing and fostering generational abundance.

On September 21, 2024, the U.S. Navy formally apologized to the community for the 1869 bombardment, which left many to starve or die of exposure after their homes and resources were destroyed in the middle of winter. At a gathering in Kake’s community center, Navy representatives presented their apology. Elders, many of whom are military veterans, stood at the front of the room, wearing Tlingit button vests, blankets, and veterans’ caps. 

Joel Jackson, President of the Organized Village of Kake (OVK), opened noting how Kake’s veterans have been in every major conflict and that even though their land was stolen, they still fought for their country and he is very proud of them. A totem pole, carved by local artist Rob Mills, stood near the American flag. Half of the pole was blackened by fire, symbolizing the centuries of colonialism endured by the Tlingit.

Jackson refrained from personally accepting the Navy’s apology, instead deferring to clan leaders present at the event giving space to them for reflection and input. Ancestral stories of survival were shared, and gratitude was expressed for the apology ending with the Tribe ultimately accepting the apology as a starting point for healing.

“This is a mourning ceremony for the ancestors that we lost,” said Jackson, opening the event. “It [the bombardment] is becoming real because we never talked about it. Now we are– Now is our time to start healing."

A Vision for Cultural Healing

Beyond formal apologies, the Organized Village of Kake is focused on tangible efforts to address intergenerational trauma and rebuild cultural strength in the community and beyond.

Intergenerational trauma can manifest in several ways, and local leaders, like Joel Jackson, are determined to combat this through culturally rooted solutions. Jackson and OVK are in the process of creating a program that intertwines clinical treatment with traditional practices, recognizing that reconnecting to culture and place is a powerful avenue for healing.

This ambitious initiative aims to transform an old US Forest Service bunkhouse into a cultural healing center. Situated 52 miles from the community in Portage Bay, this abandoned facility — unused since the timber industry's decline in the late 1990s — will be repurposed as a site for recovery and restoration.

When Joel Jackson first saw the building on an access road between Kake and Petersburg, he said he was surprised. He emphasized the Healing Center is a lifelong dream for him, and upon coming across it on a drive with his brother Mike Jackson, he exclaimed “‘Hey, there’s our healing center.’”

Jackson envisions the center as a place where members of Kake and other rural Southeast Alaska communities can reconnect with their identities, histories, and lands. At the center, participants will engage in activities like drum sessions, harvesting, and traditional food preparation, integrated with counseling group therapies and physical wellness. These practices aim to foster reconnection to healthy relationships with family, self, and culture while simultaneously healing the body. Understanding that healing the people and land are intrinsically tied by addressing the roots of trauma, the program seeks to empower individuals to reclaim their autonomy and stewardship of the land.

Building the Healing Center

In 2024, descendants of the Quakers with the Alaska Friends Conference and from Washington and Oregon also issued a formal apology and contributed $93,000 intending to help repair the damage from colonial influence and boarding schools in Southeast Alaska in the early 1900’s. While the Quakers didn’t run a boarding school in Kake, they had a mission there.

On Kake day, the descendants presented the Kake community with a formal apology and the donation to ensure the building that will become the healing center because they said they are coming to understand that healing begins with cultural and community connection. Since then, they have shown up in the community with Kake returning cultural objects and promises to help physically restore the building when the time comes. They are making continued efforts to build good relationships with the community.

“A lot of volunteers will be needed to move forward,” Jackson explained, emphasizing that trust and community support are foundational to the center’s success.

The transfer of the building from the U.S. Forest Service to the Tribe represents a milestone in this project, with a formal agreement being signed in November 2024.

Moving Forward with Resilience

The planned cultural healing center reflects the pride and determination of the community of Kake. It offers a hopeful vision for addressing historical wounds and building a future grounded in tradition and community strength and connection. Local leaders are committed to creating a space where healing can begin, recognizing that recovery is a collective effort requiring trust, perseverance, and shared purpose. ■

Special thank you to Sealaska Heritage Institute for recording and documenting the US Navy Apology for the Kake Bombardment and to the Organized Village of Kake for leading this healing work. Read more about the healing center work in the article “Cultural Healing Mission Bonds Indigenous Peoples Across the Pacific” by Lauren Tanel. 

Shaelene Moler is the Communications Catalyst for the Sustainable Southeast Partnership, a collective impact network, who grew up in the community of Kake, AK. She was also a fall 2024 Storytelling Fellow with Alaska Forum Magazine and currently resides in Sitka, AK.