On Saturday, Jan. 11, the U.S. Army will issue a formal apology to the community for its December 1869 bombardment of Wrangell’s Tlingit village, Ḵaachx̱aana.áakʼw. This is the third recent military apology to Southeast communities after the Navy apologized last fall for its attacks on Kake (1869) and Angoon (1882).
Given the rarity of these admissions of guilt, there is little precedent for the structure of the event, meaning the planning — at least for the Wrangell apology — was left up to local clan leaders, clan representatives and clan mothers.
Though the event is organized by the clans, the ceremony is open to the public.
Esther Aaltséen Reese is the tribal administrator for the Wrangell Cooperative Association. In her role, she not only advocated for the apology but served as a liaison between the clan, the tribe, the Army, the Wrangell community and even Alaska’s congressional delegation.
Reese updated the Sentinel on Jan. 2 about plans for the event. Though some details are not yet finalized, the structure of the apology is beginning to come clear.
The programming will start Saturday morning with a retracing of the steps of Shx’atoo (Scutdoo), the Tlingit man hanged by the Army after the 1869 bombardment. After Shx’atoo killed ex-Confederate officer Leon Smith to avenge the murder of his own sons, the Army bombarded the village until Shx’atoo gave himself up.
While Shx’atoo’s actions were in line with the balance-centered beliefs of Tlingit law, the Army was unable (or unwilling) to understand this, and decided to shell the village.
Before Shx’atoo turned himself in, he walked through the Tlingit village and said his goodbyes. It is these steps that will be retraced on Saturday.
“We’ll stop at all of the locations where the clan houses were,” Reese said. “Each clan will have a moment to present or sing or do something of their choice, and then we’ll end up at the post office — which was the location of the (Army) fort.”
Fort Wrangel (spelled with one l at the time) was where Shx’atoo gave himself up. Before he was hanged, he sung one last song. Though clan leadership is unsure whether they will play a recording of the song (sung by William Tamaree, an eyewitness to the bombardment), who or if they will perform the song live, Reese said it will be involved one way or another.
She added that a raven song will also be sung so that it can provide balance to the eagle/wolf song of Shx’atoo.
From there, the event will pivot to the Nolan Center, where Maj. Gen. Joseph Hilbert, commander of the U.S. Army 11th Airborne Division, based at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, will request to the clan leaders for permission to be on the land.
“Then there will be introductions by the tribe and each clan leader from Wrangell,” Reese said, “and there will be other introductions by other visiting dignitaries such as Senator (Lisa) Murkowski and Rosita Worl, president of the Sealaska Heritage Institute.”
Following the introductions, the lunch portion of the event will begin. The Army will provide the food, as it agreed at WCA’s request.
In addition to the lunch and dinner, the Army will also reimburse WCA for the Gunakadeit totem pole replication that local master carvers are working on. The original pole was destroyed in the bombardment and the replica will be on display in the Nolan Center during the apology, though it will be erected at a later date.
After lunch, the general will put forth a formal apology, and if it is accepted by the clan leaders, the festive portion of the day will begin.
“Then the happier songs will be sung,” Reese said. “We’ll have dinner and some closing remarks.”
• This story was originally published by the Wrangell Sentinel.
