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History and Archeology
The people of Prince of Wales Island have thrived
on the resources of the land and surrounding waters for thousands of
years.
The rich, subsistence-based lifeways of the Tlingít and Haida
people have flourished on the island for millennia and continue to be
a source
of knowledge, art, and craftsmanship.
European and American settlers have made their contributions to life
on the island as well. All have used and valued the resources and outdoor
lifestyle of Southeast Alaska.
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⇒8000 BC |
People started living on Prince of Wales Island.
Archaeological studies suggest that these first residents were seafarers
who traded with other groups north and south along the coast.
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| ⇒7000 BC |
Southeast Alaskans fished for halibut in Sea Otter Sound and made
hunting implements using tiny slivers of volcanic glass skillfully
mounted in bone or ivory points. |
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| ⇒3000 BC |
Tools ground into shape replaced tools of
chipped stone. Large wooden and stone fish traps appeared near
many streams about this
time, as well as evidence of longer-term
residency. |
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| ⇒0 AD |
Complex cultures of the Northwest Coast are recognizable in
the archaeological record. Tlingít and Haida oral histories
speak of many migrations of clans and villages leading people to
the communities
they now call home. |
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| ⇒1700s AD |
Mid- to late-century, Haida people from neighboring
Queen Charlotte Islands, the next major island group
south, migrated to Prince of Wales Island, formerly occupied only
by the Tlingíts. The Haidas subsequently occupied the southern
portion of the island, eventually
displacing
the Tlingíts.
Russian explorers and fur traders traded near Prince of Wales
Island but built no settlements.
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| ⇒1775 AD |
The earliest well-documented western contact is by the Spanish
expedition of 1775 under Bodega y Quadra. |
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| ⇒1779 AD |
The Spanish returned in 1779, explored Bucareli Bay and
waters south and west of Craig. Names such as Bucareli Bay, Suemez
Island, and San Fernando Island can be traced to these expeditions.
Don Ignacio Arteaga, Bodega y Quadra, and Quadra’s pilot,
Francisco Antonio Maurelle are remembered in other local place
names. |
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| ⇒1790, 1798 AD |
In 1790 the HMS Discovery, commanded by Captain George
Vancouver, left England for Alaska. Vancouver’s party thoroughly
explored Southeast Alaska and produced detailed charts and journals.
These charts and
journals, published in 1798, added a wealth
of knowledge and names to previously ill-defined coastal features
of Southeast Alaska. |
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| ⇒1850s AD |
Commercial fishing began in Southeast Alaska waters. |
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| ⇒1870s AD |
Natural history cruises to Southeast Alaska were the start of the
tourist industry. |
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| ⇒1900s AD |
Mining began on the island in the early 1900s. Minerals included
gold, silver, lead, zinc, palladium and marble. |
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| ⇒1920s AD |
Fox farming on small islands around Prince of Wales began and continued
into the 1960s. |
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| ⇒1950s AD |
Large-scale logging began on Prince of Wales Island, continuing
through the 1990s. |
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