M/V Taku available during Re-dedication!

For rent during the Re-dedication, staterooms aboard the Taku!  

The M/V Taku, from the Alaska Marine Highway fleet, will arrive in Wrangell on Thursday, May 2nd, and depart at 11 a.m. on Sunday, May 5th. If you're still searching for lodging for Re-dedication for the nights of the 2nd, 3rd & 4th, this is an unexpected opportunity. Several rates for different size staterooms, be it 2 or 4 berth. Space is very limited, so call ASAP.

No other amenities will be available on the Taku, such as food or beverages.

Rooms are restricted to Re-dedication visitors, so reservations cannot be made online. Contact Shannon Wiley at (907) 465-8809 to make a reservation, or email her at dot.amhs.customer@alaska.gov.

In other news, raffle tickets are now available for another Chief Shakes fundraiser. The grand prize this time, a hand carved silver bracelet by Donald Gregory, with Chief Shakes' iconic bear screen as the engraved artwork. Second prize is a painting by Steve Irvine. Tickets are $1 each and will be for sale until May 4th, Re-dedication day! Stop by the WCA office to purchase tickets.

Re-dedication booklet preview ...

If you're around for the Re-dedication, which is now less than a month away, you'll have a chance to grab a hard copy of the booklet, created by Tracy Churchill of Southeast Design and Promotion.  The booklet is packed with some great photos of the island during the renovation, as well as historic shots of the 1940 Tribal House and potlatch.

That's a shot of the book cover.  To take a peek at the rest of it, click here!

Master Carvers of One People Canoe Society visit Wrangell

Master Carvers Brian and Doug Chilton visited Wrangell this past weekend, conducted a workshop and left by ferry.  The next time the Chilton's visit Wrangell will most likely be for the Re-dedication, and it will look something like this.

photo Michael Penn / Juneau Empire

That's Doug arriving in style at Celebration 2012 in Juneau.  Brian and Doug are of the One People Canoe Society, a non-profit organization striving to encourage cultural education through amazing journeys, and the duo with return next May with a small fleet of traditional canoes and dozens of visitors for the re-opening of Shakes Island.

The Chilton's workshop was set up by SEARHC natural foods specialist Ken Hoyt and Shane Gillen, with the end result being 30 Yellow Cedar canoe paddles to be used in the May 2013 Re-dedication of the Shakes Island Tribal House.  The Wrangell High School shop class played host to the event on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 8th and 9th.  Hoyt was pleased with the end result.

"We had a pretty good turnout, with  20 or so of us there," said Hoyt.  "We ended up with some awesome paddles.  Brian and Doug were great, we couldn't have got 'em done without them."

Doug told KSTK's Greg Knight, "This is for the community of Wrangell ... We put together a workshop with Ken and Shane, and the idea was to bring a group together and promoting unity while making the paddles."

Hoyt will pair again with Gillen after the holidays.  The two plan to create a cedar strip canoe, and have already secured the workspace and some guidance for the project.  "A local has offered us his shop and we can finish one  in a month or so," said Hoyt.  "We also have some help from Tlingit elder Willie Eyon, who has experience with putting together this kind of canoe."

 The One People Canoe Society will remain in Wrangell for the entirety of the Re-dedication.  Being the traditional group of travelers they are, the dozens who arrive via canoe will not require lodging.  Instead, the Society will camp out as they did on their way to Celebration, and just like they would have done at the 1940 Dedication.  All other travelers will require lodging, and hotels for the first week of May 2013 have been booked for months.  WCA needs help finding beds for everyone who wants to join our community in the ceremony.  If you can help with the Re-dedication in any way, please contact WCA. 

Re-dedication less than 6 months away

We are less than 6 months away from the Re-dedication of Chief Shakes Island.  The Tribal House is right on schedule, with walls up, roof on and the interior ready for some electrical work.  It won't be long before the house posts and artifacts are back in their rightful location in the House.

Here's a look at the schedule of events for the Re-dedication Ceremony:


Friday, May 3, 2013

• Parade                                  12-2 p.m.
• Children's Regalia Contest    2-4 p.m.
• Canoe Races                         4-6 p.m.
• Bingo                                    7 p.m.

Saturday, May 4, 2013

• Canoe Landing                      9-10 a.m.
• Tribal House Re-dedication  10-1 p.m.
• Dancing                                 3-9 p.m.

This schedule is subject to change, partly because we've already had nearly 700 people RSVP and that's mostly just donators, dancers and those bringing the canoes.  Hotels have been booked up for months and we're looking all over for temporary housing solutions, but we're going to need help from the community of Wrangell.  If you can help house visitors, or help out in any way, please contact WCA.

Tribal House - October 31, 2012

Shakes Island Re-dedication - May 3rd & 4th, 2013

Welcome to the brand new Shakes Island Re-dedication blog.  Here we'll post updates about the Tribal House Re-dedication, which will take place on Chief Shakes Island in Wrangell, Alaska, May 3rd & 4th, 2013.

Restoration is on schedule and Wrangell Cooperative Association is looking for volunteers to help with the re-dedication ceremony.  They are estimating no less than 500 visitors here for the two-day celebration, which means we'll need a lot of help.  So far, in addition to the rededication ceremony, the schedule also boasts of a parade, Bingo, canoe races, children's regalia contest and more!

The WCA is in search of committee leaders, members and volunteers from all communities to help celebrate the re-opening of the Chief Shakes Island Tribal House.  If you can help organize housing, transportation, 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.  If you are part of a dance group that plans on attending, please contact us and let us know you're coming.

We are also looking for volunteers to help prepare donated moose, deer and fish.  Butchering will be provided, but we do need some experienced hands to assist in cleaning the animals as they are donated, as well as canning or packaging the meat after it has been butchered.  Berry pickers, we could use your help too.  This is going to be a very traditional celebration and we'll be serving lots of traditional Stikine foods with your help.