Sitka National Historical Park ⓘ

After the Battle of Old Sitka in 1802, the Tlingit clan house leaders debated their next move. Some advised caution and diplomacy. Others advocated rallying clans from across Southeast Alaska to go on the offensive and attack Russian settlements in Yakutat and Prince William Sound. According to oral tradition, the respected tribal Shaman Stoonookw foresaw the return of Alexander Baranov in a vision. Stoonookw urged the clan leaders to unite and build a new fort in a defensible location. According to tradition, the Sitka Tlingit rallied around their clan leaders. But, heeding Stoonookw's advice, they also decided to unite under a single war chief. They selected K 'alyáan, the Point House aristocrat who had proven his bravery in the Battle of 1802.

The Russians made landfall directly in front of the fort on October 1 st , 1804. Baranov led the assault himself and charged up the bank at the mouth of Indian River. Nearly 400 Aleut and Alutiiq natives were the first to reach the fort walls, but the Tlingit waited until the Russians came into range. At once they fired into the Russian ranks. The Aleut and Alutiiq hunters broke ranks and ran for their baidarkas , pursued by Tlingit warriors sprinting from the gates of Shís'gi Noow . The Russians pressed the attack, but K 'alyáan and an elite group of Tlingit warriors crushed the Russian's right flank. The Russian advance crumbled and Baranov himself was shot in the chest, dragged from the battlefield, and ferried back to the Neva . Cannon fire from the Neva was the only thing that stopped the destruction of the entire Russian landing party. The Tlingit had defeated the Russians again, but the battle wasn't over.

Unfortunately for the Tlingit, their reserve gunpowder supply exploded as it was being paddled in a canoe to Shís'gi Noow immediately prior to the October 1st engagement. Without gunpowder, they were unlikely to repel another Russian attack. The Tlingit laid plans for tactical withdrawal. Over the next few days they engaged in diplomatic meetings with the Russians to buy themselves time. Once ready, the clans began what is now known as the Survival March. By the time the Russians made it to shore, the Tlingit had withdrawn to the east side of Chichagof Island to plan the next battle from another location. The Russians landed at the abandoned Noow Tlein , fortified it and renamed it Novoarkhangel'sk (New Archangel). The Blockade of Sitka The Kiks.ádi had to abandon their land, their homes, their possessions, and much of their clan regalia to withdraw from Shís'gi Noow. It was a painful sacrifice to make to ensure their ability to continue resisting the Russian invasion. The clan house members met up again at Hanus Bay. A Point House elder stood and spoke:

Whenever canoes were spotted, the Kiks.ádi rowed out to meet them and to warn, "Stay away from Sheet'ká ! The Kiks.ádi remain at war with the Anooshee [the Russians] and will not allow trading canoes to pass Chaatlk'aanoow . Sheet'ká still belongs to the Kiks.ádi."*** The blockade proved to be effective, and fewer and fewer boats tried to make their way to Sitka. Americans were eager to take advantage of the blockade. They quickly established Trader's Bay across from Chaatlk'aanoow , where Tlingit people from around Southeast Alaska could trade with the Americans instead of the Russians at Sitka. The Americans also sold firearms to the Tlingit, which effectively undermined Russian control of Sitka. The blockade hurt profits for the Russian American Company. In 1807, Chief Manager Alexander Baranov sent a message to Chief K 'alyáan requesting the return of the Kiks.ádi and an end to the blockade. K 'alyáan consulted with his council and concluded that it was not yet time to return to Sitka. Though Baranov sent envoys regularly, each year his pleas were rejected. It was clear that the Kiks.ádi would return when they decided the time was right. By 1822, the Kiks.ádi had been away from their home for 18 years. Without warning, they returned to Sitka and began rebuilding their homes just outside the Russian fortifications. K 'alyáan sent word to the Russians: "The mountains around Sitka belong to the Sheet'ká Kiks.ádi. No Russians will be allowed to hunt for deer or bear on those mountains while the Sheet'ká Kiks.ádi are here. Should any Russian or Aleut attempt to hunt on those hills they will do so at their own peril."*** Thus the Battle of 1804 officially ended where it started, in Sitka, in 1822. The Tlingit rebuilt their village in Sitka and lived in close proximity to the Russians.

The Battle of 1804, including the blockade that followed, was a watershed moment in the history of Alaska and Russian America. While skirmishes and attacks on both sides continued, the Russians did not leave their fortified stronghold in Sitka until they ceded their interest in Alaska to the United States in 1867. The Tlingit would never again gain full control of Baranof Island from their Russian enemies. This created a unique and sometimes volatile relationship in which Russians and Tlingit lived as contentious neighbors, trading partners, and intermittent enemies.

***Herb Hope, "The Kiks.ádi Survival March of 1804," in Anóoshi Lingít Aaní Ká/Russians in Tlingit America: The Battles of Sitka, 1802 and 1804, ed. Nora Marks Dauenhauer et al. (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2008), 273-285.

Lydia T. Black, Russians in Alaska, 1732 –1867 (Fairbanks: University of Alaska Press, 2004).

Dauenhauer, Dauenhauer, and Black, eds., Anóoshi Lingít Aaní Ká/Russians in Tlingit America: The Battles of Sitka, 1802 and 1804 (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2008).

Sergei Kan, Memory Eternal: Tlingit Culture and Russian Orthodox Christianity Through Two Centuries (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1999).

John Dusty Kidd, Over the Near Horizon: Proceedings of the 2010 International Conference on Russian America , (Sitka, Alaska: Sitka Historical Society, 2013).

David J. Nordlander, For God and Tsar: A Brief History of Russian America, 1741 –1867 (Anchorage: Alaska Natural History Association, 1998).

Ilya Vinkovetsky, Russian America: An Overseas Colony of a Continental Empire 1804 –1867 (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011).

Mary E. Wheeler, "Empires in Conflict and Cooperation: The 'Bostonians' and the Russian-American Company" Pacific Historical Review , Vol. 40, No. 4: 419-441.

Governor Brady's Alaska was quite different from the Alaska that existed before the Russians came. Native populations had been decimated by epidemic disease, and cultural traditions were rapidly changing. Towns, the new economic and social centers, were drawing population away from villages. Concerned that traditional art appeared to be disappearing from sparsely populated coastal villages, Brady conceived the idea of collecting totem poles and bringing them to a place where they could be preserved and people, including tourists, could view them.

Between 1903 and 1904, Brady toured southern southeast Alaska's Tlingit and Haida villages by ship, asking leaders to donate poles and other objects for the exposition. After several voyages, he was promised poles from the villages of Old Kasaan, Howkan, Koianglas, Sukkwan, Tuxekan, Tongass, Klinkwan, and Klawock. It was especially remarkable that Brady was given the poles as gifts, because more than one professional collector had tried to purchase poles from these same villages and had been refused. Trusting in Brady and looking to the future, these leaders chose to share their cultural heritage with the world, even if it meant parting with it.

In spring of 1904, 15 Tlingit and Haida totem poles, two dismantled Haida houses and a canoe were delivered to the St. Louis Fairgrounds. Anticipating that the poles would need some repair in St Louis, Brady had arranged to have a crew of Native carvers accompany the poles to the fair. Brady arrived in April, in time for the fair's opening.

The Louisiana Purchase Exposition proved to be a truly spectacular cultural event. Massive "palaces" showcased amazing technological advances like electric lighting, the wireless telegraph and the automobile. Although exploitive by today's standards, anthropological exhibits of indigenous peoples drew huge crowds. The elaborate fairgrounds covered more than 1,200 acres. An astonishing 18 to 19 million people visited the fair between April and December of 1904. For most of them, it was an experience they would never forget.

Brady's totem poles stood around the reconstructed house and canoe and in front of the white colonial building that housed the rest of the Alaska exhibit. One pole that was too damaged for the exhibit was loaned to an Alaska-themed activity known as the "Esquimaux Village" on "The Pike," the variety section of the fair.

At the close of the exposition, the remaining poles traveled to the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in Portland for another exhibit there in 1905. Portland was a much smaller exposition. Between June and October, 1,588,000 visitors toured the 400 acre fairgrounds along the Willamette River. Accompanying a reduced exhibit in the Government building, the totem poles and canoe stood in a linear arrangement on the shores of a man-made lake on the fairgrounds.

When the Portland fair closed, the poles began another long journey, this time home to Alaska. They reached Sitka in January of 1906, where Brady's concept of a totem pole park would be realized. Before the poles could be installed, they were repaired by skilled local craftsmen, most of them Native graduates of the nearby Presbyterian Mission School. Prisoners from the local jail contributed heavy labor to the raising of the poles. The actual arrangement of the poles however, was orchestrated by local photographer E.W. Merrill. Sources indicate that in aligning the poles along the seaside path, Merrill intended to preserve some of the feeling of a traditional village. By March, Brady's vision of a collection of totem poles preserved in Sitka's popular park had been realized.

The totem pole collection visitors see along park trails today has changed since it was first placed there in 1906. Over the years, caretakers patched, painted and finally re-carved the poles. Although many of the original poles are gone their stories live on - along with the opportunity for visitors to discover them along the quiet wooded paths of the park.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the poles is that they continue to fulfill their purpose. Just as the original donors intended, the preservation and display of these objects have provided a lasting memorial to their cultural heritage. Just as Governor Brady intended when he began his efforts to preserve and display Alaska's totem poles more than 100 years ago, the totem poles of Sitka National Historical Park remain powerful symbols that draw people to Alaska and provide a tangible link to the past.

For more information about the totem poles at Sitka National Historical Park, refer to the Alaska Geographic publication, Carved History , by Marilyn Knapp, and The Most Striking of Objects by Andrew Patrick.

The Waas'go Legend Pole is one of the original totem poles acquired by Alaska Territorial Governor John Brady for the St. Louis, Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904 . He acquired it from K’áyk’aanii (Kaigani) Haida Chief Yeltadzie. The pole was located in K’wíi Gándlaas (Koianglas), on Long Island, in the Prince of Wales Archipelago which is just south of Baranof Island. The Waas'go Legend Pole was carved by Gid K’wáajuss (Dwight Wallace) a Kaigani Haida totem carver from Hlankwa’án (Klinkwan). The Waas'go Legend Pole would travel to the St. Louis Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904, the Portland Lewis and Clark Exposition in 1905, then return to Sitka in 1906 to the newly established Sitka Totem Park located by the Indian River. The Waas'go Legend Pole in this picture (2 nd from right) taken at the Lewis and Clark Exposition.

Eby, Shelland, and Stark tourist papers, Alaska Historical Society collections, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.

Years later, in 1939, Sitka National Monument decided to do an official survey to verify the condition of the poles. The Waas'go Legend Pole, like many others, was found to be badly deteriorated. It had been standing out on the trail for nearly 40 years, and had likely stood for many more before that in its home on the Prince of Wales Archipelago. The rainy environment, multiple transportation, and haphazard attempts to preserve the poles had all taken their toll on its condition. In the end, the Waas'go Legend Pole was in too poor condition to be saved. Sitka National Monument asked the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to support a project that would repair the totem poles that stood along Totem Trail, or craft re-carvings of the poles that were too far gone. Tlingit Carver George Benson was asked to create a replica of the Waas'go Legend Pole. There were only a few carvers left with the skill and expertise to carve totem poles at that point in time. George Benson, and others like him, ensured that not only would the image of the poles be preserved, but also the art of carving. His replica Waas'go Legend Pole was raised at the entrance to Totem Trail (see picture to the right). The original Waas'go Legend Pole was unfortunately lost to time. However, the replica created by George Benson is currently housed within Totem Hall in the visitor center of Sitka National Historical Park. In 2020, Tlingit master carver, Tommy Joseph, would begin a project to create another re-carving of the pole, this one to be raised along the Totem Loop Trail in Sitka National Historical Park. The Waas'go Legend Pole is currently the only pole of the original John Brady collection, to not have a re-carving standing along Totem Trail.

The Tlingit developed practical ways of surviving on these islands centuries before Russians attempted to settle the chilly, rain-drenched Alaskan panhandle. The Tlingit relied on the ocean for most of their food, supplemented by a variety of berries and game animals. In canoes up to 60 feet long carved from cedar trunks, they fished for cod, halibut, and herring, plucking them from the water with spears and hooks. In summer they stretched traps across shallow, rocky rivers for salmon swimming upstream, the prize catch. They dried the surplus and stored it for winter.

Each Tlingit clan had exclusive fishing areas; infringement by others was grounds for war or retribution. Each group followed its own trade routes along the coast and to the interior where skillful bargainers met with other tribes, Athabaskans in particular. The Tlingit exchanged dried fish, otter furs, and highly valued Chilkat robes for caribou skins, fox furs, jade, and copper—items not found on their part of the coast.

The Tlingit enjoyed a rich cultural life. Sociable people, they gathered for all kinds of occasions, including weddings, births, and deaths. They danced before setting out on fishing and trading expeditions. Winter, with its long hours of darkness, was the traditional season for the most impressive ceremony—the potlatch. The host of a potlatch invited guests to his home, often for days at a time and gave away his many possessions one by one. Such hospitality left the host impoverished but greatly elevated in social rank.

The Tlingit established many villages along the panhandle, including Shee Atika, which meant “people on the outside of Shee” (Baranof Island). To the Russians who arrived at Shee Atika (Sitka) in 1799, Tlingit survival skills and their access to a bountiful fur supply were valuable. To the Tlingit, with a recently acquired desire for goods such as tobacco, sugar, and firearms, the Russians could have been convenient trading partners. But relations between the Russian-American Company and Tlingit Kiks.ádi clan deteriorated. The Kiks.ádi soon realized that submission to the Russians meant providing free labor to the company and allegiance to the Tsar. The Kiks.ádi, who did not want anyone meddling in their affairs, barely tolerated Russian presence. In 1802, hostile suspicion turned to violence when Tlingit warriors attacked Redoubt Saint Michael, a Russian outpost several miles northwest of Shee Atika, killing nearly all the Aleuts and Russians at the settlement.

The Russians returned in late September 1804, and demanded that the Kiks.ádi surrender their village. Anticipating such a move, the Tlingit withdrew to a wooden fort east of town. On October 1, the Russian gunboat Neva and three other ships bombed the Tlingit fort, but they did little damage. The Russians and Aleuts stormed the fort and were bloodily repulsed. Thus began a six-day siege of the Tlingit stronghold. On the seventh day, advancing to the fort, the Russians found it abandoned. Low on flints and gunpowder, the Tlingit had left quietly at night. The Russians lost no time building a fortified town, this time on the very spot where Shee Atika had stood.

In 1821, the Russians invited the Tlingit back to Sitka. They intended to profit from the Tlingits’ hunting expertise and, more importantly, to put an end to the occasional Tlingit raiding. For the duration of Russian occupation, the Kiks.ádi lived in the village, an area just outside the stockaded town. They supplied the colonists with furs and food while the Russians introduced them to their culture through education and religion. But cannons were always trained on the village, and the Russian stockade was closely guarded. The 1804 Battle of Sitka was the end of open Tlingit resistance, but the Russians were safe only so long as they were vigilant.

The 1700s and 1800s were a time of imperial expansion and colonial occupation for many European nations, including Russia. In 1733, Russian Tsar Peter I commissioned the Great Northern Expedition, an ambitious exploration of Eastern Siberia and the Northern Pacific Ocean. Vitus Bering (1681-1741), a Dane in the service of the Russian Navy, and Aleksei Chirikov (1703-1748) a Captain in the Russian Navy, were commissioned to explore and map Russia's northeast coast. In 1741, their explorations landed them in Alaska and they realized that the Siberian fur trade could be profitably extended further east.

The Sea Otter Fur Trade In the beginning, private companies conducted the fur trade throughout the Aleutian Islands and around Kodiak. Siberian fur trappers known as promyshlenniki operated the fur trade through brutality. They often took hostages and forced Aleut and Alutiiq peoples to supply resources for their subsistence. Their justification for this behavior can be summed up in an Old Russian maxim, "God is high above, and the Tsar is far away," meaning that judgement of or punishment for their behavior was unlikely in this remote frontier.

In 1799, Tsar Paul I consolidated these private companies into one entity, the Russian American Company. This gave the Russian American Company (RAC) a monopoly on Russia's North American trade. It also entrusted the RAC with the government of Russia's North American colonies.

After depleting the sea otter population around Kodiak, the RAC wanted to exploit the resources further south and establish Russian colonies in Southeast Alaska. However, they faced resistance from the local Tlingit and competition from British and American companies operating in the area. The Tlingit had already established trade networks with the Americans and the British, in which the Tlingit traded sea otter pelts for firearms. The Americans and the British gladly provided armaments to the Tlingit in order to undermine Russia's colonization attempts in Alaska.

Conflict in Southeast Alaska The first Chief Manager of the RAC, Alexander Baranov, negotiated with the Sitka Tlingit to establish a small trading post 7 miles north of present-day Sitka in 1799. The Russians quickly took advantage of Tlingit hospitality and in place of a small trading post the RAC established Fort (or Redoubt) Saint Michael, known today as Old Sitka . The Fort housed multiple buildings, large defensive fortifications, a warehouse to store furs, and a barracks to house the garrison. In response, the Sitka Tlingit attacked and destroyed the Russian fort in 1802.

Two years later, Baranov returned to enact revenge and re-establish his Russian colony, resulting in the Battle of 1804 . The Russians were nearly defeated again, but the Tlingit gun powder reserve was accidentally lost. Without adequate supplies, the Sitka Tlingit strategically withdrew from Sitka Sound to continue the fight elsewhere. Baranov quickly founded and fortified a new Russian settlement at Sitka, naming it New Archangel. It became the colonial capital 4 years later.

The Tlingit continued to engage in open conflict with the Russians in the following decades. The Sitka Tlingit mounted a blockade of Sitka Sound, hurting Russian trade. The colonial capital, New Archangel, was heavily fortified with large stockades and armed escorts were required for excursions outside the fort walls. But the lucrative sea otter fur trade funded the expansion of Russian settlements. In New Archangel, the Russians built not only RAC buildings, but also a school, a hospital, and even a cathedral. The colony drew Russian Orthodox missionaries to Alaska as well as other European settlers, such as the Finns . In 1821, the Sitka Tlingit returned home and resettled just outside the Russian stockade. Conflict and tensions continued, however, so did trade and cultural exchange.

The Sale Eventually, over-hunting greatly diminished the number of sea otters and fur seals in the North Pacific. By the 1850s, New Archangel, which once owed its existence to the fur trade depended instead on a shipyard, a fish saltery, sawmills and an ice-exporting business. The RAC and the Russian government no longer profited from the colony, instead focusing their main commercial activities on tea importing. The Crimean War highlighted Russian America's vulnerability to attack by other European nations. The Tsar decided to sell in 1867 rather than lose the territory in another war. The United States bought Alaska for $7.2 million, or approximately 2 cents per acre, and Russia ended its 126-year-old North American enterprise.

The Legacy of the Russians Traces of Russian America are apparent in contemporary Alaska. The Russian Orthodox Church still has a strong presence in Alaska, with over 80 parishes throughout the state. In Sitka, Russian buildings, such as St. Michael's Cathedral, the Russian Bishop's House , Building 29, and the Russian Blockhouse remain as reminders of Russian America's tangible legacy. Indeed, St. Michael's Cathedral opens its doors for the reading of the Divine Liturgy every Sunday, just as was done in New Archangel 150 years ago.

The administration and government of Russian America was carried out largely by the Russian American Company, which had been given a monopoly on the resources of Russian America. Thus the Company's leaders played an important role, both in the company and in the local community. An exceptional example of this was the Finnish naval officer Arvid Adolf Etholen.

Etholen began his career with the Russian Imperial Navy in the early 1800s, leading trips into Russia's American territories. He served as Chief Manager of the Russian American Company from 1840-1845. As the leader of the Russian American Company, Etholen resided in New Archangel with his wife, Margaretha Hedvig Johanna Etholen.

While in New Archangel, Etholen instituted the practice of laying cut stone foundations for important buildings, dramatically improving their lifespans. He oversaw the construction of the Russian Bishop's house , the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church, and the first stages of the construction of St Michael's Orthodox Cathedral. He also endeavored to improve the strained relationship between the native Tlingit community and the Russian colonists. He hired Tlingit men to work on construction projects and threw festivals outside the city walls, to which all were invited including prominent members of Tlingit society who were honored with gifts.

Margaretha Etholen also made important contributions to Russian America during her years in New Archangel. Originally a teacher, Margaretha began a successful boarding school for girls. Drawing upon Finnish teaching methods, the school catered to all social classes and represented a progressive stance on education.

The Finnish community in Russian America included many active members of the Lutheran Church, which reflected the diversity of the Russian empire. It served not just Finns, but also Baltic Germans, Swedes, and Danes (however, it was never as successful in attracting Alaska Native converts as the Russian Orthodox Church). The first pastor of the Lutheran Church in New Archangel was Finnish Pastor Uno Cygnaeus, who accompanied the Etholens from Finland to New Archangel, and worked with them in many of their endeavors.

Finnish settlers in Russian America were successful in many other ways. Finnish physicians Dr. Frankenhaeuser and Dr. Pippingskiold served the health needs of Russian American Company employees; scientist Henrik Holmberg published an ethnography of Russian America; and the Finnish engineer Hjalmar Furuhjelm opened the first coal mine in Alaska. And of course, in an era so characterized by seafaring, the Finns contributed notably to that as well. J.J. Conradi, J.W. Weckman, Axel Juselius and Lars Krogius were just a few of the Finnish officers who commanded vessels for the Russian American Company.

Of all the Russian American settlers, the Finns were among those that traveled the furthest from their homes to seek fortune in the distant, unforgiving American colony. These brave and hard-working people brought invaluable skills from their homeland. They enriched the communities of Russian America and played an important role in its diversity. Finnish settlers contributed greatly to the legacy of Russian America.

The 1930s brought an increase in planning efforts, but the park was still managed from a distance and functioned more like a community park than a unit of the National Park Service. Through the 1960s, administration of the monument was either combined with Glacier Bay National Monument or was under the purview of the Superintendent of MT. McKinley National Park.

The 1940s began with the arrival of Ben Miller, the park's first full time resident custodian. The park, like the rest of Sitka, felt the effects of the World War II buildup. Evacuation of nonmilitary personnel and disruptions to civilian travel greatly limited visitation. The park was transferred into military hands during 1942 and was briefly occupied for defense purposes. It was formally returned to the Department of Interior in 1947. More significantly, a series of massive military construction projects triggered the removal of massive amounts of gravel from the park's river, shoreline, and estuary. Environmental impacts from the gravel removal proved to be a major resource issue for decades to come.

In 1965, a new visitor center, the park's first real visitor facility, was completed. It would include room for exhibits and studios for demonstrations of Alaska Native arts and crafts. One aspect of the park facility that was clearly ahead of its time was its display of remarkable Tlingit artifacts. Many of the objects in the collection were loaned or donated by local clans under agreements designed to insure ongoing traditional use. In 1969, in an agreement that was groundbreaking at the time, the Alaska Native Brotherhood assumed control of the demonstration program and established the Southeast Alaska Indian Cultural Center. In 1972, the monument's name was changed to Sitka National Historical Park, and its boundaries expanded to include the Russian Bishop's House, a national historic landmark. Acquisition of the house brought more emphasis to the Russian American focus of the park and involved the park in a lengthy restoration project.

The Doris Borhauer Basket Collection is comprised of 92 spruce root baskets created by Tlingit and Haida weavers from Southeast Alaska. The National Park Service purchased the collection from Doris Borhauer in 1970. Typically, only a portion of the collection is on display at any one time due to limited display space within the park. The collection's baskets materialize generations of personal and familial histories. Many of the baskets in this collection were woven from the turn of the twentieth century through the 1960s, though some are from the 1800s. Older baskets in the collection serve utilitarian purposes, such as food storage or cooking, while newer baskets were often produced and sold during Sitka's developing tourist trade in the first half of the 20th century. Each a product of skilled and careful labor, the weavers' identities and baskets' own histories were carefully documented by Doris Borhauer. Particular details such as "made of roots gathered that spring", "payment for a home hygiene textbook", or "entered into the Sitka Community Fair" animate the stories behind each basket. Given the expanse of it's artistic scope and it's comprehensive records, this collection is a remarkable and distinctive contribution to the craft of basket weaving.

For more information on the lives of the weavers, and the lives of the baskets they crafted, refer to A Celebration of Weavers , a research project by Helen Dianne Dangel on the Doris Borhauer Collection.

You can view the entire collection in an on-line searchable database hosted by the Alaska Native Knowledge Network. The photographs and notes in the database were compiled by the Sitka Tribe of Alaska through a Historic Preservation Grant from the National Park Service.

Sitka National Historical Park's visitor center overlooks the park's diverse marine intertidal zone and forest. By standing on the seaside porch, one can immediately appreciate the mingling of culture and nature that is unique to Sitka. Totem poles frame the forest and marine landscape and welcome visitors to the park. Sitka National Historical Park is located in Southeast Alaska on the western coast of Baranof Island. The convergence of the Indian River, the coastal environment, and the temperate rainforest provides an inspiring, biologically rich environment that is critical to understanding the historical events that took place here. Historically, the Tlingit people relied on these natural resources for survival. Today, they rely on them for continued production of cultural artifacts.

Though only a fraction of the acreage of other national parks in Alaska (only 116.29 total acres), Sitka NHP contains a variety of habitat types. While walking the park’s Totem Trail, visitors can experience temperate rainforest, open meadow, the Indian River estuary, and various intertidal zones. By looking over one’s shoulder, the snow-streaked mountains indicate the ruggedness of Baranof Island. The area experiences a maritime climate with relatively heavy precipitation and moderate temperatures. Often shrouded in coastal clouds, the peaks and glaciers at high elevations are characteristic of Southeast Alaska.

The park's plant life is in a temperate rainforest that includes a wet, closed-canopy forest with large Sitka spruce and Western hemlock trees. Some forested portions of the park landscape exhibit old-growth forest characteristics, like multiple canopy layers with a variety of tree ages and sizes, downed wood, and a dense understory of shrubs. The non-forested areas of the park include the Indian River estuary and wetlands, the beach edge, and the historic Tlingit fort site, a maintained grassy opening enclosed by the surrounding forest.

Animals such as pink and chum salmon are an integral part of the park, entering the lower Indian River to swim upstream and spawn in late summer. Coho and Chinook salmon, Dolly Varden char, and steelhead trout migrate through the park as well. The marine shoreline supports a variety of migratory waterfowl and shorebirds during spring and fall. Bald eagles, gulls, crows, and ravens scavenge along the tidal flats and the river, especially during the annual herring spawn and salmon runs. Mammals such as shrews, mice, voles, red squirrels, mink, and river otters also inhabit the park. Sitka blacktail deer and brown bears occupy the upper Indian River drainage and occasionally enter the park. Marine mammals can be spotted from the shore as well, including seals, sea lions, sea otters, and whales.

Historically, Sitka's ecosystem provided a rich source of physical and spiritual sustenance for the Tlingit and profitable resources, such as sea otter pelts, for the Russian colonists . The landscape of Sitka National Historical Park continues to serve as a backdrop for the history of Native Peoples and the confluence of European colonization. Contemporary issues like development and climate change are shaping the park in new ways, and local inventory and monitoring programs are helping Sitka National Historical Park take stock of its resources and examining possible threats to preservation.

The vegetation in Sitka National Historical Park is a coastal temperate rainforest typical of southeast Alaska. Western hemlock closed-canopy forest type is found on all the stable landforms, including most of the park. Blueberry and devil's club dominate the shrub layer. Occasional Sitka spruce are found in the overstory, frequently taller than the hemlocks. Much of the park is second-growth hemlock (100-125 years in age) that shows an overstory of relatively uniform height. In areas where the canopy has been opened through blowdown of trees, there is a well-developed shrub understory. Under the denser canopies there are fewer shrubs and limited forbs and ferns. Learn more about the park ecosystems .

Extensive blowdowns may also result in a dense canopy as is the case northwest of the fort site. This area was hit by an intense wind storm in 1967. A dense even-aged stand of young hemlocks have grown up, greatly reducing sunlight penetration to the forest floor.

The largest trees are in the forest in the northeast corner of the park. This forest exhibits old-growth characteristics such as multiple canopy layers, trees of varying diameters, snags (dead standing trees), and woody debris. One Sitka spruce is close to 500 years of age. Old cut stumps in this area suggest that selective logging may have been practiced here in the past.

The Sitka spruce forest type is found on relatively unstable landforms such as the floodplain on the east side of the Indian River, along the trail in low areas with greater soil water movement. It is also found near the Russian Memorial and near an old asphalt plant site. This is a successional community that is likely to be gradually replaced by hemlock. It is open-canopied with dense devil's club and salmonberry shrub layer.

Rapidly growing open-canopy red alder stands are on both sides of the river, where they tolerate subsurface flooding and drainage conditions. Under the even height alder overstory are salmonberry shrubs and fairly well-developed forb layers. Alder communities are typically succeeded by spruce unless disturbance is extensive or repetitive. An alder stand also exists in the disturbed area southeast of the Russian Memorial.

Nonforested areas in the park are the estuary, wetlands, beach fringe, and historic Tlingit fort site, which is a maintained grass opening enclosed by the surrounding forest. The estuary is dominated by salt-tolerant, flood-tolerant plants. The beach fringe and the wetlands along the shoreline also are dominated by salt- and flood-tolerant species. A beach meadow that lies in the south-western section of the park is transitional between beach and forest. In the lowest, most frequently flooded area is a grass and umbel meadow that is able to tolerate salt and flooding during extreme high tides and storm tides. Red alder, spruce, and salmonberry have colonized slightly higher areas adjacent to the meadow.

A recent survey inventoried over 100 nonvascular plants (bryophytes and ferns). There is also a high diversity of lichens and mushrooms in the park.

Sitka National Historical Park ecosystems reflect the intersection of aquatic and terrestrial, salt and freshwater, lowland and upland systems creating a remarkable diversity of habitat types. The Indian River is a prominent feature that transects the park and supports both resident and anadromous fish populations. Most of the park’s forest cover is secondary growth: western hemlock ( Tsuga heterophylla ) and red alder ( Alnus rubra ) that have replaced Sitka spruce ( Picea stichensis ) stands over time. While older Sitka spruce trees remain in the canopy—two of the oldest spruce trees are estimated to be between 400 and 500 years old—little spruce regeneration is occurring in the park. Areas lacking canopy cover are heavily influenced by the presence of ferns and herbs, and shrubs, such as blueberry ( Vaccinium spp.), salmonberry ( Rubus spectabilis ), and devil’s club ( Oplopanax horridus ). This temperate rainforest and the variety of habitats contained within the park supports a wide diversity of plant species; Sitka has documented a total of 165 vascular plants and 172 nonvascular plants within its boundaries. For more information, see the vegetation map and inventory for the park.

The Uplifted Beach occurs in the coastal lands that are not subject to tidewaters. Vegetation is needleleaf forest dominated by western hemlock and Sitka spruce with a shrub understory comprised of berry species and Devil’s club. Soils are well-drained peat over sand and gravel.

Sitka Spruce-Western Hemlock-Red Alder/Salmonberry Forest —A closed-canopy needleleaf forest type where Sitka spruce or western hemlock each contribute 25 to 75% to the total tree cover; red alder comprises at least 10% of tree cover. This forest ecosystem occurs on low-elevation, infrequently disturbed sites and is associated with former and current beach environments. Due to the location of this forest above tidal range, disturbances are likely limited to salt-spray and storm surges.

Sitka Spruce-Western Hemlock/Devil’s Club Forest —A closed-canopy needleleaf forest type where Sitka spruce or western hemlock each contribute 25 to 75% to the total tree cover; red alder comprises less than 10% of tree cover and Devil’s club cover is at least 5%. Rhododendron, blueberry, and red huckleberry make up the sparse shrub layer. This forest occurs at low elevations and across relatively flat land, such as old channels of the Indian River. The most common disturbance is windthrow.

The Lowlands occurs at the highest elevation of the park, but is considered a lowland based on its position within the greater landscape. Vegetation is western hemlock forest with a shrub understory of berry species. Soils on gently sloping to level areas are poorly to well-drained peat overlying gravelly loam or sandy loam. A third soil type occurs on a bedrock knob and is a well-drained peat over sandy loam underlain by shallow greywacke.

Western Hemlock-Sitka Spruce/Blueberry Species Forest —A closed-canopy needleleaf forest type where Sitka spruce or western hemlock each contribute 25 to 75% and red alder comprises less than 10% of tree cover. Devil’s club cover is less than 5% and berries collectively comprise more than 25% cover of the well-developed shrub layer. This forest occurs at low elevations and across relatively flat land, such as old channels of the Indian River. The most common disturbance is windthrow.

Western Hemlock-Sitka Spruce/Depauperate Forest —A closed-canopy needleleaf forest type where western hemlock or Sitka spruce contributes 75% to the total tree cover. The understory is sparse with respect to vascular plant species; moss species comprise more than 25% of ground cover. Snags and abundant woody debris are common. This forest occurs on low-elevation, relatively flat sites within a larger matrix of mature, closed-canopy needleleaf forests; its development is driven by gap successional processes, probably related to openings created by windthrow.

Western Hemlock/Blueberry Species Forest —A closed-canopy needleleaf forest type where western hemlock contributes 75% to the total tree cover. Blueberry species comprise more than 25% cover of the well-developed shrub layer. This is an old growth forest with a multilayered canopy, snags, and downed woody debris. It occurs at low elevations and across relatively flat land; the most common disturbance is windthrow.