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Nov. 18, 2004                                                   

SACRED SITE NOMINATED FOR NATIONAL REGISTER GETS STATE NOD
Site would be first traditional cultural property in Alaska to receive designation

A state panel has endorsed an effort by Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) to extend federal protective status to an important traditional cultural property in Juneau.

The Alaska Historical Commission on Monday approved the institute’s application to list Indian Point on the National Register of Historic Places. The matter now goes to the National Park Service for review. If the park service gives final approval, the roughly 78-acre site at 14 mile Glacier Highway will become the first traditional cultural property in Alaska to make the list.

“This is a first step toward federal recognition that this site, which is sacred to local Tlingits, is worthy of preservation,” said SHI President Dr. Rosita Worl, noting the Tlingit have used the land for millennia as a ceremonial site and burial ground.

The nominated property is located north of the Auke Bay ferry terminal and spans a large peninsula that includes land owned by the National Park Service, the City and Borough of Juneau and Sealaska, a regional Native corporation and founder of the institute. The designation would not affect private property adjacent to the site.

A listing on the National Register would not bar development of the site; Federal and state laws encourage, but do not mandate, the preservation of National Register properties. However, federal agencies are required to consider the effect of federal projects or federally-assisted projects on properties listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register.

“I hope the designation protects the site from development, but as a student of American History, I am skeptical,” said Worl, a Tlingit anthropologist. 

Worl, who also serves as vice-chair of Sealaska, testified before the commission in favor of the nomination, noting she first began working to protect the site in the 1960s when the city proposed development of a residential area there. Worl also helped fend off a federal effort to build a research center on the property in the 1990s.

“We deeply appreciated the general support of the community to protect this site, and I hope the community and state will continue to support protection of the property,” she said.

Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private, nonprofit founded in 1981 to administer cultural and educational programs for Sealaska Corp. The institute is governed by an all-Native board of trustees. Its mission is to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska.
 

CONTACT:  Rosita Worl, SHI president, 907-463-4844