Auk Bay
Arrival of the European & Beyond
The year is 1794. While exploring & charting the east coast of Admiralty Island, British Captain George Vancouver & his crew note smoke coming from Auke Village miles away, & they see canoes approaching. Fearing hostile intent, the crew sails through the night to the northernmost tip of the island where, over breakfast, they commemorate the event by naming the spot Point Retreat. This is the first written record of Auke Village.
The Aak'w Kwaan experienced limited European contact until Juneau area immigrant arrived to mine gold in the late 1800s. During this time the Tlingit faced significant changes & challenges, showing resilience amid European arrival & immigrant settlement.
The Juneau Gold Rush of the 1880s introduced new forms of economy & education to the Tlingit, as well as new diseases & hardship. The Tlingit people used Western economic & educational systems to survive in this new cultural landscape & maintain their culture. By 1900, many of the Auke Bay Villagers had relocated to Dzantik'i Heeni ("Place Where the Flounder Gather," now Gold Creek in downtown Juneau) to find work & educational opportunities in the newly established mining town.
In the 1920, the US Forest Service began to manage the area now known as the Auke Village Recreation Area. A decade later, Alaskan Native civil rights groups lobbied the Forest Service to hire Alaska Native workers in the Civilian Conservation Corps to build structure & improve trails. Tlingit families were given special use permits to maintain garden plots, growing Tlingit potatoes, rutabagas, carrots, & other crops there for two decades. The Auke Village Recreation Area is an important place to the Tlingit, who continue to host the biennial Celebration & other cultural events, passing down rich traditions & practices to new generations.
Please Respect this Sacred Place.
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Looking in a westerly direction. Favorite Bay is due west from here.
Auke Bay
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Auke Bay
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Auke Bay
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Looking in a south eastly direction.
Auke Bay
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