Sealaska Corporation has announced the conveyance of the Redoubt Bay Village (Ḵunáa) historical site from the Bureau of Land Management.
According to a press release from Sealaska, the move marks the culmination of a nearly 50-year effort to secure culturally significant land under Alaska Native stewardship.
The 10.54-acre site, located about 10 miles south of Sitka, has been conveyed to Sealaska under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, which allows regional Native corporations to select lands of historical and cultural significance.
For generations, Ḵunáa was a summer village and highly valued source of sockeye salmon. Sealaska’s work to secure the land place began in 1975, when the corporation filed for conveyance under ANCSA.
According to Sealaska, despite receiving certification from the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1981 that confirmed the site’s eligibility as a historical place, the process faced obstacles and delays, including competing claims and regulatory challenges.
“The Redoubt Bay Village site has a rich history documented through both archaeological evidence and Tlingit oral traditions,” the press release stated. “Known as Ḵunáa in Tlingit, the village was a seasonal settlement associated with sockeye salmon harvesting, with its name derived from a legend about a clan member who turned to stone while looking down at the village from a nearby mountain.”
Unlike lands selected for resource development or economic opportunities, Sealaska’s historical and cemetery site selections under ANCSA are part of the corporation’s work to preserve cultural heritage, even when such properties generate no revenue and incur ongoing maintenance costs.
The conveyance includes several reserved easements for trails and fish weir access, but maintains Sealaska’s ability to protect the site’s historical and cultural values under a covenant in the patent document.
