Metlakatla

The village of Metlakatla—whose name translates roughly to "salt water passage"—is on Annette Island, just a dozen miles by sea from busy Ketchikan but a world away culturally. A visit to this quiet community offers visitors a chance to learn about life in a small Inside Passage native community. Local taxis can take you to other sights around the island, including Yellow Hill and the old Air Force base.

In most Southeast native villages, the people are Tlingit or Haida in heritage. Metlakatla is the exception, as most folks are Tsimshian (sim-shee-ann). They moved to the island from British Columbia in 1887, led by William Duncan, an Anglican missionary from England. The town grew rapidly and soon contained dozens of buildings on a grid of streets, including a cannery, a sawmill, and a church that could seat 1,000 people. Congress declared Annette Island a federal Indian reservation in 1891, and it remains the only reservation in Alaska today. Father Duncan continued to control life in Metlakatla for decades, until the government finally stepped in shortly before his death in 1918.

During World War II the U.S. Army built a major air base 7 mi from Metlakatla that included observation towers for Japanese subs, airplane hangars, gun emplacements, and housing for 10,000 soldiers. After the war, it served as Ketchikan's airport for many years, but today the long runways are virtually abandoned save for a few private flights.