PHOTOS BY MICHAEL PENN-JUNEAU EMPIRE
About Douglas Indian Association
The Douglas Indian Association (DIA) became the federally recognized Tlingit Tribe of the of Juneau and Douglas area in 1934. DIA’s traditional and historical territory encompasses the City and Borough of Juneau and Douglas including areas East and North of Admiralty Island, areas on the Chilkat Peninsula to the South including Endicott Arm, and areas East into Canada on the Taku River and Atlin, B.C.
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Base roll tribal members originate from the T’aaḵu Kwáan and A’akw Kwáan territories of Yaa Andagan Yé (Douglas) and Dzantik’i Héeni (Juneau) area since time immemorial. The clans which inhabited the areas include the L’eeneidí, Wooshkeetaan, L’uknax.adi (A’akw Kwaan) and Gaanaxádí, Tsaateeneidi, Ishkahittaan, Yanyeidi (T’aaku Kwaan).
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In the 1880s, a Tlingit village was well established in Yaa Andagan Yé (where the sunrays touch first) the vicinity of Sandy Beach on Douglas Island, which became known as the Douglas Indian Village. Beginning in the 1800s there are written records of tribal leaders speaking about land ownership rights to various government agencies. When DIA registered their Constitution with the US Government in 1941, this was the tribal center of government and where meetings took place with Camp 3 of the Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood. A census of the village, published in 1899, recorded the population of the village at 600.
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Through the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) of 1971, the State of Alaska conveyed lands to Native corporations in Southeast Alaska, but no land was conveyed to the Tribe in the Douglas or Juneau area.
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Currently the DIA membership has grown to over 700 tribal members. Most of the members live within the city and Borough of Juneau (CBJ), which has an overall population average of about 32,000. There are approximately 6,000 Alaska Natives living in the City and Borough of Juneau and Douglas, many of whom are eligible to apply for membership in DIA.
Douglas Indian Association
Traditional and Historical Territory
Historical Clan Boundaries
Traditional and Historical Territory of the
A`akw Kwáan & T`aaku Kwáan
This map shows the aboriginal use and ownership, as well as uses in 1946, of the lands within the DIA’s traditional Tribal territory. Documented Tlingit settlements include: Jaw Point on the Taku River; Taku Harbor; Pt. Salisbury and Pt. Bishop; Dupont, Thane, Sheep Creek; South Douglas, Sandy Beach, Mayflower Island and Savikko Park; the Juneau Indian Village; West Douglas, Middle Point, Pt. Hilda, Young’s Bay; Outer Point, North Douglas; Auke Village, Auke Bay, and Auke Lake; Lena Cove and Berner’s Bay.
- DIA-NOAA Marine Debris Project 2016-2017Kamal Lindoff2019-03-05T09:50:48-08:00
DIA-NOAA Marine Debris Project 2016-2017
- Canoe Welcoming Celebration 2018Kamal Lindoff2019-03-04T13:26:16-08:00
Canoe Welcoming Celebration 2018
- Yanyeidi Wolf Totem Pole RaisingKamal Lindoff2019-03-04T13:26:37-08:00
Yanyeidi Wolf Totem Pole Raising
Douglas Indian Association is a Federally recognized Tribe since 1934
Tlingit people and their clans were well established and thriving in Southeast Alaska when European explorers made their first advances into the area in the 1700’s.
Early settlement sites within the traditional territory of DIA includes Auke Village, as well as numerous areas around Juneau, Douglas and the outlying coastal islands.
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