Metlakatla, Alaska
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Metlakatla is a census-designated place located in Prince of Wales-Outer Ketchikan Census Area, Alaska. As of the 2000 census, the population of the CDP is 1,375.
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Geography
Metlakatla is located at 55°7'37" North, 131°34'35" West (55.126916, -131.576393)Template:GR. It is on the Port Chester harbor, on Annette Island, about 25 km (15 miles) south of Ketchikan.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 6.1 km² (2.3 mi²). 6.0 km² (2.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.85% water.
Metlakatla is a Tsimshian word meaning "calm channel." Metlakatla was named after another village of the same name in British Columbia. The name may not be as appropriate for the Alaskan Metlakatla, as the weather there can be quite stormy.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 1,375 people, 469 households, and 338 families residing in the CDP. The population density is 228.8/km² (593.4/mi²). There are 531 housing units at an average density of 88.4/km² (229.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP is 9.53% White, 0.22% Black or African American, 81.82% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.51% from other races, and 7.85% from two or more races. 1.82% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 469 households out of which 38.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.0% are married couples living together, 15.6% have a female householder with no husband present, and 27.9% are non-families. 23.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 6.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.93 and the average family size is 3.50.
In the CDP the population is spread out with 33.1% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 7.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 31 years. For every 100 females there are 108.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 115.0 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP is $43,516, and the median income for a family is $49,671. Males have a median income of $36,696 versus $22,292 for females. The per capita income for the CDP is $16,140. 8.0% of the population and 7.7% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 9.7% of those under the age of 18 and 6.3% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
History
In 1886, William Duncan, a Scottish tanner and lay minister of the Anglican Church, had a doctrinal dispute with the Church authorities in Metlakatla, a village near Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada. He and a devoted group of Tsimshian followers decided to leave Metlakatla. Duncan went to Washington, D. C., in the United States and asked the U. S. government to give his group land in Alaska. The U. S. gave them Annette Island. In 1887 the group arrived on the island and built a settlement in the Port Chester area of the island. The town was laid out in a neat grid pattern and contained a church, a school, a tannery and a sawmill. They named the town New Metlakatla, after the town they had left behind, but later dropped the "New". in 1888, William Duncan returned to Washington D. C. and lobbied the U. S. Congress for an Indian reservation on Annette Island. Although the reservation system had not been used in Alaska, this request was granted in 1891. Annette Island contains the only Indian reservation in Alaska.
William Duncan remained at Metlakatla until his death in 1918.
During World War II a large airfield was built on Annette Island. After the war it became a U. S. Coast Guard search and rescue base. Until recently, it was the largest airfield in Alaska.
Travelers into Metlakatla usually reach it the Alaska Marine Highway ferry or by traveling to Ketchikan, on Revillagigedo Island and crossing the Revillagigedo Channel that separates Annette and Revillagigedo Islands by boat or seaplane.
External links
- Metlakatla Tours (http://www.metlakatlatours.com/)
- Metlakatla.Net (http://www.metlakatla.net/home2.html)
| Regions of Alaska | Missing image Alaska_state_flag.png Flag of Alaska |
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| Alaskan Bush | Interior | North Slope | Panhandle | South Central | Tanana Valley | |
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| Boroughs and census areas | |
| Aleutians East | Aleutians West | Anchorage | Bethel | Bristol Bay | Denali | Dillingham | Fairbanks North Star | Haines | Juneau | Kenai Peninsula | Ketchikan Gateway | Kodiak Island | Lake and Peninsula | Matanuska-Susitna | Nome | North Slope | Northwest Arctic | Prince of Wales - Outer Ketchikan | Sitka | Skagway-Hoonah-Angoon | Southeast Fairbanks | Valdez-Cordova | Wade Hampton | Wrangell-Petersburg | Yakutat | Yukon-Koyukuk |