Archives West Finding Aid

In a 1905 letter to Edmond Meany written in Ketchikan, Alaska, David Kininnook referred to the Seattle Totem Pole, which had been taken from the native Tlingit village of Tongass in 1899 and placed in Pioneer Square, Seattle. This pole belonged to the Raven clan, Kininnook being the English surname for the clan. As a native Tlingit, David Kininnook was active in protesting the unauthorized removal of totem poles from native villages. Edmond Meany (1862-1935) was a prominent figure in Seattle at the turn of the century. He had served as the editor and publisher of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer , as a state legislator, and as the first registrar and head of the history department of the University of Washington. He was also an industrious historian who wrote several books and numerous articles about the Pacific Northwest.

The Tongass village joined the Cape Fox Tlingit village, which had relocated in 1894 to form the Saxman village, several miles south of Ketchikan. (Photographs of Chief William Kininnook and his home are from the Saxman village.) New Metlakatla on Annette Island, south of Ketchikan, was settled by Anglican missionary William Duncan and a group of native Tsimshian followers who moved from near Prince Rupert, B.C., seeking religious refuge. The group dedicated their settlement on August 7, 1887.