Skagway Village

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Skagway Village
Shg̱agwei (Tlingit)
Alaska Native village
Skagway aerial view.jpg
Aerial view of Skaway
USA Alaska location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Skagway Village
Skagway Village
Coordinates: 59°27′30″N135°18′31″W / 59.45833°N 135.30861°W / 59.45833; -135.30861
Constitution Ratified1980;46 years ago (1980)
Capital Skagway, Alaska
Government
 • Type Representative democracy
 • BodySkagway Traditional Council
 • PresidentJamie Bricker
Population
 (2025) [1]
 • Estimate 
57
Demonym Skagway Tlingit
Time zone UTC–09:00 (AKST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC–08:00 (AKDT)
Website skagwaytraditional.org

Skagway Village, also known at the Skagway Traditional Council, is a federally recognized Alaska Native tribe of Tlingit people. [2] This Alaska Native tribe is headquartered in Skagway, Alaska, [2] and is estimated to have 57 citizens in 2025. [1]

Contents

They are known as the Skagway Tlingit. The Tlingit language spelling is Tlingit : Shg̱agwei, [2] Their local healthcare is provided by the Dahl Memorial Medical Clinic, [2] which translates as "place where the north wind blows". [3]

Government

Skagway Village is led by a democratically elected tribal council. Its president is Jamie Bricker. [4] The Alaska Regional Office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs serves the tribe. [4]

The tribe ratified its constitution and by-laws in 1980 and amended them in 2004, 2015, and 2021. [5]

Territory

Tlingit people have lived in present-day Skagway, located on the Alaskan Panhandle, for millennia. European-Americans entered the region in the 1880s Gold Rush. [6] Considered the gateway to the Klondike and is near Glacier Bay National Park, [1] Skagway sits in a valley between steap mountains on the Taiya Inlet [7] and is northeast of Haines, Alaska. [6] The Klondike Highway and Alaska Highway allow automobile traffic to access British Columbia. [8]

The tribe's environmental coordinator, Reuben Cash, is leading an effort to reduce the invasive plant species, such as white sweetclover, orange hawkweed, reed canary grass, and yellow toadflax that have overrun tribal lands. [9]

Economy

Mrs. SteneTu and her son Ravens wearing their potlatch regalia, 1906. Photo by William Howard Case and Horace H. Draper, Skagway, Alaska Mrs SteneTu and son Ravens in potlatch dancing custome costume Copyright 1906.jpg
Mrs. SteneTu and her son Ravens wearing their potlatch regalia, 1906. Photo by William Howard Case and Horace H. Draper, Skagway, Alaska

Skagway Village is affiliated with Sealaska Corporation, an Alaska Native corporation. [2]

Communications

The tribe received slight more than $2 million dollars to develop broadband internet through the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program. [10]

Language and culture

The people of Skagway Village speaks English and the Tlingit language. [2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Skagway, Alaska". American Rescue Plan. US Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Shg̱agwei (Skagway)". MySealaska. Sealaska. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  3. ↑ "Skagway Alaska". Ancorage Alaska Memories. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  4. 1 2 "Tribal Leaders Directory". Bureau of Indian Affairs. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  5. ↑ "Skagway Village Constitution and By-Laws" (PDF). Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  6. 1 2 "Skagway: Culture and Heritage". Alaska Inside Passage. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  7. ↑ "Skagway: Gateway to the Klondike (Teaching with Historic Places)". National Park Service. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  8. ↑ "Named Recipient Program: Municipality of Skagway". Alaska Division of Community and Regional Affairs. Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  9. ↑ Swasey, Mike (13 July 2021). "Skagway Traditional Council battles invasive plant species". KHNS FM. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  10. ↑ "Skagway Traditional Council (TBCP I)". BroadbandUSA. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
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