Chief Kah-du-shan, from Wrangel:-
Long time ago before the white people came to this country Thlingit had laws and at every village there was a chief, some villages two or three chiefs. Now around Wrangel we have names of different mountains; different creeks; bays; points; all have names. Around Taku the Thlingit gave names to different points, islands, mountains, as well as Chilkat and other places. Three principal rivers in this country through which the natives of the country would go into interior are Stickeen river, Taku river and Chilkat river. The Sitka Thlingit as well as Hoonah and they go to Yakutat. Ever since I have been a boy I have heard the names of different points, bays, islands, mountains; places where Thlingit get herring, hunting and make camps, that is why I think this country belongs to us.
Long, long time ago before white people came to this country our people lived here at certain places where they went hunting and fishing. When the Russians were here they did not have any stores in the interior but they used to trade with our people here (means on the coast.) I was a boy when this country was purchased and soldiers came here to Wrangel and to Sitka. There was a captain by name of Smith who told us that Americans had purchased this country. Then the business men followed the soldiers. They commenced to trade with our people. Our people did not object; did not say any thing to them. By and by they began to build canneries and take the creeks away from us, where they make salmon and when we told them these creeks belonged to us they would not pay any attention to us and said all this country belonged to President, the big chief at Washington.
We have places where we used to trap for furs; now the white man get up on these grounds. They tell us that they are hunting for gold but the judges and Governor tells them to look for gold. We know that the white people get lots of money out of these places as well as out of the Yukon river. Here at this place as well as other places they take our property; take away ground, and when we complain to them about it they employ a lawyer and go to Court and win the case.
There are animals and fish at places where they make homes. We are not fish. We like to live like other people live. We make this complaint because we are very poor now. The time will come when we will not have any thing left. The money and every thing else in this country will be the property of the white man and our people will have nothing. We meet here to-night for the purpose for you to write to the chief at Washington and to let them know our complaint. We also ask him to return our creeks and the hunting grounds that white people have taken away from us.
Of course we are not as powerful as white people. We have no soldiers. We have no strength. We ask the big chief at Washington as children ask their fathers. The missionaries and teachers tell us that no one but God make the people. We know that the same God made us. And the God placed us here. White people are smart; our people are not as smart as white people. They have a very fine name; they call themselves white people. Just like the sun shining on this earth. They are powerful. They have the power. They have men of wars. It is not right for such powerful people as you are to take away from poor people like we are, our creeks and hunting grounds. Among our people we have chiefs. We have nice people, that is why I think the white people are our chiefs.
Long time ago our fathers used to tell children who was the chief and what happened long time ago and that is why we know how the chiefs are made and what our ancestors used to do. Present are Johnson, Koogh-see, and another young man who are chiefs, and also old man by name of Shoo-we-Kah. We do not ask the whole of Alaska. We simply ask the President to give us a ground where we can raise vegetables and places where we can hunt and prepare fish. We do not want all these things we ask for by force. We have eyes and we have sense. We see you are powerful. We do not want to be angry with you. We want to be friends with you. We simply ask you to give us all these things. What I am saying to you now are the words of our people of a great many different villages, Taku, Sitka, Chilkat, and other places. We get married, take wives from one village to the other and what I am saying to you now are the words of our Thlingit.
Chief Johnson (Yash-noosh) from Juneau:- Chief of the Takou Tribe
What Kah-du-shan has said he told you the truth. We have not talked to you for long time, for many years. We have not said any thing to you since Russians lived in this country. All the people would like to say something to the Governor. We are perfectly willing to give this country Alaska to you. We know this is our country. How long we have been living here we do not know; very long time.
I do not know whether the law making people living at Washington get any pay—the man who teach the people to be good. We do not know any thing about the United States law, the law that the Governor knows. Things that I am saying now did not use to happen in olden days. The Government now sells land. Our people we have simply patches of ground raising vegetables and place where our people go hunting; creeks where they fish, we want you to give them back to us. We never had any trouble with white people of America. We love you as children love their parents. Now we know that the United States have a great deal of trouble with Indians in the States about the land. We never had that trouble with you. We are perfectly willing that you should have Alaska. We did not know that the Russians sold this country; of course we know it now. When the American soldiers came to this country that was the first time that we heard that this country was sold by the Russians. The Indians in the States made great deal of trouble for you about the land. We never make any trouble. We love you. We love you as our friends. The Thlingit are getting poor because their ground is taken away from them. We ask you to give to the Thlingit the places that brought us food. If you refuse to do that then our people will starve. All these people came here for the purpose to tell you what they want so you can tell the chief in Washington. We have not been talking to you for long time but now we are compelled to talk to you because white people are taking all those places away from us. Places where we used to make food. I like to say more but I would not say any thing now as several people here present who would like to talk to you.
Chief Koogh-see from Hoonah:-
We would like to ask Governor question, Why the people get arrested and tried in Court?
[Governor Brady: For violating the laws that we have on our books.]
Yes, I heard that our people get arrested and tried in Court because they broke law. I was not quite sure, that is why I asked the question. It is true what Kah-du-shan has said; we believe that Alaska belongs to us. In all this country long time ago before we ever saw white man, our fathers and grand fathers told us we owned it. In those days we had our own customs. We believed and done things our way in those days, but lately missionaries came here and commenced to tell us different. They tell us that every thing that is on this earth, wood, water and every thing else, is created by God. The trees grow for the purpose that we can make use of them and make houses of. And different animals were created by God for purpose of giving us clothing and food. Now deers is made for purpose to eat; bears and other animals also. Now you see up to the present time blankets are made out of [marten] skins. That is the kind of blankets we used to have long time ago out of [linx], fox and bear. God made the rivers for the purpose that we drink the water and he also made fish for to go in the river. We have been living here a long time. Our ancestors used to live here and had possession of different creeks and different places. Since white men came to this country things have changed. They take these things away from us for the purpose of enriching themselves. There are lots of things here which white men can make money our of. There is lots of gold in this country. We do not know any thing about mining. White men can mine. We do not want them to interfere with us. We make our living by trapping and fishing and hunting and white men take all these places away from us; they constantly interfere with us.
Now not very far from the place where I live is Lituya Bay, where our people, our ancestors, used to go hunting for sea otters and hair seals. Now that place is taken away from us. Great many schooners going there. White people are there now. These white men when they make camp they make lots of smoke. That scares animals; sea otters especially. That ground is very good for sea otter hunting. We went up there, 20 or 30 canoes and hunted around all summer and did not get any. The smoke scares the animals away. And when we talk to those white men they say that country does not belong to us, belongs to Washington. We have nothing to do with that ground.
All our people believe that Alaska is our country. I have been down to Seattle, and Tacoma. I have seen very nice towns. I have seen how white men live and I like it very much. Now supposing I come back here and tell my people, the leading men such as Kah-du-shan to go down to Seattle and Tacoma. I have seen white men raising at those towns all kinds of fruit and vegetables. Suppose I tell those people to go with me on certain days to burn certain ground and next day same thing and third day do same thing and destroy all these things, don’t you suppose the white people would say something to us if we destroyed all these grounds by fire and got on places where white people goats and other animals and commenced to shoot these. That is why I ask you, Governor, to return all these things which white men took away from us. Creeks, for instance, where we make dry fish; places where we trap. We make our living altogether by trapping and hunting and I ask you to give all those places back. And if white men should like to take possession of any of those places, we should like to ask you to tell them to not take them for nothing, but to pay for them.
