Native peoples existed in what they simply called The Land, that today is known as Alaska, 10,000 years before written records were kept. The Tlingit people are among the oldest inhabitants, dwelling in what would become Glacier Bay, and within the temperate rain forests, and a multitude of islands, waterways and mountains of the southeastern part of this vast land. They had mastered the ways of their environment, learning to survive on the bountiful life their land provided.
Tlingit life evolved then, as it continues today, in a complex and creative culture. As a people, they were territorial, living in clans that collected in small villages throughout their territory. Although they often shared what they had with other clans and …show more content…
The Russians frequently attempted to quash these attacks, having their military ships fire on several coastal villages.
Saving the Native villages from continued bombardments, the Eastern War of 1863, also known as the Crimean War, broke out and Russia was forced to use their military resources in Europe to defend themselves against Great Britain, France, and Turkey.
The fur-bearing animal population began to shrink dramatically due to over hunting and trapping, causing profits to decrease while costs rose. Russian America became a very large and distant expense. Fearing that it might be seized if the war continued with Great Britain, the Russian government was prepared to forsake its Alaskan colonies and offered to sell everything to the United States. At the time, the U.S. Civil War prevented such a sale from becoming a reality. The Americans
Many of Russia's Alaskan possessions were abandoned by late 1866 and, after the Civil War was over, Secretary of State William Seward saw an opportunity for the United States. He quickly rekindled the Russian's offer to sell …show more content…
Rumors of gold in Alaska spread through California mining camps, bringing prospectors northward and, in the 1860s, they found gold on Telegraph Creek in Southeast Alaska. Similar discoveries were made in the coming years, in places like the Stikine River tributary, Sitka and the much larger ones in the Klondike and further north in Nome.
This full-fledged gold rush also provided a sudden growth in the American economy back home. Between 1899 and 1910, miners took more than $46 million worth of gold from the Nome area alone. Secretary Seward's supposed frivolous purchase of Alaska was more than vindicated.
The Organic Acts of 1885, and later in 1912, brought a reorganization and establishment of the Territory of Alaska. With the new government's mind on the valuable minerals and other resources to be taxed and otherwise taken advantage of, any thoughts of whether or not Alaska Natives held inherent rights or owned the land they used and occupied, were ignored and tasked to subsequent and distant Congresses.
By this time the indigenous Natives of Alaska were beginning to understand the continuing pattern of mistreatment and disregard for their needs and rights. It was time for them to take the battle into the invader's own
Tlingit life evolved then, as it continues today, in a complex and creative culture. As a people, they were territorial, living in clans that collected in small villages throughout their territory. Although they often shared what they had with other clans and …show more content…
The Russians frequently attempted to quash these attacks, having their military ships fire on several coastal villages.
Saving the Native villages from continued bombardments, the Eastern War of 1863, also known as the Crimean War, broke out and Russia was forced to use their military resources in Europe to defend themselves against Great Britain, France, and Turkey.
The fur-bearing animal population began to shrink dramatically due to over hunting and trapping, causing profits to decrease while costs rose. Russian America became a very large and distant expense. Fearing that it might be seized if the war continued with Great Britain, the Russian government was prepared to forsake its Alaskan colonies and offered to sell everything to the United States. At the time, the U.S. Civil War prevented such a sale from becoming a reality. The Americans
Many of Russia's Alaskan possessions were abandoned by late 1866 and, after the Civil War was over, Secretary of State William Seward saw an opportunity for the United States. He quickly rekindled the Russian's offer to sell …show more content…
Rumors of gold in Alaska spread through California mining camps, bringing prospectors northward and, in the 1860s, they found gold on Telegraph Creek in Southeast Alaska. Similar discoveries were made in the coming years, in places like the Stikine River tributary, Sitka and the much larger ones in the Klondike and further north in Nome.
This full-fledged gold rush also provided a sudden growth in the American economy back home. Between 1899 and 1910, miners took more than $46 million worth of gold from the Nome area alone. Secretary Seward's supposed frivolous purchase of Alaska was more than vindicated.
The Organic Acts of 1885, and later in 1912, brought a reorganization and establishment of the Territory of Alaska. With the new government's mind on the valuable minerals and other resources to be taxed and otherwise taken advantage of, any thoughts of whether or not Alaska Natives held inherent rights or owned the land they used and occupied, were ignored and tasked to subsequent and distant Congresses.
By this time the indigenous Natives of Alaska were beginning to understand the continuing pattern of mistreatment and disregard for their needs and rights. It was time for them to take the battle into the invader's own