Angoon, AK

Angoon is a city on Admiralty Island in Southeast Alaska, set on an isthmus at the mouth of Kootznahoo Inlet. The 2020 census counted 357 residents. The city is about 60 miles southwest of Juneau and can be reached by ferry or float plane instead of a road network. Fishing and fish processing remain central to the local economy, while Chatham School District operates the community’s schools. Angoon is the headquarters of the Angoon Community Association, the federally recognized tribal government of the Kootznoowoo Tlingit people.

ATTRVincent I. Soboleff / Public domain

Admiralty Island has long been Tlingit homeland, and Angoon’s history includes maritime fur trading during the Russian period and the U.S. Navy’s 1882 bombardment of the village. The attack destroyed homes, food stores, and canoes before winter, leaving a memory that still shapes community history and remembrance. Today the island setting keeps daily life tied to salmon, halibut, boats, forest, and the water routes to Juneau. Angoon is a small Southeast Alaska city whose Tlingit government, inlet, and working waterfront make it distinct from road-connected towns.