Kake, AK

Kake is a first-class city on the northwest coast of Kupreanof Island, along Keku Strait and Frederick Sound. The Tlingit presence here reaches back thousands of years, and the modern city still has three overlapping civic hands: the City of Kake handles community services, emergency services, and public works; the Organized Village of Kake runs tribal programs and land stewardship; Kake Tribal Corporation serves its shareholders. A 132-foot totem pole carved for the 1967 Alaska Purchase centennial rises over the town, giving the skyline a piece of that history.

ATTRJoseph from Cabin On The Road, USA / CC BY-SA 2.0

Each January 8, Kake Day brings people to Community Hall for a fair, historical pictures, and a shared dinner marking the city's 1912 incorporation. Water and salmon shape the older working map. The Kake Cannery was built on piers over Keku Strait in 1912 at a traditional Tlingit summer fishing ground, produced its highest pack in 1940, and closed permanently in 1977. The present school sits on Library Place, where Kake City School District grounds its mission in Tlingit heritage and values. Kake's local scoop is a coastal town where the harbor, a cannery landmark, a city government, and a tribal government meet within one compact community.