History

Metlakatla, Alaska, was founded in 1887 by Reverend William Duncan and a group of Tsimshian Indians who migrated to the Annette Islands from British Columbia. The U.S. Congress recognized the community in 1891 and created the Annette Islands Reserve, a Federal Indian Reservation, which includes the water surrounding Annette Islands for a distance of 3,000 feet from shore (at mean lower low tide). Because Metlakatla did not participate in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, the community is unique in Alaska. The reservation is recognized as sovereign territory by the United States.