The Auke are an

Alaskan Native Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tlin ...

people, whose autonym ''Aakʼw Ḵwáan'' means "Small Lake People."Map of Auke territory and list of clans
They are a subgroup of the

Tlingit The Tlingit or Lingít ( ) are Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. , they constitute two of the 231 federally recognized List of Alaska Native tribal entities, Tribes of Alaska. Most Tlingit are Alaska Natives; ...

. The Auke lived along the northwestern coast of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, in the area that is now the

Alexander Archipelago The Alexander Archipelago () is a archipelago (group of islands) in North America lying off the southeastern coast of Alaska. It contains about 1,100 islands, the tops of submerged coastal mountains that rise steeply from the Pacific Ocean. Deep ...

and adjoining mainland of the

Alaska Panhandle Southeast Alaska, often abbreviated to southeast or southeastern, and sometimes called the Alaska(n) panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, bordered to the east and north by the northern half of the Canadian provi ...

around

Juneau Juneau ( ; ), officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the capital of Alaska in 1906, when the government of wha ...

. The Auke had a village on Auke Bay just east of Point Louisa, about 13 miles northwest of

. There were seasonal festivals associated with the harvest of herring at spawning season. In 1880, after Joe Juneau and

Richard Harris Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. Having studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, he rose to prominence as an icon of the British New Wave. He received numerous a ...

were led to

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

in the Silver Bow Basin, U.S. naval officers encouraged the Auke to move from the area to avoid conflict with miners and prospectors. The census of Alaska at the time listed the Auke population as 640, of whom 300 were on

Admiralty Island Admiralty Island is an island in the Alexander Archipelago in Southeast Alaska. It is long and wide with an area of , making it the seventh-largest island in the United States and the 132nd largest island in the world. It is one of the A ...

, 50 on

Douglas Island Douglas Island () is a tidal island in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is part of the city and borough of Juneau, just west of downtown Juneau and east of Admiralty Island. It is separated from mainland Juneau by the Gastineau Channel, and contains ...

, and 290 on

Stephens Passage Stephens Passage is a channel in the Alexander Archipelago in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of Alaska. It runs between Admiralty Island to the west and the Alaska mainland and Douglas Island to the east, and is about 170 km (10 ...

, the latter presumably including those at the Point Louisa village. The Auke people continued to return to what they called Indian Point, for the annual harvest of

herring Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the Order (biology), order Clupeiformes. Herring often move in large Shoaling and schooling, schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate wate ...

at spawning time. They have considered this a sacred place, both because of their traditional gathering for subsistence and their historic village and its burying ground. These local peoples have resisted European-American development of Indian Point, which is located past the Juneau Ferry Terminal and before the Auke Recreation Area operated by the

U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's ...

. Federal agencies including the National Park Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) had proposals to build on the site. The Tlingit consider it sacred territory, both because of the burying ground and its place in their traditions of gathering sustenance. The city and state supported recognition of the 78-acre site, which in August 2016 was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. "It is the first traditional cultural property in Southeast Alaska to be placed on the register."Lisa Phu, "Feds designate Juneau's Indian Point as sacred, worthy of protection"
''Juneau Empire,'' 16 August 2016; accessed 21 August 2016

Clans and houses

The Auke were originally formed around

clans A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...

, based on kinship systems. These were traditionally divided into houses. Extended family groups used to live together in large longhouses.

Divisions and houses of the Raven Moiety or Clan

*Lʼeeneidí (Gift Blanket People) **G̱aatáa Hít (Trap House) **Téelʼ Hít (Dog Salmon House) **Yax̱te Hít (Big Dipper House) *Lʼuknax̱.ádi (Coho Salmon People) **Lʼook Hít (Coho Salmon House) *G̱aanax̱.ádi (People of ''G̱aanax̱'') **G̱aanax̱aa Hít (G̱aanax̱ Group House) **Yéil Hít (Raven House)

Divisions and houses of the Wolf/Eagle Clan

*Wooshkeetaan **G̱unakadeit Hít (Sea Monster House) **Hít Tlein (Big House) **Noow Hít (Fort House) **Tóosʼ Hít (Shark House) **Xeitl Hít (Thunder/Thunderbird House) **Xóots Hít (Brown Bear House)

References

{{authority control Alaska Native ethnic groups Tlingit Native Americans in Alaska