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With Sealaska’s recent donation of cedar logs the WCA is confident they’ll be able to complete the renovation of the 70-year-old clan house this spring. Sealaska’s Vice Chair Rosita Worl says she’s excited to see the project move forward.

“It’s a community affair. If our culture is going to survive, we need to cultivate an interest and educate non-native people, so that they can have an appreciation as well as benefit from the culture. And that’s what I saw from Wrangell’s application, that the community was very involved in supporting the project,” she says.

Through the corporation’s log donation program, Wrangell will receive six yellow and six red cedar logs from Prince of Wales Island. Sealaska’s log donation program provides logs to native organizations and communities to support cultural restoration projects. Worl says Wrangell’s Chief Shakes Island renovation project is a perfect fit for the program.

“We’re not going to give it away to somebody who is out to make money from it. It’s for cultural purposes, such as a non-profit organization that has a project that reflects our people and heritage,” she says.

The log program is available to clans, native communities, and native organizations located in Southeast Alaska’s ANCSA and Landless communities.

The Chief Shakes Tribal House is located on a small island in Wrangell’s downtown harbor. The house was built in 1940 by the Civilian Conservation Corporation, The Forest Service, and local Tlingit Tribe. This will be the first full renovation of the house since its creation. Work on the tribal house is scheduled to begin early this spring.