Mikki Angerman has been working with Wrangell Public Schools for the past 15 years. And the last three, she’s been working as the middle school Special Education teacher, which she discovered is a passion of hers once she started. But recently, she made a difficult decision with her family to leave Wrangell. She sat down with KSTK’s Colette Czarnecki to talk about her journey as an educator in Wrangell, and why she’s made the decision to relocate to the Lower 48.

This conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.

I ended up falling in love with Special Ed, and I felt like this is where I was meant to be all along. This is my third year. In order to stay in Special Ed, I had to go back and get my masters so I could actually continue to teach Special Ed in middle school and high school. And so I did. I had a good support system.

My husband Aaron always supported me as a teacher and in the classroom by doing things from putting up my bulletin board decorations to baking something for the kids the next day, or even just understanding why I’m coming home late or having to do schoolwork late.

What made you fall in love with teaching Special Ed?

It’s really gratifying. A lot of the students that I work with are battling things on a daily basis. They have challenges that maybe a lot of people don’t see on the outside, and to be able to almost teach to the whole child is rewarding, I’m a sucker for an underdog, and to see them win, or grow, or for them to see themselves win and grow, those smaller moments just seem so much bigger when you’re in Special Ed.

Will you share a memorable moment?

Oh, gosh, there’s so many.

My relationships with my students, not even like teaching them the math, or the reading or the whatever.

I have several students I’m pretty close to.

I try not to get a little emotional when I think about it, but it’s just gaining those relationships. And there was one student who, through elementary school, they had a lot of challenges with emotions and controlling their emotions and behaviorally, and it felt like they were kind of an outcast, or they weren’t part of the group. And transitioning up to middle school. (Middle school is hard enough. I don’t know if any adult would pay to go back to middle school. Middle school’s hard.)  And then working with that student, working through how to deal with their emotions, how to approach situations in a healthier way made it to where I’ve now seen that student is active in athletics. That student is part of every sport that’s offered. They’ve gained friends. Last month, that student was…I don’t want to say too much in a small town, but they were honored for the growth and progress that they have made, and they’re just on a track that’s successful and healthy.

Where are you going?

Our family is relocating to Washington, so Seattle area.

My husband is still going to be working with Tlingit and Haida and we still have family here. We wanted to be close enough to family, and so it’s kind of in the middle. We can see our older kids on the other side of the state, and then we can still come up here. It’s easy enough to visit family, and for Aaron to be able to get back and forth to his job that he still holds. 

I’ll be with Seattle Public Schools. I just have to figure out which specific school I’m going to be teaching at. But it was a difficult decision for sure.

Wrangell’s our home. We have a house here and a family here. We didn’t want to really leave.

So this came with tears. But we have to do kind of what we have to do.

Alaska in general, you know education’s going in a direction that’s not great, and our schools are shrinking and shrinking and shrinking, and so we wanted to try to not only be closer to our older kids, but also try to provide our youngest with more opportunities educationally, and arts and music and all those sorts of things. 

What are your hopes with this move and this transition?

My husband and I say we’re up for an adventure. We’ve been here for 15 years, and we’ve done the things, and I’ve been on the committees. I think we’re at the point in our lives where we are ready for a new adventure. Seattle is going to be our new adventure. So that’s kind of exciting, something different, something new. And I’m always, ‘Hey, I’m a teacher, I’m a lifelong learner.’ I’m sure I’m going to be learning some new things. I love Seattle. The culture there, it’s very welcoming, and so many different people and things, and I’m very excited to kind of be a part of that. 

Do you have any closing statements you want to say about Wrangell Public Schools?

I have obviously a soft spot, and I always will for Wrangell Public Schools. I want to see Wangell Public Schools grow and I would hope to see like more people get involved, join the school boards, join the committees.

But it takes everyone to stand up, be a voice, be involved. Don’t shut your doors. Don’t walk away. I think if enough people do that, it could be great.

The kids here…it’s gonna be hard to leave.

I try to be their advocate. I work in an area where sometimes I’m the only advocate, I care about them, and I hope that everything that I’ve shared and done with them carries with them after I’m gone. I’ll be checking in. I tell them I’m gonna be back in the summers. I’m only a plane ride away. I will always be an advocate for these kids and their families. If they ever need anything, I would 100% be there. 

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Alaska’s school funding formula creates an unusual dynamic for local governments. The money a borough contributes to its school district can actually reduce what the state gives.

Because of this uncomfortable catch, Wrangell’s borough assembly is weighing whether to give its school district an additional $150,000.

For the next fiscal year in 2027, Wrangell Public Schools has a base funding target of $4,116,973. If the borough pays over the allowable maximum of $1.9 million, the state contributes less to meet that target and the state will fine the borough. Essentially, it’s a balancing act, and the borough ends up filling in for the state. 

While some school districts in Alaska are facing teacher cuts and school consolidations, Wrangell is not in immediate crisis. But at an April 27 joint work session, the borough assembly and school board still faced a difficult question: how much should the borough contribute for the coming fiscal year? 

Chief Financial Officer Kristy Andrew said the borough can give up to $949,000 above its required maximum contribution without triggering a reduction in state funding. Beyond that threshold, the state’s share shrinks. 

“It’s the required local effort that the state offsets — any additional allowable contribution from the city is truly extra, and that’s really what helps us,” she said. “So you could give us up to $949,000 in additional revenue without any penalties from the state.” 

Compared to a year ago, the finances are looking up. Last year, Andrew projected the district would end this fiscal year with just under $54,000 in reserves. The turnaround is largely thanks to a $700 per-student funding increase from the state last year, called the Base Student Allocation. Alaska lawmakers overrode Governor Mike Dunleavy’s veto to make it happen. Enrollment gains and careful spending also helped, she said. 

One less intensive student means less state funding

Next fiscal year, the district is projecting 258 students enrolled, with six receiving intensive special education services — one fewer than this year. That reduction means $86,580 less state funding coming in. 

“Everybody remember…the adopted budget had a fund balance at the end of this year of $53,907,” Wrangell Public Schools’ Superintendent Joshua Garrett said. “Right now, we’re expecting our June 30 fund balance to be over a million dollars. That’s good. That’s really good news. That’s outstanding.”

Garrett said that a $1 million cushion helps manage risk, but it still doesn’t allow the district to plan proactively or invest in its future. He pointed out that districts across Alaska are budgeting without knowing what the BSA will be, sometimes until months after the fiscal year has already started. 

“How am I supposed to plan as a superintendent?”

On top of that uncertainty, the district is projecting a $563,508 budget deficit for next year. But the district is hoping for a one-time state funding increase of between $200,000 and $350,000, plus an additional $150,000 from the borough. 

“How am I supposed to plan as a superintendent? Because that’s a huge difference,” Garrett said. “One is, ‘Hey, we’ve got a three and a half year runway,’ or ‘We’ve got plenty, and now we can really do some things in this district.’ I don’t know any business that can run off of a $500,000 deficit year after year after year.” 

Garrett said the district is already stretched thin — staffed below minimum levels, with no room left to cut. The district cut a media literacy librarian position that they posted posted earlier this year. 

School district asks for maximum local contribution

The district is also absorbing a 2.5% increase in health insurance premiums, a 10% increase in property and liability insurance and an additional $10,000 for bussing costs the state will not cover. 

Garrett said, “We still need the state to figure out a long term solution for adequate, actually beyond adequate. How about excellent funding for schools in Alaska?” 

The minimum contribution the City and Borough of Wrangell is required to make is $956,810. The district is asking for the maximum: $1,905,988. They submitted that request May 1st, and the borough has until the end of the month to respond. 

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Tuesday, April 14, 2026 Location: Borough Assembly Chambers
5:30 PM

PRESENTATION (5:30 – 7:00 PM)
a. Presentation – by “Structure”

Part one

Part two

Borough assembly meeting

Part one

Part two

1. CALL TO ORDER
   a. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE led by Assembly Member DeBord
   b. ROLL CALL
2. CEREMONIAL MATTERS
   a. PROCLAMATION: Municipal Clerk’s Week
3. PERSONS TO BE HEARD
4. AMENDMENTS TO THE AGENDA
5. CONFLICT OF INTEREST
6. CONSENT AGENDA
   MOTION ONLY: Move to Approve the Consent Agenda, as submitted.
   a. Minutes from the March 24, 2026 Regular Assembly Meeting
   b. RESOLUTION No. 04-26-2035 OF THE ASSEMBLY OF THE CITY AND BOROUGH OF WRANGELL, ALASKA, AMENDING THE FY 2026 BUDGET IN THE AMOUNT OF $10,000 BY ACCEPTING A NATIVE AMERICAN LIBRARY SERVICES BASIC GRANT (2025), IN
   PARTNERSHIP WITH WRANGELL COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION, FOR THE IRENE INGLE PUBLIC LIBRARY
   c. RESOLUTION No. 04-26-2036 OF THE ASSEMBLY OF THE CITY AND BOROUGH OF WRANGELL, ALASKA, AMENDING THE FY 2026 BUDGET BY ACCEPTING A GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF $10,000 FROM THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION LIBRARIES
   TRANSFORMING COMMUNITIES: ACCESSIBLE SMALL AND RURAL COMMUNITIES FOR THE IRENE INGLE PUBLIC LIBRARY
   d. RESOLUTION No. 04-26-2037 OF THE ASSEMBLY OF THE CITY AND BOROUGH OF WRANGELL, ALASKA, AMENDING THE FY 2026 BUDGET BY ACCEPTING GRANT FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF $20,000 FROM THE ALASKA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION 2026
   CAMP INITIATIVE, FOR THE IRENE INGLE PUBLIC LIBRARY
   e. Final Plat approval of a Subdivision of Lot 6 and Lot 7 of USS 3534; Lot 10 and Lot PSS of USS 2589; and USS 3000 according to Plat No. 29-20, creating Parcels A and B of the CBW Deep Water Port Subdivision, zoned Waterfront Development, owned by the City
   and Borough of Wrangell and requested in partnership with Tideline Construction
7. f. Final Plat approval of a subdivision of Lot 5A, Block 61 (APN 02-028-204) of the Industrial Park Subdivision, according to Plat No. 2001-7, creating Lots 5A-1 and 5A-2 of the Woodbury Subdivision, zoned Industrial, owned and requested by Brett Woodbury
8. BOROUGH MANAGER’S REPORT
   a. Borough Manager’s Report
   b. Nolan Center Director’s Report
   c. Library Director’s Report
   d. FY26 Quarter 3 Report and Receivables
   e. FY2025 Audit Plan for Review
9. BOROUGH CLERK’S REPORT
   a. Borough Clerk’s Report
10. MAYOR AND ASSEMBLY BUSINESS
11. MAYOR AND ASSEMBLY APPOINTMENTS – None.
12. PUBLIC HEARING
    a. RESOLUTION No. 04-26-2032 OF THE ASSEMBLY OF THE CITY AND BOROUGH OF WRANGELL, ALASKA, APPROVING THE FY 2027 SALES TAX-FREE DAYS
    b. RESOLUTION No. 04-26-2033 OF THE ASSEMBLY OF THE CITY AND BOROUGH OF WRANGELL, ALASKA, APPROVING THE AMENDED BOROUGH-WIDE FEE AND RATES SCHEDULE AS PER WMC 5.14.025
    c. ORDINANCE No. 1099 OF THE ASSEMBLY OF THE CITY AND BOROUGH OF WRANGELL, ALASKA, REPEALING CHAPTER 6.08 – PEDDLERS AND ITINERANT MERCHANTS, IN THE WRANGELL MUNICIPAL CODE
13. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
    a. RESOLUTION NO. 04-26-2042 OF THE ASSEMBLY OF THE CITY AND BOROUGH OF WRANGELL, ALASKA, AUTHORIZING THE CONVEYANCE OF PUBLIC LAND and TIDELANDS, FOR PARCEL “A” OF THE CBW DEEPWATER PORT SUBDIVISION CONTAINING 9.11 ACRES MORE OR LESS WITHIN THE WRANGELL RECORDING DISTRICT TO TIDELINE CONSTRUCTION, LLC
14. NEW BUSINESS
    a. Approval of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City and Borough of Wrangell and Structure, Inc.
    b. ORDINANCE No. 1101 OF THE ASSEMBLY OF THE CITY AND BOROUGH OF WRANGELL, ALASKA, AMENDING SEVERAL SECTIONS IN CHAPTER 5.08 – SALES TAX, IN THE WRANGELL MUNICIPAL CODE
15. c. ORDINANCE No. 1100 OF THE ASSEMBLY OF THE CITY AND BOROUGH OF WRANGELL, ALASKA, ADDING CHAPTER 6.09 – LOCAL BUSINESS LICENSE, IN THE WRANGELL MUNICIPAL CODE
16. d. Approval of a Contract Award to IP Mechanical Contractors, LLC for the Stikine Middle School Boiler Replacement Project
17. e. RESOLUTION No. 04-26-2041 OF THE ASSEMBLY OF THE CITY AND BOROUGH OF WRANGELL, ALASKA AMENDING THE FY 2026 BUDGET BY TRANSFERING $25,000 FROM THE MILL PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT FUND TO THE DEEP-WATER PORT SITE PLANNING PROJECT AND AUTHORIZING EXPENDITURES
18. f. RESOLUTION No. 04-26-2034 OF THE ASSEMBLY OF THE CITY AND BOROUGH OF WRANGELL, ALASKA, APPROVING A 2% COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT (COLA) INCREASE TO THE NON-UNION EMPLOYEE WAGE AND GRADE TABLE
19. g. RESOLUTION No. 04-26-2038 OF THE ASSEMBLY OF THE CITY AND BOROUGH OF WRANGELL, ALASKA, APPROVING AN MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN WRANGELL PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND THE CITY AND BOROUGH OF WRANGELL
20. h. RESOLUTION No. 04-26-2039 OF THE ASSEMBLY OF THE CITY AND BOROUGH OF WRANGELL, ALASKA, AMENDING THE FY2026 BUDGET IN THE RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION FUND BY ACCEPTING THE REVENUE FROM THE SALE OF THE ALDER TOP SUBDIVISION LOT 8, BLOCK 1 OF THE ALDER TOP SUBDIVISION IN THE AMOUNT OF $87,100
21. i. RESOLUTION No. 04-26-2040 OF THE ASSEMBLY OF THE CITY AND BOROUGH OF WRANGELL, ALASKA, PROVIDING FOR AN AMENDMENT TO THE EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK, TO ADD SUBSECTION 5.7.12 PAID PARENTAL LEAVE
22. j. Approval of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOU) between the City and Borough of Wrangell and Milk Run Music Festival Corp for the organization and operation of the 2026 Milk Run Music Festival.
23. k. RESOLUTION No. 04-26-2043 OF THE CITY AND BOROUGH OF WRANGELL, ALASKA, AUTHORIZING APPLICATION TO THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION MARITIME ADMINISTRATION’S FY 2026 SMALL SHIPYARD GRANT PROGRAM, AND COMMITTING
24. MATCHING FUNDS FROM THE PORTS AND HARBOR ENTERPRISE FUND UNRESTRICTED FUND BALANCE
25. l. RESOLUTION No. 04-26-2044 OF THE ASSEMBLY OF THE CITY AND BOROUGH OF WRANGELL, ALASKA, AMENDING THE TEMPORARY CRUISE SHIP FACILITY SECURITY OFFICER JOB DESCRIPTION AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE
26. ATTORNEY’S FILE – Available for Assembly review in the Borough Clerk’s office
27. EXECUTIVE SESSION – None.
28. ADJOURNMENT

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Wrangell police charged a Wrangell teacher and high school wrestling coach with assault in the fourth degree, which is a misdemeanor, on March 25, for allegedly injuring someone at a bar.

Police said the incident occurred at Rayme’s Bar on March 15. They said Jack Carney approached the alleged victim, who was talking with Carney’s wife, and pushed him, causing him to hit the wall several feet back and fall down on the floor. The victim later received medical care for a sprained wrist.

Police said a surveillance camera filmed the incident. They also interviewed witnesses. 

Carney, a U.S. history teacher at Wrangell High School and Middle School, also serves as head wrestling coach. Additionally, he recieved the Division II High School Wrestling Coach of the Year in December.

He pled not guilty during his arraignment on April 7 in the Sitka Courthouse. 

Judge Pamela Stahla-Kernin prohibited Carney from returning to the bar and from discussing the matter with the witnesses. She also ordered him to not have any contact with the alleged victim.

His attorney, Dunnington Babb, wrote to KSTK through an email that “Mr. Carney is to be presumed innocent and has requested a jury trial.”  

KSTK reached out to Carney and he didn’t want to comment about the case. 

A trial is scheduled for the week of July 13. 

Editor’s note: This story was corrected to include the first name of the alleged perpetrator.

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Alaska U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan nominated Wrangell High School senior Ben Houser to join the Merchant Marine Academy later this year. KSTK’s Colette Czarnecki met with Houser to learn about his interest in this branch of the U.S. Armed Forces and the process for getting nominated. He said it made sense for him to pursue it after growing up in Wrangell.

This conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Ben Houser

My whole life, I’ve just lived on boats and fished with my dad. I built the boat in the shop. It just aligns well with all the things I do in my life and what I’m good at. So I thought I would try it out. I started the application process and fortunately, they chose me. So I did a panel interview with Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski’s interviewers. 

How did you feel before and during the panel?

I was a little scared, and I just had to practice with my mom a little bit. We had questions like the ones we thought they would ask. We practiced those at home and did some interviewing, and then, really, when I got into the interview, I was like, ‘this is a lot less scary than I thought.’  One of the panel interviewers happened to be a wrestler, and so I could kind of connect with him, because I was in wrestling at the time. It was just really easy to talk to them. And they thought a lot of things, like they stopped the whole interview right in the middle just to talk about me building my boat in the shop, because they had never had anybody build a boat before.

Why do you want to go to this academy?

I just thought getting out of Wrangell and trying some new things would be good for me. In Wrangell if we don’t have the barge come to town for one week, we don’t have eggs or milk on our shelves, and fuel prices are a big thing that ships here help. And just having ships in Alaska in these rural communities all over the world, it’s important to have people that are running these ships and doing those things. So I kind of just want to be able to give back to all the small communities all over Alaska and the world, and I want to be able to do engineering and be on ships.

When do you find out?

You have the normal application part that you would do for any school, the essay, and then you have the congressional nominations, and then you have what’s called a CFA, which is a candidate fitness assessment. And I had to do push ups, pull ups, sit ups, run a mile and do all that stuff here in Wrangell with Mr. Brooks, shout out to him.

With all that, I sent that in, and then I put my congressional nomination in, and after I have all that, there’s still one more thing you have to do. The school sends all your information to a place called DODMerb (Department of Defense Medical Examination Review Board), and that’s like a medical facility for the military. Then they email me the medical place. Then I have to do their whole medical part. They send you a provider, you have to set up an appointment.

And since we live in Wrangell, we have to travel to Anchorage or Seattle or somewhere else to do that medical exam. And then once that medical exam is done, DODMerb checks that out and makes sure you’re physically healthy, or mentally or everything healthy to be able to work on and go to these schools. And then once they have all that, they send that back to the school, it’ll probably be about April.

You are a senior, is this the only school you applied to?

I applied to UAF, I applied to NAU (Northern Arizona University), and I applied to Montana, State, and I got accepted in all three. 

Congratulations. What else do you hope to gain out of it, or experience with the academy?

With the academy, it’s really cool, it would be about a year at sea. I got 125 days at sea my junior year, and 225 my senior year. So that would involve being on ships, going all over the world, just traveling around, working and learning how to do things on ships. And that’s one thing I’d be excited for is just being able to see the world being on these ships. Also I’d be in New York going to school, so I’m just seeing a whole new everything and being able to experience new things. I just want to be able to learn the most I can, and I think this is a pretty good school to be able to learn a lot about engineering and ships, and I’m also getting a bachelor’s in science as well as getting my captain’s license.

And then you have to commit your time after the schooling. How much time?

So for five years, you’d be what’s called the naval recruit. And for six years, you have to uphold your credentials. You would have to work in some merchant marine area. 

If you go to the academy, you’ll come out as an engineer. What would your title be?

You can either go the deck route, where that would be, like, say, if you went on a cruise ship in Wrangell you would be the captain, or you would be up in the fly bridge, doing Captainy stuff. Or you can go the engineering route, which means you’d be working on the engine and working on anything mechanical inside the boat, but you’re still the same level as the top people.You come out as an officer. 

Do you know what kind of boat you would sail around the world with the academy?

I’m not 100% sure, but I’m fairly sure it’s a military type vessel.

Is there anything else you want to say?

I just encourage people to try hard things, and even if you’re scared at 17, 18 years old. I mean, anybody can do it. It’s just whether you want to really try or not.

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Episode 85: Seven years ago middle school teacher Laura Davies brought three of her students in to the studio to speak on this show. They were preparing persuasive speeches back then. Well, these fifth graders have grown and are in their last year of school. And they’re back on the show. Seniors Paige Hoyt, Christina Johnson and Ben Houser reflect over the last seven years and talk about their plans for the future.

The post Talk on the Rock: Three high school seniors reflect back over the last seven years, when they last visited the studio as a group appeared first on KSTK.

Episode 83: The Lady Wolves have been doing pretty good this season. Three of them: captains Alana Harrison and Christina Johnson and coach Christy Good chatted with KSTK’s news director Colette Czarnecki about their experiences so far on this year’s team. Their next game is against Craig on Jan. 29 and Jan. 30. Junior varsity starts at 5pm and Varsity at 6:30pm.

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The Wrangell School Board voted unanimously Monday to open a new K-12 certified librarian position that will also focus on media and literacy instruction, but some say the district should adjust existing roles instead of creating a new one.

Wrangell Superintendent Joshua Garrett said the position would manage both school libraries; in the secondary level, teach media literacy and research.

He said, “The goal is to inflame the love of reading in our students across the entire district.”

Garrett said the role would also help students navigate artificial intelligence and what it means for education.

“Not necessarily accepting whatever artificial intelligence means for us, but to be thinking about, to be preparing for it, because life is here now,” he said.

But not everyone supports creating the new position.

Some think the district should address other staffing needs first

Second-grade teacher Aly Howell told the board the district should address other staffing needs first.

She said, “Essential roles are being temporarily filled by volunteers, community members, while some remain unmet entirely.”

Howell said those gaps include crossing guards, the loss of homework club, and a lack of certified intervention specialists.

“Temporary solutions cannot replace stable, appropriately credentialed staffing.”

She asked the board to consider retitling the position as an intervention specialist or expanding the job description to ensure the the position supports the most vulnerable students.

“Temporary solutions cannot replace stable, appropriately credentialed staffing,” Howell said after explaining how the elementary principal fills roles when needed.

Superintendent Garrett responded that the new role is not intended to be an intervention position and said the district already has the staff needed to provide those services.

Position will cost the district roughly $73,000

He noted the district employs five certified Alaska Reads specialists that could fill that need and said addressing learning challenges is a matter of using existing staff more precisely.

Alaska Reads specialists support the lowest performing 25% students in kindergarten through third grade. Those students receive extra intensive assistance every day through the program.

The board ultimately voted unanimously to approve the new position. The position will cost the district roughly $73,150 this school year, with $41,000 going toward salary. 

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Episode 82: Basketball season is in full swing now here in Wrangell. Over the last couple weekends, the Wrangell Wolves played against Haines and Petersburg, ending each game with not the desired score. Coach Cody Angerman spoke with KSTK’s news director Colette Czarnecki about this season so far, how the team needs to grow and what effort looks like. He said it’s not always about winning, it’s also about paying attention, being respectful and trying their best both on and off the court.

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Wood chips and sawdust cover the floor as carver Mike Hoyt rhythmically adzes a red cedar pole. Some chips and dust lay on the older totems laying horizontally nearby in the Wrangell Cooperative Association’s Cultural Center and Carving Shed. Initially, he felt bad about that. But then …

“I was thinking like, ‘Well, no, it probably enjoys it in a way,’” he said. “I think something about the spirit of the poles being around that creative process is kind of nice.” 

Hoyt said a lot of the original totem work he and another Wrangell carver has been working on as a gift for the school district was inspired by ancestors who were carvers. 

The idea for the new pole came from Kevin McCallister. As the school district’s maintenance director, he was removing a rotten wooden post in the courtyard between the middle school and high school and he thought it would be cool to have a totem pole there.  

“My entire family grew up on reservations back east, on Native reservations,” he said. “And so I try to respect the culture everywhere I live.”

He asked Wrangell’s carvers about it. Hoyt said they liked the idea so much they decided to carve one for free. 

“We just told him, if you guys get a log for us, we’ll carve it because we want to do something for the school anyway,” he said. “We love the idea of having more Native art at the school. We both have worked at the school. Tony’s a graduate of there.”

As in Tony Harding, the other main carver on the project. 

The carvers’ families have been here for generations

Hoyt said his family has been here for generations. Both of his grandmothers were cheerleaders.

“It’ll be right by the gym,” he said. “Just knowing that it’s something that, in a way, kind of honors that connection, that history, I think that’s what’s important to me.”

On and off for the past few months, the distinct thuds of adzing can be heard in the large room as they’ve been carving the red cedar pole, sometimes with others’ help. It will stand just shy of 9 feet tall. The central figure on the pole is a wolf. 

Hoyt said, “We looked at a lot of different wolf designs all up and down the Northwest coast, and kind of settled on taking different elements from different pieces, changing them, kind of making it our own.”

He said this pole looks like a mix of Haida and Tlingit styles. 

“A connection of standing on your history, on your past.”

Hoyt said in Wrangell, there’s only one other totem pole with a wolf on it. 

At the bottom of the totem is a face inspired by Chief Shakes house posts. 

“It’s kind of a way of giving a nod to some of Wrangell’s carving history into Wrangell’s Indigenous history,” Hoyt said. “I kind of like that it’s the foundation that the wolf is standing on, in a way that kind of is a connection of standing on your history, on your past.”

Hoyt said an eagle is on top, between the wolf’s ears, to represent the elementary students who are known as Evergreen Eagles. 

The hope for inspiring the younger generation

The other carver, Tony Harding, hopes this inspires the younger generation to take part in revitalizing their Alaska Native culture.

“I think it’s great that I get to honor our culture in a very cool way with the high school and our culture,” he said. “Hopefully this inspires the kids to want to carve.”

They hope to share their carving skills with youth in the future. At least for now, while they scrape away the wood when they carve, they’re excited to see this new totem raised.

The totem unveiling will be held in the courtyard between the middle and high schools at 12 p.m. on Saturday, the day of Wrangell’s homecoming.

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