Chilkoot Lake - History

History

L’uknax Adi clan of Tlingit Indians, whose principal symbol is red salmon or sockeye, traditionally owned Chilkoot Lake and Chilkoot river, also called by the English names after their crest animal as Sockeye Clan, Coho Clan and Salmon Clan. Tlingit clans "historically owned areas of economic production that were most often also places of importance in the Spiritual geography of the region".

The history of the lake is directly linked to the Chilkoot village, where the Tlingits lived, after which the lake has been named. This village existed near the outlet of the Chilkoot Lake and was divided into two parts by the river; the western part was inhabited by Raven clan Tlingits while the Eagle Clan Tlingits lived on the eastern part. It was an important location for the southeast Alaskan Tlingits who reportedly settled here during pre-historic days when they subsisted on salmon and hooligan fishing; they used Hooligan fish to make fish oil, their cooking medium, by cooking the fishes in a canoe lined with hot rocks. The name Chilkoot has also a legend tagged to it, as the word ‘lkoot’ refers to the incident of the village getting totally buried under a land slide of the “red bluff on the Chilkoot Lake.” The population of the village dwindled over the years from a figure of 127 people (1880 census), just to 2 houses with 7 people in June 1990 and was finally abandoned. Another factor for desertion of the village is attributed to the cannery industries that got established in the area for processing salmons that were fished from the lake and the river, in Haines and other places in the late 19th and early 20th century; the last Tlingit reportedly left the place in the early 1940s and most of the families now live in Haines. The fishing tools that the Tlingits used for fishing in the lake and the rivers in the past, which were mostly nets and gaff hooks, have also since been replaced with modern fishing rods and reels.

The biologists of Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) constructed a Fish weir across the Lower Chilkoot River in 1976 to enumerate the movement of Sockeye fishes from the Chilkoot lake downstream.

The road from the Lutak Inlet to the outlet of the lake was extended and improved over a period from 1953 to 1956 by the Alaska Road Commission; the intended purpose was to have access to the recreation area, for quality fishing and access to small boats to the river shores for extracting timber from the area for commercial purposes.

The road on the upstream side of the lake called as 'Cox Road' (named after a homestead owner in upper reach of the river) on the west side of the lake was built in later years in 1968.

Use of boats on the Chilkoot Lake and the river from the Tilgit village was in the form of canoes rowed to the “Glory Hole”, at the upper end of the lake for harvesting salmons and also for hunting wild life in the hills. However, in the mid 20th century boats were used on the lake to transport construction materials and jeep to the homestead built by Cox at the head of the lake. Now, commercial ships operate in the lake catering to tourism for fishing, sight seeing and for hunting expeditions. Commercial Kayak operations are also very popular.

A popular raft race, known as the “Mad Raft Race” is an annual feature in the Lower Chilkoot River from the Chilkat Lake, which is held during 4 July celebrations. Home-made rafts are plied during the race due its light weight and ease of transportation across the fish weir on the river to continue with the race.