| Summary: | Caption on image: Father Duncan's Church - Metlakatla. Fisher Studio[stylized] Filed in Alaska--Cities/Location--Metlakatla Metlakatla is located at Port Chester on the west coast of Annette Island, 15 miles south of Ketchikan. Metlakatla means "saltwater channel passage," and was founded by a group of Canadian Tsimshians who migrated from Prince Rupert, British Columbia in 1887 seeking religious freedom. They were led by a Scottish lay priest in the Anglican Church (Church of England), Reverend William Duncan, who had begun his missionary work with the Tsimshians at Fort Simpson, B.C., in 1857. Rev. Duncan traveled to Washington D.C. around 1886 to personally request land from President Grover Cleveland for the Tsimshians. The Island was selected by a local search committee, and by 1890, there were 823 residents. Congress declared Annette Island a federal Indian reservation in 1891. Residents built a church, a school, a sawmill and a cannery, and constructed homes in an orderly grid pattern. Duncan continued to inspire and lead his followers until his death in 1918.
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