The Chilkoot Indian Association has applied with the Alaska Historical Commission to change the name of Seduction Point, the southern tip of the Chilkat Peninsula, in an effort to expose and change the landmark that hides a dark history.
“In brief, a Kaagwaantaan woman was raped at this spot by British sailors under the command of Joseph Whidbey,” Chilkoot Indian Association’s Ryan Barber wrote in his application letter. “The name is meant to imply that she seduced the sailors.”
Barber sourced Dan Henry’s book “Across the Shaman’s River,” a narrative detailing Tlingit and Native history in the Chilkat Valley. Henry writes that in 1794, when Captain George Vancouver’s ships sailed the length of the Chilkat Inlet, one of the boats approached the tip of the peninsula.
“Smoke from a cooking fire near the peninsula’s point spurred the sailors to investigate,” Henry wrote. “They found a lone Tlingit woman tending camp for her husband and other seal hunters.”
Henry reviewed ship’s logs and interviewed Joe Hotch, a Tlingit elder, who said the story of the assault was passed down through the generations. Hotch told the CVN that multiple women were raped.
“When I was fishing with my dad ,we drifted by there and he showed me the (spot) that the women were raped,” Hotch told the CVN this week. “They’re doing a good job in changing (the name.) The history will never change.”
The Geographic Names Information Systems entry for Seduction Point states Vancouver named the place Seduction Point because of the “designing nature of the Indians whom Lieutenant Joseph Whidbey encountered there on July 16, 1794,” according to a U.S. Geologic Survey document.
Those seeking the name change have proposed its original Tlingt name, “Ayiklutu,” a word that translates to “small point of a larger point.”
“If you look at a map it makes sense, it looks like there is a point inside of a point,” wrote Chilkoot Indian Association’s Ted Hart. “It has always been an important place and was used seasonally as a fish camp. What is so important about these Lingit place names is they are very descriptive. This one word communicates the signature characteristics of that spot. Seduction Point does not. It could be any point and really the name is offensive since it acknowledges a very ugly crime that happened there by explorers along with many other similar crimes of that time.”
The point is on state land in Chilkat State Park. Alaska State Parks supports the name change.
The Alaska Historical Commission is a citizen board chaired by the Lt. Governor. In 1982, the state enacted a law that urged the board to consider Alaska Native place names for geographic features that have not been named. The board is “reluctant to change existing names, but will consider doing so if the proposer demonstrates a compelling reason and if there’s local support for the change,” according to commission policy.
Those proposing a name change must demonstrate that the current place name is “derogatory to a racial, ethnic, gender, or religious group.” When considering the change, the commission also seeks support from local authorities, residents and organizations for the proposed change.
Comments should be submitted to [email protected] by Oct. 17
Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer Joan Antonson said the state board meets Oct. 29 to discuss the proposal. If it receives community support, it will forward the proposal on to the federal U.S. Board on Geographic Names. They typically come to decisions within six months, Antonson said.
The state historic commission usually considers between 12-15 name changes per year,” Antonson said. The board meets twice a year.