Lost 19th-century Tlingit fort discovered in Alaska

[Judi Lynn]

15. Long-Lost Indigenous Fort Used To Resist Russian Colonization Discovered In Alaska

Long-Lost Indigenous Fort Used To Resist Russian Colonization Discovered In Alaska

By Tom Hale
29 JAN 2021, 12:23

Along the southeastern coast of Alaska, archaeologists have discovered the site of a long-lost fort used by Indigenous people as a last wall of defense against colonization from Russia 200 years ago.

The fort can scarcely be seen today with the naked eye, but it was recently revealed by a team of archaeologists from Cornell University and the US National Park Service using cutting-edge geophysical imaging techniques and ground-penetrating radar. Their findings were recently reported in the journal Antiquity.

The fort was built by the Tlingit Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America on a peninsula in modern-day Sitka, Alaska, and is still an important cultural symbol of their resistance to colonization In 1799, when the Russian Empire sent a small army to take over Alaska to exploit the region’s resources, namely animal fur, and to compete with other European colonial powers.

The initial conquest was not as straightforward as Russia had hoped, however. The Tlingit successfully defeated the Russian invaders in 1802 and expelled them from Alaska. Realizing this was unlikely to be the last they’d see of them, the Tlingit built the fort near the mouth of the Kaasdaheen, now known as Indian River, and armed themselves with guns, cannons, and gunpowder bought from British-American traders. It became known as Shís’gi Noow, meaning “sapling fort” in the Tlingit language.

More:
https://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/longlost-indigenous-fort-used-to-resist-russian-colonization-discovered-in-alaska/