The Kake War was the destruction in February, 1869, of three semi-permanent winter villages and two forts near present-day Kake, Alaska, by the . Prior to the conflict, two white trappers were killed by the Kake in retribution for the death of two Kake departing Sitka village by canoe. Sitka was the site of a standoff between the Army and Tlingit due to the army demanding the surrender of chief Colchika who was involved in an altercation in Fort Sitka.
The loss of winter stores, canoes, and shelter led to several Kake deaths during the winter. The Kake did not rebuild the small villages destroyed. Some dispersed to other villages, while others remained in the vicinity of Kake, eventually rebuilding the present day Kake.
Background
Following the Alaska Purchase, the United States Army came to Alaska to serve as the civil administering entity of the Department of Alaska. The U.S. authorities used common law, while the Tlingit people used indigenous law. Americans generally characterized the Tlingit legal framework as based on "revenge"; in actuality, it was more complex and involved "peace ceremonies" which included compensation in either goods or human lives.
Events leading to war
thumb|Sitka, Group of Distinguished Chiefs (1868)
thumb|Sitka, Indian Village (1868)
On New Year's Day 1869, three Tlingit chiefs (Colchika, a Chilkat leader from Haines, Alaska, Kalsteix "Sitka Jack", and an unidentified chief) were invited to visit Fort Sitka to meet with Jefferson C. Davis. A sentry at the entrance to the fort challenged them, and after they ignored the challenge, kicked Colchika in the buttocks. In the ensuing scuffle, Colchika disarmed the soldier and walked away from the fort with his rifle. Upon hearing of the incident, Davis sent a small detachment to the nearby Sitka village to "bring in the Chilkat chief dead or alive". A firefight in the village ensued in which a Tlingit slave was killed, and Colchika and four others were wounded. The detachment then retreated as the Tlingit outnumbered them, and Davis proceeded to place Sitka under siege by gunship and fort artillery, demanding the surrender of Colchika. Some Tlingit who attempted to leave Sitka by canoe were killed by gunship fire. After a few days Colchika surrendered to the Army, however, the next morning an army sentry killed two unarmed Tlingit from the Kake tribe who were departing Sitka in a canoe.
A report by secretary of the Board of Indian Commissioners Vincent Colyer and Sitka Mayor William S. Dodge from 1870 attributes the initial altercation in part to serving alcohol to natives, saying Colchika was inebriated at the time with whiskey.
Chief Tom of the Kake tribe demanded compensation for the death, as is customary in Tlingit law, from General Davis, who refused. Failing to receive material compensation, the Kake sought retribution in lives. The Kake captured a party of four trappers on Admiralty Island: two white trappers (Ludwig Madger and William Walker) were put to death at Murder Cove, while two mixed race Tlingit-Russian guides were purposefully set free.
While the army failed to recognize Tlingit law, others recognized the local customs. According to the post trader at Sitka, Frank K. Louthan, "The failure to promptly pay for a real or supposed injury is at once the signal for retaliation, "The Kakes very promptly sought the usual remedy, 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth'".
An unexploded Parrott rifle shell was discovered in the 1940s by a Kake resident embedded in a tree stump and kept as a family heirloom for many years before being defused in 2011 and placed on display in the Sealaska Heritage Institute.
Apology
In 2024, the US Navy announced that there would be two apologies for wrongful military action, in Kake and in Angoon. Navy Environmental Public Affairs Specialist Julianne Leinenveber stated, “The pain and suffering inflicted upon the Tlingit people warrants this long overdue apology,” and “The Navy will be issuing this apology because it is the right thing to do, regardless of how much time has passed since these tragic events transpired.”