Tongass Historical Museum

10/02/2026

Stop by from 4-8pm for the Ketchikan Area Arts and Humanities Council ARTober Art Walk!

We have candy corn (and other refreshments), free addmission to explore the museum, and the Ketchikan Public Library is hosting a candy corn keychain craft!

09/30/2026

ARTober Art Walk is this Friday!

We’ll be open late at the Tongass Historical Museum from 4–8 PM, and admission is FREE!

The Ketchikan Public Library is bringing a candy corn keychain craft, and we’ll be trying to answer one of the community’s most pressing questions:

Just where do we collectively fall on the candy corn spectrum?

🌽 “It’s my favorite vegetable. I’d eat them year-round if I could.”

😐 “They’re fine. I guess.”

💀 “Three layers of autumnal betrayal.”

Stop by the museum, make a candy corn keychain, and visit with the librarians about all the fun programming happening at the library this fall!

See you Friday!

09/27/2026

Every Child Matters

September 30 is Orange Shirt Day; a day we remember Indigenous children who were sent away to boarding schools in the United States and residential schools in Canada. The larger movement, started in Canada in 2013 and reached Alaska in 2016, was inspired by the experiences of residential school survivor and activist Phyllis Webstad. Phyllis was six years old when she was sent to St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School in British Columbia. On the first day of school, she wore a bright orange shirt chosen for her by her grandmother. The shirt was taken away and replaced with a school uniform. Although Phyllis’ orange shirt represents a loss of culture and identity, the movement now uses it as a symbol of reconciliation, hope, and remembering. September 30 was made a federal holiday by the Canadian government in 2021 and is known as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. In the United States it is observed as the National Day of Remembrance for Indian Boarding Schools.

Thirty of the 526 boarding schools in the United States were located in Alaska, according to the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition (https://boardingschoolhealing.org/list-of-indian-boarding-schools/). The history of boarding and residential schools has been understudied, but more institutions are now being identified. The Alaska Native Heritage Center (https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/74c3be9251284ac1a8e72c95fa7ef50b) lists over 100 government and religious schools throughout the state. Many Native children from Southern Southeast Alaska attended the Wrangell Institute, Sitka Industrial Training School (Sheldon Jackson Institute), or Mt. Edgecumbe in Sitka, while some were sent out of state to the Chemawa Indian School in Oregon or the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania.

A pin bearing the phrase, “Every Child Matters” is this month’s featured artifact. The phrase has become the central message of the Orange Shirt Day movement, symbolizing that every child’s life, culture, and dignity matter. The enamel pin has an orange background with an original formline design by local Tsimshian artist Ken Decker. The design represents the four Tsimshian clans: Wolf, Raven, Killer Whale, and Eagle, arranged in a clockwise orientation.

09/21/2026

On Friday, September 25, we honor the Irene and Nettie Jones family and their fight to end segregation in Ketchikan’s public schools. Doors open at 5:00 PM at Schoenbar Middle School, Celebration begins at 5:30 PM. All are invited!

In 1929, Irene Jones was 12 years old and wanted the opportunity to attend public school and receive a better education. At the time, Native students in Ketchikan were sent to the Bureau of Indian Affairs school, which was overcrowded and lacked teachers, supplies, and other resources.

On September 10, 1929, the Jones family challenged the segregation of Ketchikan’s schools in court. On September 25, they won their case, opening Ketchikan’s public schools to Native students alongside white students. (25 years before the U.S. Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education ruling in 1954!)

The Jones family showed tremendous courage in standing up for equal access to education. Their actions changed the course of education in Ketchikan and helped open opportunities for students as well as Native teachers and other teachers of color.

We are grateful to the Jones family for the stand they took and for the lasting difference it made in our community!

09/19/2026

Joining us today for free craft activity from 1-3pm?

Today's Summer Saturdays at the Museum will see you making a FISH themed pirate hat!! Learn more about historic FISH PIRATES from the Alaska Fishermen's Museum:

This is the story of fishing pioneers in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, and of the most efficient and controversial type of fishing gear ever devised, the trap. Listen to the last of the trap men as they tell their tales. Watch historic film footage of the traps that proliferated throughout Puget...

09/18/2026

There are only two Summer Saturdays at the Museum left this season! 9/19: Make your own fish pirate hat for 🐟☠ and 9/26: Get a little crabby and a whole-lot jelly as we craft paper plate sea creatures!

All-ages, free, fun!!

09/15/2026

WE ARE HIRING a Program Assistant for the City of Ketchikan Museum Department. Regular, part-time; Position is 30 hour/week. Varied schedule including evenings and weekends, $21.07 - $29.69/hr. DOQ plus benefits. Provides support for educational programming and tours at the Tongass Historical Museum and Totem Heritage Center. Excellent oral and written communication skills with diverse audiences essential. Knowledge of basic clerical procedures and computer skills required. Knowledge of educational programming practices and Alaska Native culture preferred. EEO/AA; Position Open Until Filled.

More info and online application: https://www.ketchikan.gov/jobs/1598/