Our History

Revillagigedo Island is the ancestral territory of the Taánta kwaan Tlingit and Saánya kwaan Tlingit. The Seventeenth Century saw the arrival of the Haida who migrated from Haida Gwaii, British Columbia. In 1887, the Tsimshian canoed from British Columbia to Annette Island with Father William Duncan. During World War II, many Aleut people were relocated to a federal Civilian Conservation Corps work camp at Ward Lake. This brief historical background is the foundation of Ketchikan Indian Community [KIC]. KIC’s tribal citizens are descendants of Tlingit, Haida & Tsimshian as well as Aleut and many other tribal nations.

The political activism of the Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood was the impetus for the formation of KIC as well as many other Native advocacy organizations. KIC was incorporated in 1940 under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 which was amended for Alaska in 1936. KIC, a federally recognized Indian Tribe, serves 6000+ tribal citizens and is the second largest tribe in the State of Alaska.

In an exercise of tribal sovereignty, the KIC Tribal Council opted to negotiate Self Governance Compacts for programs and services through the Bureau of Indian Affairs [BIA] and Indian Health Service [IHS] in 1997. KIC’s IHS Compact empowered the tribe to assume responsibility for the KIC Tribal Health Clinic [KICTHC] which provides services to KIC and Saxman tribal citizens. The KICTHC maintains accreditation for the services it provides through the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) and Commission on Accreditation for Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). KIC’s BIA Compact supports the tribe in providing Education & Training, Social Services, Housing and Cultural Resources programs.

KIC adopted an Amended and Restated Constitution and Bylaws in 2017 and in August 2018, the Tribal Council took further steps in the exercise of tribal sovereignty by submitting a Fee-to-Trust application for 38 Acres of land in Ketchikan.