Annette Island and Metlakatla? Info please, oh please? (Ketchikan, Atqasuk: home, movie theater)

[Lunabell]

My husband dutifully went off to an education job fair today and came home very excited about a job possibility in Metlakatla. That was not what I was expecting! He has already applied for positions in Wyoming and Montana, but nothing more remote than that.

I am open to new adventures and definitely recognize that if we do this, this will be different than any adventure we thought we would have. I have never lived anywhere that is only accessible by boat or plane.

Has anyone lived there or been there? How do you find housing? I am not even sure what other questions to ask, as I am still trying to wrap my head around his idea.
Thanks!

[Metlakatla]

Nice, nice people on Metlakatla. The Tsimshians are noted for their graciousness and thier vibrant culture. Here's U-Tube of the Native dancers:


YouTube - Metlakatla native dancers-Sept-19-2008



It's only a short ferry ride to Ketchikan; the plane ride is just up and down and takes only a few minutes, so not as remote as some places in AK. It's also a sovereign nation by the way, and a dry community. It rains a lot. Some of the terrain there is unlike anything else in SE Alaska and almost reminds me of the mesas in southern Utah in a weird way.

Housing...the school district should be able to help you out with that.

[Lunabell]

I looked up some pictures of Annette Island and I definitely see what you mean about how it could remind you of the mesas in southern Utah.

Thanks for the video! That was really cool.

My husband also came home talking about another school system near the Bering Straights or something. I know I am not ready for that remote.

Thanks again!

[Metlakatla]

Also---as far as flying south for holidays to see family, or having them fly up to visit you, it's much easier and less expensive than places farther north.

[bortstc37]

i kind of like working for the bssd. they're excellent employers.
this is too remote for most, though.

[Lunabell]

Originally Posted by bortstc37

i kind of like working for the bssd. they're excellent employers.
this is too remote for most, though.

That is the school district he was talking about. After poking around on the internet, I read really great things about them. Definitely too remote for me though. I think if my husband had conceived this idea about 15 years ago, he would be there, if possible.

[burke4julieb]

Does anyone know if they have teacher designated housing in Metlakatla?

[LadyAuke]

Metlakatla is very nice- I don't think I would chose to live there but that's mostly because I like having a big grocery store and such, plus I kind of like the Sealaska checks we get a bit too much to give them up. The folks who live in Met get pretty good healthcare through the tribal clinic- as someone who was invited to live there you might get that too.
Everyone is very kind and generous and will gladly welcome you into their home. You would certainly never have to worry about being stuck without a place to live.
The last time I was there I took some pictures, sadly my internet has crapped out and I can't seem to upload them. Maybe later.
There's a pretty good grocery store and a hardware store. No restaurants that I know of. Tongass Federal CU has a tiny branch there for banking. There's a church where a lot of the cultural events are held, and a big clinic that also has a museum with some pretty interesting exhibits about how people ended up on Annette Island. Basically, they were originally settled over in British Columbia but one of the missionaries disagreed with the church about how to handle Native folk and petitioned the US government to give him some land on the US side of the border for a reservation and they did- so Annette Island IR is the only reservation in Alaska. He moved his followers there and the rest is history. This guy was actually kind of a jerk and of the "Native people are pagans that must be civilized" persuasion but luckily that mindset has died out and the Tsimshian that live there now have returned to dancing and building totems and other such "pagan" rituals.
Across the water is Ketchikan which has most of the other amenities you might need. We have a Safeway and a Walmart, a mall, bookstores, art galleries, a 2-screen movie theater (though they play the same movies for like a month and if we do get a movie it's not until after the bigger theaters in Juneau are done showing it and are kind enough to send it down). We also have an airport with multiple flights to Seattle and Juneau daily. Metlakatla has some kind of airport but I think only Taquan Air serves it commercially and you'd only be able to fly to Ketchikan and maybe Prince of Whales. The MV Lituya is the ferry that goes to Met, I've never ridden it though because we have a skiff that we take over.

Hopefully that's helpful. I'll see what I can do about the pics- they're pretty good.

[EDIT: oh goodness, I did not realize how old this thread was. May still be helpful though...]

[Lunabell]

Thanks! My husband ended up getting a job in Atqasuk, on the North Slope. Kinda fun to look back on this since this is what started our journey to AK. I have to giggle a bit now since back then I thought Met was so far "out there" and now I am really out there in the middle of the tundra.lol I would definitely be closer to a Walmart if he had gotten that job. It turned out they had a record number of applications for the school counselor position.

[NomadicBear]

A family member's wife is from Metlakatla, though she moved to the lower 48. She is a very sweet and beautiful gal.