Kake, Alaska

How Kake is governed

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0 of 14 positions listed. Gray dashed boxes are placeholders waiting for a name.

• Mayor

  Executive

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  The city's chief elected official. Presides over the executive branch, proposes the budget and represents the city.

  • City Manager / Administrator

    Executive

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    The professional administrator who runs day-to-day operations (in some cities appointed by the council instead of the mayor).

    • Police Chief

      Administration & departments

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      Leads the police department.

    • Fire Chief

      Administration & departments

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      Leads the fire and emergency services department.

    • Public Works Director

      Administration & departments

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      Streets, water, sewer, and city buildings.

    • Finance Director

      Administration & departments

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      The budget, taxes, and city accounts.

    • Planning & Zoning Director

      Administration & departments

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      Land use, zoning, building permits.

    • Parks & Recreation Director

      Administration & departments

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      Parks, programs, and public facilities.

• City Council

  Legislative

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  The elected body that passes ordinances, sets the tax rate and approves the budget.

  • City Clerk

    Administration & departments

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    Keeps the official records, runs meeting agendas and, often, local elections.

  • City Attorney

    Administration & departments

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    The city's lawyer; advises officials and prosecutes ordinance violations.

  • Boards & Commissions

    Legislative

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    Citizen advisory bodies, such as planning, zoning appeals and library boards.

• Municipal Court

  Judicial

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  Hears traffic, ordinance and other minor cases.

  • Municipal Judge

    Judicial

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    Presides over the municipal court.

Website

cityofkake.com

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Population over time

From 557 in 2010 to 543 in 2020 (−2.5%).

History

Prior to Alaska Purchase

The region of Kake has been inhabited by the Ḵéex̱ʼ Kwáan of Tlingit Indigenous people for thousands of years.

The Tlingit of the Kake region gained a reputation among early European and American explorers of being strong and powerful. Some conflicts with early explorers have been documented by historians. Some scholars believe the first explorer to enter Tlingit lands was the Briton Francis Drake, who traveled to the area near present-day Kake in 1579, although other scholars dispute this theory.

In the early 19th century, Kake was visited by American maritime fur traders seeking sea otter skins, such as the ship Atahualpa in 1805 and Otter in 1811. Kake was also visited by the Russian Golovin Expedition in 1818. Mikhail Tikhanov, an artist with the expedition, painted a watercolor of the Tlingit chief Kotlean.

After Alaska Purchase

In the February 1869 Kake War, the USS Saginaw destroyed three deserted villages and two forts near present-day Kake. Prior to the conflict, two white trappers were killed by the Kake in retribution for the death of two Kake departing Sitka. Sitka was the site of a standoff between the Army and some Tlingits who refused to surrender Chief Colchika, who was involved in an altercation in Fort Sitka. While no Kake died in the destruction of the villages, except perhaps for a single old woman, some died over the winter due to the loss of winter stores, canoes, and shelter led to the death. The villages were not rebuilt, and their inhabitants dispersed to other villages or remained in the vicinity, eventually rebuilding the present day Kake.

On September 25, 2024, the U.S. Navy formally apologized to the people of Kake for the destruction of the village.

Kake is the site of a 128-foot totem pole, one of the world's largest, carved in 1967 for the Alaska Purchase centennial.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Other cities in Alaska

• Anchorage 289,600
• Fairbanks 32,515
• Juneau 32,255
• Wasilla 9,054
• Sitka 8,458
• Ketchikan 8,192
• Kenai 7,424
• Bethel 6,325

All Alaska cities →