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Metlakatla (Tsimshian: ''Maaxłakxaała'' "Saltwater pass") is a census-designated place (CDP) on Annette Island in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 1,375. == History == ''Metlakatla'' comes from ''Maxłakxaała'', a Tsimshian word meaning "Salt Water Passage." Metlakatla was named after another village of the same name ("Old Metlakatla") in British Columbia, which is on Metlakatla Pass, near Prince Rupert. In a more ancient time, it was a Tlingit hunting ground known as "Taquan". The Tsimshians were granted permission to own the land by Chief Johnson of the Tlinget tribe. In 1886, William Duncan, an English tannery employee and lay member of the Church Missionary Society, had a doctrinal dispute with the Church authorities in Metlakatla, B.C. He and a devoted group of Tsimshian followers decided to leave Metlakatla. Duncan went to Washington, D.C., in the United States and asked the U.S. government to give his group land in Alaska. The U.S. under President Cleveland gave them Annette Island after a search committee in seagoing canoes discovered its calm bay, accessible beaches, nearby waterfall, and abundant fish.〔"(Community Origins )." ''Metlakatla Indian Community''. 2005. Web. Retrieved 24 Aug. 2011.〕 In 1887 the group arrived on the island and built a settlement in the Port Chester area of the island. The town was laid out in a neat grid pattern and contained a church, a school, a tannery, and a sawmill. They named the town New Metlakatla, after the town they had left behind, but later dropped the "New". In 1888, William Duncan returned to Washington and lobbied the U.S. Congress for an Indian reservation on Annette Island. Although the reservation system had not been used in Alaska, this request was granted in 1891. Annette Island and its surrounding islands today comprise the only Indian reservation in Alaska. Duncan remained at Metlakatla until his death in 1918. During World War II, a large airfield was built on Annette Island. This airfield became "the first Canadian force ever based in U.S. territory to directly assist in American defense." After the war it became a United States Coast Guard search and rescue base.〔Lundberg, Murray. "(Annette Island, Alaska in World War II )." ''Explore North''. 2009. Web. Retrieved 24 Aug. 2011.〕 This airfield served the area commercially until the 1970s when the new Ketchikan Airport was built at Gravina Island in the Inside Passage. Travelers into Metlakatla usually reach it the Alaska Marine Highway ferry or by traveling to Ketchikan, on Revillagigedo Island and crossing the Revillagigedo Channel that separates Annette and Revillagigedo Islands by boat or seaplane. From 1997 to 2007, a joint task force under the overall command of Alaska Command and led by the Missouri Army National Guard worked at constructing a 15-mile road from one side of Annette Island to the other. Members of the Active and Reserve Components of the Army, Navy, United States Air Force, and the Marines deployed to the island on 2 to 3 week rotations to build the road.〔() Fact Sheet, Operation Alaska Road, retrieved 06 February 2008〕 The project was the result of a 50-year-old treaty promising the Metlakatla Indian Community a road connecting their ocean-side city to Alaska's inside passage (to allow year-round ferry service to Ketchikan), in exchange for the military airbase during WW2. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Metlakatla, Alaska」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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