Introduction
The setting of Sitka, Alaska, in a tranquil bay on Baranof Island, is nothing short of spectacular. Tiny islands dense with evergreen trees dot the blue-green water, which is crisscrossed by dozens of fishing boats. Looming over the town and waterfront is Mount Edgecumbe, a Mount Fuji look-alike located on a nearby island.
Sitka also has a rich legacy of artifacts and traditions from the Alaska Native, Russian and early-U.S. eras. It is the ancestral home of the Kiksadi Tlingit people. In the 1800s, before Alaska was sold to the U.S., the town was a major Russian port, headquarters of the Ru...