Mission to Metlakatla
by Elaine Wentworth
Category: History

In 1857, British William Duncan, age 25, became a British Lay-Missionary to civilize the savage Tsimshian Indian tribe near Fort Simpson, northernmost trading post in coastal British Columbia. Learning their complex language from a young Indian; becoming friends, he met Chief Legaic, who supported Duncan starting a school. Gaining a following, he developed the Christian mission called Metlakatla. Later, the British forced claim to their ancestral lands. Duncan appealed to U.S. Congress who voted them free land on Annette Island in American Alaska Territory. Migrating by huge canoes, they began again, building a modern community and church of no denomination.