Reparations Made by Quaker Group in Alaska

By Isaac White In an unprecedented move towards reconciliation and healing, the Alaskan branch of the Quakers, a religious group historically involved in the forced assimilation of Native youth across the United States, has made a significant gesture of restitution to the Indigenous community of Kake, Southeast Alaska. On January 19, members of this group personally delivered a check for $93,000, accompanied by a heartfelt four-page apology, to the Organized Village of Kake, a community deeply scarred by the legacy of a Quaker-run mission school that operated from 1891 to 1912. The Alaska Friends Conference (AFC), a small but dedicated group within the Friends General Conference, is predominantly composed of White members who are keenly aware of their organization’s historical role in the assimilation policies. Their ongoing efforts to atone for past injustices are part of a broader movement towards reconciliation and healing. The Quakers, formally known as the Religious Society of Friends, were instrumental in the federal government’s efforts from 1819 through 1970 to eradicate Native culture, language, and traditions through a nationwide network of over 500 boarding schools. In Alaska those institutions existed, with the Quakers directly managing schools across the country. The school in Kake is a...