Description of the Chief Son-I-Hat Whale House Documentation Project
“The only Haida clan house in Alaska is once again in serious danger of being lost through deterioration.”
-Kasaan Haida Heritage Foundation
“This site has considerable potential for interpretive and historical reasons, as well as serving as a meaningful locale for ceremonial and other community functions.”
-Cultural Heritage Project – Report on Kasaan for the Alaska State Museum, 1971
“It is our opinion that structural failure of some portions of the building is likely within a few years. Work to replace failed structural components within the next few years should be seen as a paramount planning goal.”
-Chief Son-I-Hat Whale House: Architectural Analysis by MRV Architects, March 2007
The only remaining Haida clan house in Alaska is located in the community of Kasaan, on Prince of Wales Island in southern Southeast Alaska. Historically, Haida villages were constructed on the seashore with homes in one or two rows along the beaches. The largest home was owned by the village chief and was located in the middle of the village. The chief’s home was the center of political, social and economic activity in the village.
Chief Son-I-Hat (Kòyongxung) of the Yàdas (Eagle) clan, was born in 1829, and was considered one of the wealthiest of the Haida chiefs in what is now Southeast Alaska. Son-I-Hat built two houses. The first one, Neyùwens (great house) was built in 1880 in Kasaan Bay, about a mile from where the village of Kasaan now stands. Chief Son-I-Hat lived in Neyùwens with his family until 1915. After falling into disrepair, the clan house was reconstructed in 1938, and now seventy years later this important clan house has deteriorated into disrepair and is once again in dire need of significant reconstruction. The Chief Son-I-Hat Whale House was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2002, and continues to offer a rich history that is important to Kasaan Haida people. Sharing information about the significance of Chief Son-I-Hat’s house, and the need to restore it, is an essential part of Kasaan’s efforts to document and preserve Kasaan Haida culture and history.
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