My Father, Owen James

Stories and adventures with my father

Kake, Alaska

My father grew up in Kake, Alaska, a small village in Southeast, Alaska. The closest large community with facilities was Petersburg, Alaska.

  • Kake is a small, rural Tlingit village in Southeast Alaska
  • This is the house my father grew up in – right across from the Alaska Native Brotherhood hall.
  • Kake has the largest totem pole in the world.
  • Kake waterfront
  • The Youth Center in Kake
This video shows the beautiful scenery in and surrounding Kake, Alaska and highlights the totem pole.

Every year, Kake holds the annual Dog Salmon Festival. Dog salmon are an important food source for the Tlingit living there. The festival celebrates this species, but also brings together family, friends, and visitors for an outdoor event, rain or shine. There are numerous competitions at the festival including salmon fileting (which Dad usually wins!) and fish tote races!

Dad filleting dog salmon at the Dog Salmon Festival. He wins this competition every time he competes!

One of the most unique events during the Dog Salmon festival is the Tote Race. Fish totes – used to carry commercially harvested fish at canneries or cold storages – are paddled like canoes. Tote racing doesn’t look all that difficult, but it is! They are incredibly tippy and difficult to steer.

  • My dad and brother Lyle heading off in a tippy tote!
  • Here they are, returning victoriously to the dock!