Scene of the Crime: Craig in Context

The Investor mass murder, like most crimes, shares a wider context. That context is the village of Craig, which itself has a long pre-history.

Fish Egg Island, due north of the modern village of Craig, houses a historic Haida site with garden ridges, house beams, large expanses of shell middens, and visible landscape modifications. This ancient village is referred to as “Shaan da”. The small strait between Fish Egg Island and the Prince of Wales mainland is known as “Shaan Seet.” Shaan da is also used to refer to Fish Egg Island as a whole. When you visit Craig today, you will still see a building marked “Shaan Seet.”

Shaan da is a highly significant cultural place from several perspectives. It contains archaeological and historic remains, which can be linked to oral histories passed down by Elders of Craig, Klawock, and Hydaburg. As a regionally important herring fishery for many centuries, the island has been a place where people and culture have come together, traveling by way of elegant (and practical) Coast Salish canoes.

Context
Haida Canoe (Canadian Museum of History)

The arrival of non-Native settlers at the turn of the 20th century continued that tradition and sustained that context.

Craig’s “modern” history began in 1907, when Craig Millar and eight Haida men established a saltery at Fish Egg Island. The original settlement consisted of shacks and tents for saltery workers. Between 1908 and 1911, a permanent saltery and a cold storage facility, along with 20-25 houses, were constructed at what is now the City of Craig. By the 1930’s, the Libby cannery was going full steam in the village.

Context
Libby-McNeill-Libby Cannery, Craig, Alaska, 1930 (Alaska Historical Museum)

The nearest town of any importance was — and still is — Ketchikan, 60 miles to the southwest, first across Prince of Wales island and then across Clarence Strait. The open ocean is only 8 miles west; Craig is an island on an island, completely surrounded by water. Getting to the village was seldom easy, no matter the direction or historical moment, unless one had a seaworthy vessel.

Getting around over land was equally difficult. The first paved road between Craig and Klawock, only seven miles north of the village, came into being in 1982. From there, it was another 25 miles to Hollis, where one could, in those days, catch a less-than-convenient midnight run on the Alaska State Ferry to Ketchikan.

Not that driving was impossible. In fact, one could drive almost anywhere on the island — it had over 1000 miles of logging roads among its densely forested slopes. Some of them were paved. Some actually went somewhere. But driving the island has long been… challenging.

Context
Typical Logging Road, Prince of Wales (helicopter optional)

Former Craig Mayor Jim Sprague described the pre-1982, single-lane, unpaved Craig-Klawock road thusly:

“[It was] a single-lane one-track; whoever is closest to the turnout had to back up. There used to be some pretty good arguments about who was closest to the turnout, especially when the snow and mud was deep.”

If there was one significant change in the modern era, it was another Alaska workhorse: the ever ubiquitous float-plane. Regular flights were, then as now, scheduled between Craig and Ketchikan. Or, rather, semi-regular flights. Craig’s weather, like many places in Southeast Alaska, is a constant stream of rain, fog and wind. Your flight may be grounded until the ceiling rises.

Fortunately, Craig has more than its share of bars.

Copyright Leland E. Hale (2018). All rights reserved.


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