In October 1869, the U.S. government sent Vincent Colyer to Fort Wrangel to investigate accusations that the Army was mistreating Native people. He made detailed drawings during his visit and then, after the Army's 1869 bombardment of the village, he published a full page of his artwork (the image here) in February 1870 in Harper's Weekly, a popular national magazine, to ensure that the public saw the images of the community. In a short column accompanying the artwork, Colyer criticized the bombardment.
WRANGELL - On Saturday, Jan. 11, the U.S. Army will issue a formal apology to the community for its December 1869 bombardment of Wrangell's Tlingit village, Ḵaachx̱aana.áakʼw. This is the third recent military apology to Southeast communities after the Navy apologized last fall for its attacks on Kake (1869) and Angoon (1882).
Given the rarity of these admissions of guilt, there is little precedent for the structure of the event, meaning the planning - at least for the Wrangell apology - was left up to local clan leaders, clan representatives and clan mothers.
Though the event is organized by...
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