• Image of visitor center and totem poles

    Sitka

    National Historical Park Alaska

Currents of Change

On an island amid towering spruce and hemlock, Sitka National Historical Park preserves the site of a watershed battle between invading Russian traders and indigenous Kiks.ádi Tlingit; park visitors are awed by Tlingit and Haida totem poles standing along the park’s scenic coastal trail; and the restored Russian Bishop’s House speaks of Russia’s little known colonial legacy in North America.

Did You Know?

Painting of Tlingit warriors

The Battle of 1804 marked the beginning of Russian governance in Alaska.  All that remains of this last major conflict between Europeans and Alaska Natives is a clearing at the site of the Tlingit fort and battlefield.