Kake, Clan & Community
Khaach.ádi Lands
The Healing House is located on Khaach.ádi clan lands, the homelands of one of the original and enduring clans of Kake. Long before the arrival of colonial governments, churches, or federal land systems, Khaach.ádi people governed these lands through Tlingit law—an interwoven system of clan responsibility, kinship, and stewardship rooted in place.
For generations, Khaach.ádi lands sustained village life through fishing, hunting, gathering, ceremony, and trade, while also holding stories, names, and histories passed through clan lines. These lands are not simply geographic territory; they are living archives of relationship, where ancestors are remembered, obligations are upheld, and identity is renewed. Establishing the Healing House here affirms the continuity of Tlingit lifeways and honors the clan’s responsibility to care for land and people together.
Why We Built the Healing House
Colonization disrupted Indigenous systems of healing globally by separating people from land, language, family, and culture. Today, many Alaska Native people seeking behavioral health care are still required to leave their communities, traveling far from the very relationships that sustain them. This displacement often deepens isolation and undermines healing.
The Kake Healing Project is founded as an act of restoration. By weaving together land-based cultural practice, community care, and professional support, the Healing House revives Indigenous approaches to wellness that have sustained our people for generations—and carries them forward for those yet to come.
