Editing Juneau, Alaska (section)

==History==
[[File:Juneau City in Alaska US by Partridge 1887.jpg|thumb|left|The city of Juneau in 1887]]
[[File:Chief Anotklosh of the Taku Tribe in Juneau.jpg|thumb|left|Chief Anotklosh of the Taku tribe, circa 1913]]

The [[Gastineau Channel]] was a fishing place for the [[Auke Indians|Auke]] (''A'akw Kwáan'') and [[Taku Indians|Taku]] tribes, who had inhabited the surrounding area for thousands of years. The ''A'akw Kwáan'' had a village and burying ground here. In the 21st century it is known as Indian Point. They annually harvested herring during the spawning season.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

Since the late 20th century, the A'akw Kwáan, together with the [[Sealaska Heritage Institute]], have resisted European-American development of Indian Point, including proposals by the [[National Park Service]] and the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA). They consider it to be sacred territory, both because of the burying ground and the importance of the point in their traditions of gathering sustenance from the sea. They continue to gather [[clam]]s, [[gumboot chiton]]s, grass, and [[sea urchin]]s, as well as tree bark for medicinal uses.<ref name="nrhp"/>

The city and state supported the [[Sealaska Corporation|Sealaska Heritage Institute]] in documenting the {{convert|78|acre}} site, and in August 2016, it was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]. "It is the first traditional cultural property in [[Southeast Alaska]] to be placed on the register."<ref name="nrhp">{{cite web |url=http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/08/18/indian-point-goes-national-register-historic-places-165498 |author=ICTMN Staff |title=Indian Point Goes on National Register of Historic Places |publisher=Indian Country Today |date=August 18, 2016 |access-date=August 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160821000125/http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/08/18/indian-point-goes-national-register-historic-places-165498 |archive-date=August 21, 2016}}</ref><ref name="phu">{{cite web |url=http://juneauempire.com/local/2016-08-16/feds-designate-juneaus-indian-point-sacred-worthy-protection |author=Lisa Phu |title=Feds designate Juneau's Indian Point as sacred, worthy of protection |publisher=Juneau Empire |date=August 16, 2016 |access-date=August 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820155548/http://juneauempire.com/local/2016-08-16/feds-designate-juneaus-indian-point-sacred-worthy-protection |archive-date=August 20, 2016}}</ref>

Descendants of the indigenous cultures include the [[Tlingit people]]. Native cultures have rich artistic traditions expressed in carving, weaving, singing, dancing, and in oral lore. Juneau is a social center for the Tlingit, [[Haida people|Haida]], and [[Tsimshian]] of Southeast Alaska.

===European encounters===
[[File:Juneau Hotel.jpg|thumb|left|The Juneau Hotel near the Douglas-Juneau Bridge]]
Although the [[Russian Empire|Russians]] had [[Russian colonization of North America|a colony in the Alaska territory]] from 1784 to 1867, they did not settle in Juneau. They conducted extensive fur trading with Alaskan Natives of the [[Aleutian Islands]] and [[Kodiak, Alaska|Kodiak]].

The first European to see the Juneau area was [[Joseph Whidbey]], master of the ''[[HMS Discovery (1789)|Discovery]]'' during [[George Vancouver]]'s [[Vancouver Expedition|1791–95 expedition]]. He and his party explored the region in July–August 1794. Early in August he viewed the length of Gastineau Channel from the south, noting a small island in mid-channel. He later recorded seeing the channel again, this time from the west. He said it was unnavigable, being filled with ice.<ref name="Vancouver">{{cite book |last1=Vancouver |first1=George |last2=Vancouver |first2=John |title=A voyage of discovery to the North Pacific ocean, and round the world |publisher=J. Stockdale |year=1801 |series=vols. I-VI |location=London |url=https://archive.org/details/avoyagediscover00vancgoog}}</ref>

===Mining era and naming===
After the California gold rush, miners migrated up the [[West Coast of the United States|Pacific Coast]] and explored the West, seeking other gold deposits. In 1880, [[Sitka, Alaska|Sitka]] mining engineer George Pilz offered a reward to any local native in Alaska who could lead him to gold-bearing ore. A local native arrived with some ore, and several prospectors were sent to investigate. On their first trip to Gold Creek, they found deposits of little interest. However, Pilz sent [[Joe Juneau (prospector)|Joe Juneau]] (the cousin of [[Milwaukee]] co-founder [[Solomon Juneau]]) and [[Richard Harris (prospector)|Richard Harris]] back to the Gastineau Channel, directing them to Snow Slide Gulch (the head of Gold Creek). According to the Rev. Samuel Young, in his book ''Alaska Days with John Muir'', Juneau and Harris decided to explore their party's campsite at the creek head in the summer of 1879. They found nuggets "as large as peas and beans" there, in Harris' words.{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}

On October 18, 1880, the two men marked a {{convert|160|acre|m2|adj=on}} town site and soon a mining camp sprang up. Many miners arrived within a year and the camp became a village, albeit made up mostly of tents and shacks rather than buildings. It was the first [[European American]] settlement founded in the territory after the United States [[Alaska Purchase|purchased Alaska]]. By the autumn of 1881, the village had a population of over 100 and was known as Rockwell, after Lt. Com. Charles Rockwell; later it was known as Harrisburg after prospector Richard Harris. On December 14, 1881, it was decided at a miners' meeting of 72 persons to name the settlement Juneau, after [[prospecting|prospector]] Joe Juneau.<ref name="Spencer">{{cite book |author=Arthur C. Spencer |title=The Juneau Gold Belt, Alaska, USGS Bulletin No. 287 |publisher=United States Government Printing Office |year=1906 |pages=2–3}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ |title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States |publisher=Govt. Print. Off. |author=Gannett, Henry |year=1905 |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n170 171] |access-date=November 12, 2015}}</ref>

===Establishment of Russian Orthodox Church===
[[File:Saint Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, Downtown Juneau, Alaska 3.jpg|thumb|[[St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church (Juneau, Alaska)|St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church]], built in 1894 by Tlingit and Serbians in Juneau]]
Likely due to the pressure of European encroachment, some Tlingit appealed to the [[Russian Orthodox Church]]. It held services in northern Tlingit settlements in local languages as early as 1800 and 1824. [[Innocent of Alaska|One of its priests]] translated scripture and liturgy into the [[Tlingit language]] during the 1830s and 1840s. The Tlingit arranged for an Orthodox priest to come to their Juneau settlement. In 1890, about 700 people converted, following chief Yees Gaanaalx and his wife of [[Auke Bay, Juneau|Auke Bay]]. The Orthodox Church Missionary Society supported the Tlingit in furnishing and constructing a church for the large congregation.<ref name=nrhpdoc/>

The [[St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church (Juneau, Alaska)|St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church]] was completed in 1894 and has maintained an important presence among the Tlingit, Serbians, and other Europeans who follow Orthodox traditions. The iconostasis has six large panels which were sent from [[Russia]].<ref name=nrhpdoc>{{cite web |url={{NRHP url |id=73000377}} |title=St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church |author=Amos Wallace |date=April 10, 1973 |publisher=National Park Service}} and {{NRHP url|id=73000377|title=accompanying photos from 1961 and 1972|photos=y}}</ref>

===Development of mining===
Prospector and [[placer mine]]r [[John Lemon (prospector)|John Lemon]] operated at the time in what is today the [[Lemon Creek, Alaska|Lemon Creek]] area. The neighborhood which developed there was given his name by early settlers, several other landmarks in Juneau have also been named for him. Major mining operations in the [[Juneau mining district]] prior to World War II included the [[Treadwell gold mine|Treadwell Mine]], the [[Alaska-Juneau Gold Mining Company|Alaska-Juneau Mine]], and the [[Alaska-Gastineau Mine]].

By 1906, after the decline of whaling and the fur trade, [[Sitka, Alaska|Sitka]] which was the original capital of Alaska, had become less important and the territorial legislature moved the seat of government to Juneau in accordance with a 1900 federal law.<ref name=":0" /> Juneau was the most populous city in Alaska during the inter-war years, surpassing [[Fairbanks, Alaska|Fairbanks]] population by the [[1920 United States census|1920 census]]. [[Anchorage, Alaska|Anchorage]] became the largest city in terms of population in [[1950 United States census|1950]].

===Selection as capital===
In 1911, the United States Congress authorized funds for construction of a capitol building for the [[Alaska Territory]]. [[World War I]] delayed construction and there were difficulties purchasing the necessary land. Citizens of Juneau donated some of the required funds, and construction began on September 8, 1929. Construction of the capitol took less than two years, and the building was dedicated as the Federal and Territorial Building on February 14, 1931. It was designed by Treasury Department architects in the [[Art Deco architecture|Art Deco architectural style]]. The building was originally used by the federal government to house the federal courthouse and the post office for the territory. Alaska gained statehood in 1959 and under the [[Alaska Statehood Act]], the Federal and Territorial Building was transferred to the new state and became its [[Alaska State Capitol|capitol]].

The Alaska Governor's Mansion was commissioned under the Public Building Act in 1910. The mansion was designed by [[James Knox Taylor]] in the [[Colonial Revival style]]. Construction was completed in 1912. The territorial governor at the time was the first governor to live in the mansion, and he held the first open house for citizens on January 1, 1913.

The area of the mansion is {{convert|14400|sqft|m2}}. It has ten bathrooms, six bedrooms, and eight fireplaces. It is the governor's residence when in Juneau on official business. In June 1923, President [[Warren G. Harding]] became the first president to visit Alaska. Harding visited the Governor's Mansion while Territorial Governor [[Scott Bone]], who was appointed by Harding, was in office. Harding spoke from the porch of the mansion explaining his policies and met with attendees.

During [[World War II]], more than 50 Japanese citizens and Japanese Americans residing in Juneau were [[internment of Japanese Americans|sent to the internment camps inland]] as a result of [[Executive Order 9066]], which authorized the forced removal of all ethnic Japanese away from their homes and businesses on the [[West Coast of the United States]]. The removal of Juneau's Japanese community during the war is memorialized by the ''[[Empty Chair Memorial]]'', which was dedicated in July 2014 in the city's Capital School Park neighborhood.<ref>{{cite web |title=Empty Chair Project recognizes Juneau's Japanese WWII internees |url=https://www.ktoo.org/2014/07/13/empty-chair-project-recognizes-juneaus-japanese-wwii-internees/ |author=Jeremy Hsieh |date=July 13, 2014 |publisher=[[KTOO (FM)|KTOO]] |access-date=July 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190709022307/https://www.ktoo.org/2014/07/13/empty-chair-project-recognizes-juneaus-japanese-wwii-internees/ |archive-date=July 9, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Robert Atwood]], who was then the publisher of the ''[[Anchorage Times]]'' and an Anchorage "booster", was an early leader in efforts to move the capital to Fairbanks, which many in both cities resisted. Some supporters of a move wanted a new capital to be at least {{convert|30|mi|km}} away from Anchorage and Fairbanks, to prevent either city from having undue influence. Juneau has continued as the capital. In the 1970s, voters passed a plan to move the capital to [[Willow, Alaska|Willow]], a town {{convert|70|mi|km}} north of Anchorage. But pro-Juneau people there and in Fairbanks persuaded voters also to approve a measure (the FRANK Initiative) requiring voter approval of all bondable construction costs before building could begin. Alaskans later voted against spending the estimated $900 million. A 1984 "ultimate" capital-move vote also failed, as did a 1996 vote.

After Alaska was given [[U.S. state|statehood]] in 1959, Juneau's population increased as well as the growth of state government.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gov.state.ak.us/ltgov/elections/capmove.htm |title=Sean Parnell, 10th Governor of Alaska |publisher=Alaska State Government |access-date=December 10, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225223217/http://www.gov.state.ak.us/ltgov/elections/capmove.htm |archive-date=February 25, 2008}}</ref> After construction of the [[Alaska Pipeline]] in 1977, the state budget was flush with oil revenues, and it expanded state spending programs. The Juneau population growth slowed considerably after 1990.<ref>{{cite web |title=CensusScope − Population Growth |url=http://www.censusscope.org/us/s2/c110/chart_popl.html |access-date=November 15, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051126190929/http://www.censusscope.org/us/s2/c110/chart_popl.html |archive-date=November 26, 2005 |url-status=live}}</ref>

<gallery>
File:Alaska-Harris-Juneau memorial.tif|Memorial to the founders of the city, [[Richard Harris (prospector)|Richard Harris]] and [[Joe Juneau (prospector)|Joe Juneau]]
File:Alaska - Juneau - NARA - 23939711.jpg|View of Juneau, 1940s
</gallery>

===21st century===
[[File:Downtown Juneau, Alaska at night.jpg|thumb|Downtown Juneau at night]]
In 2005, the state demographer projected slow growth in the borough for the next twenty years.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=JuneauAlaska.com |title=Juneau's future demographic: Growing older |url=http://juneaualaska.com/history/history_demograph.shtml |access-date=November 15, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051124022628/http://juneaualaska.com/history/history_demograph.shtml |archive-date=November 24, 2005 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Cruise ship tourism has expanded rapidly, from approximately 230,000 passengers in 1990 to nearly 1,000,000 in 2006, as cruise lines have built more and larger ships. They sail to Juneau seven days a week over a longer season than before, but the cruising tourism is still primarily a summer industry. It provides few year-round jobs but stimulates summer employment in the city.

In 2010, the city was recognized as part of the "Playful City USA" initiative by [[KaBOOM! (non-profit organization)|KaBOOM!]], created to honor cities that ensure their children have great places to play.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/090310/out_704260158.shtml |title=Juneau Named 'Playful' City, Only Honoree in Alaska |publisher=Juneau Empire |date=September 3, 2010 |access-date=November 15, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811202631/http://juneauempire.com/stories/090310/out_704260158.shtml |archive-date=August 11, 2011}}</ref>

Juneau is larger in area than the state of [[Delaware]] and was for several decades, the country's largest city by area. (Sitka surpassed it in 2000 when it incorporated.) Juneau is the only U.S. state capital on an international border; it is bordered on the east by Canada. It is the U.S. state capital whose namesake was most recently alive: [[Joe Juneau (prospector)|Joe Juneau]] died in 1899.

The city was temporarily renamed UNO, after [[Uno (card game)|the card game]], on April 1, 2016 (April Fool's Day).<ref name="Uno1">{{cite web |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/no-joke-juneau-alaska-temporarily-renamed-for-card-game-uno/?/ftag=CNM-00-10aab1d&linkId=22978428 |title=No joke: Alaska city temporarily renamed for card game UNO |date=April 1, 2016 |access-date=April 1, 2016 |publisher=Associated Press/[[CBS News]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414200001/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/no-joke-juneau-alaska-temporarily-renamed-for-card-game-uno/?%2Fftag=CNM-00-10aab1d&linkId=22978428 |archive-date=April 14, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Uno2">{{cite web |url=http://www.ktuu.com/news/news/greetings-from-uno-alaska-capital-city-teams-up-with-mattel-for-oneday-promotion/38802528 |title=Greetings from 'Uno, Alaska.' Capital city teams up with Mattel for April Fools' Day |date=April 1, 2016 |access-date=April 1, 2016 |publisher=[[KTUU-TV]]/[[Gray Television]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402182733/http://www.ktuu.com/news/news/greetings-from-uno-alaska-capital-city-teams-up-with-mattel-for-oneday-promotion/38802528 |archive-date=April 2, 2016}}</ref> It was a promotion with [[Mattel]] to draw "attention to new wild cards in [the] game".<ref name="Uno1"/> For Juneau's cooperation, Mattel donated $15,000 "to the Juneau Community Foundation in honor of the late Mayor [[Greg Fisk]]."<ref name="Uno1"/>