Dr. Steve J. Langdon presents Kaalaxch's Endeavors: A Preeminent Jilkáat Tlingit Leader and the Coming of the Americans. Kaalaxch was an esteemed and prominent leader (“chief”) of the Jilkáat Tlingit who lived in Klukwan on the Chilkat River in northern southeast Alaska. At the time of the assertion of jurisdiction by the United States government in 1867, he had acquired a reputation as a preeminent leader due to his achievements in establishing his clan and the Jilkáat Tlingit as powerful forces in southeast Alaska and beyond in northwest North America. As governmental and military officials of the United States prepared to enter the region, they sought out information from various American, Russian and British sources to orient themselves to conditions they would face and Kaalaxch‘s name, achievements and reputation came to their attention repeatedly. In fact, Secretary of State Seward took it upon himself to travel to Klukwan in 1869 to meet with Kaalaxch. This presentation discusses the career of this remarkable leader who endeavored to sustain Tlingit sovereignty and culture without endangering Tlingit lives in violent encounters with the colonizing US interlopers who sought to intimidate and subject the Tlingit people to military authority. Guest speaker Steve J. Langdon, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, UAA. He is the recent recipient of the Denali Award, an award given to a Non-Native person who has demonstrated strong commitment, dedication, and service to the Alaska Native Community and to Rural Alaska.