Relatives, it is with great sadness that we share that Goldbelt Inc. and the Alaska Department of Transportation are moving forward with the Cascade Point Ferry Terminal project.
They have staged construction vehicles and heavy machinery in preparation to break ground any day, despite not having proper permitting or conducting tribal consultation with lineal descendants. The ferry terminal parking lot would lie on Dax̱anáak, a village site with almost 100 culturally modified trees, uncounted burial sites, and petroglyphs.
No cultural impact survey mentions the Indigenous stewards of the area. The Alaska Marine Highway Operations Board has recommended that the project be deferred “until the department addresses the board’s outstanding concerns and demonstrates the project’s consistency with AMHS long-range priorities” (October 26, 2026), and over 92% of public comment has also opposed the construction.
This construction threatens to destroy the last untouched sacred village site of the Áak'w Kwáan: DaXanÁak.
Its completion will only benefit the profit seeking CEO’s of Canada Grande Portage mining company, the New Amalga Gold Mine and Herbert Glacier Road development and Goldbelt Inc. The project is currently budgeted from 2027-2030 at $85,460,253 with DOTʼs Projected Cost at $120,452,862. (PROPOSED FFY2027–2030 STATEWIDE TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM PUBLIC COMMENT DRAFT)
Now is the time to stand up, make our voices heard and defend our way of life.
The Áak'w Kwáan call on each of you to help stop the construction, protect the grounds where our ancestors lie, defend the foods and medicines that sustain our people, and ensure the future of the next generations.
Do not destroy burial sites.
Do not destroy culturally modified trees, shell midden sites, gathering grounds, or any cultural resources.
Permanently protect Dax̱anáak.
Conduct tribal consultation with lineal descendants.