SOUTHEAST ALASKA has a history as colorful as its scenery. The region's first inhabitants crossed the Bering Strait land bridge in prehistoric times. These hardy nomads were the ancestors of the Tlingit (Klink-it), Haida (Hy-duh), and Tsimshian (Sim-shee-ann) people who settled the Inside Passage 1,500 years ago.

The bountiful coastlines and forests provided a rich source of the food, shelter, clothing, and healing plants the Native people needed to survive. The extensive waterways of the Inside Passage formed transportation and trade routes among neighboring cultures. As the ancestral home of the Tlingit, and many of the Haida and Tsimshian people, the Inside Passage still shows the strong presence of Native culture. The influence of many European cultures is also present—a legacy from the age of exploration that began in the eighteenth century. The Russians first set foot on these shores, followed in rapid succession by the Spanish, English, French, Americans, and Scandinavians. The search for the fabled Northwest Passage, rumored to link the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, provided the impetus for the earliest voyages.

The Russian explorer Vitus Bering, for whom the Bering Strait is named, sailed for Alaska in 1741. The bounty of the sea—namely, 900 sea otter pelts—was the highlight of the voyage. On the return trip, Bering's ship was blown off course in the North Pacific and wrecked on the Commander Islands. Surviving crew members built a small vessel from the wreckage and returned to Russia with their cargo of pelts. Word quickly spread, and Russia vowed to colonize Southeast Alaska.

In 1799, trader Alexander Baranof arrived on the shores of present-day Sitka to establish a fort. Although accepting of the Russians at first, the Tlingit eventually lost patience with violations of their traditional hunting and fishing grounds. In 1802, a group of Tlingit warriors attacked the fort, killing many of the Russian defenders and burning the stockade to the ground. In 1804, the Russians launched a cannon assault to retake the fort. The battle raged for several days, with the Tlingit eventually retreating. Many profitable years of trapping and trading ensued. By the 1860s, the Alaskan colony was losing its appeal for the Russian government. The fur trade diminished as furbearing animals were overhunted and the Americans and British continued to encroach upon the territory in violation of established treaties. Negotiations for the sale of Alaska to the United States were begun, and in 1867, U.S. Secretary of State William Seward concluded the purchase for $7.2 million.

By the turn of the century, the major towns of the Inside Passage had been established. The modern communities of Juneau, Ketchikan, and Sitka rest on traditional village sites and today remain the homes of many Native people. Tourism grew slowly at first. When Alaska achieved statehood in 1959, the Inside Passage hosted thousands of visitors annually; but current estimates predict that more than 700,000 passengers will visit the Inside Passage on cruise ships alone! People everywhere are eager to experience firsthand the magic of Alaska, truly the "Last Frontier."