“A testament to the spirit of community” WHS unveils new Chief Wasilla statue

To properly honor Chief Wasilla, last week the Wasilla High School, the City of Wasilla, and the Knik Tribal Council came together to celebrate the unveiling of the new statue commemorating Chief Wasilla statute in front of the school.

“His legacy teaches us the significance of working together, supporting one another, and embracing diversity. It is a lesson that resonates deeply within the walls of this school, where students from various backgrounds come together to learn, to grow, and to thrive. As we pay tribute to his memory, we also recognize the generations of students who have walked these halls, leaving their mark on the fabric of our shared history,” said Wasilla High School principal Jason Marvel during remarks before the unveiling.

The City of Wasilla was named after the respected local Dena'ina Athabascan Chief. In the Dena'ina Athabascan Indian dialect, "Wasilla" is said to mean "breath of air". Meanwhile, other sources claim the Chief derived his name from the Russian language and that "Vasili" is a variation of the Russian name "William".

The town site was established in 1917 at the intersection of the Knik-Willow mining trail and the newly-constructed Alaska Railroad, and was a supply base for gold and coal mining in the region through World War II. The Matanuska-Susitna valley was settled by many homesteaders as part of an experiment in the 1930s.

The imposing Chief Wasilla statue stands 6’5” on a block of concrete as it looks on over the high school and community. Marvel said that he hopes this new statue will embody that spirit of community and unity.

“It’s been a wonderful experience and the statue is a testament to the spirit of community. We are currently living in a world that is very divisive and this project is a symbol of compromise, good will and community.”

The project was years in the making, after a previous statue, called "Warrior Within," raised concerns after some said the statue caused controversy for its resemblance to female genitalia. That statue, unveiled back in 2012, had been made of stone and concrete, and had two carved shields -- one made of bronze, the other aluminum -- that are surrounded by feathers that form the focal point, which lead to the misperception.

“Emerging from the powerful stone form are two warrior shields encircled by glowing feathers. The bronze shield has a hand impression showing "good deeds." The aluminum shield has a flame symbol representing the "spark of inspiration." The stone form represents the strong material from which a warrior is made,” said the artists Jim Dault and Shala Dobson at the time.

At the time, the Mat-Su Borough school district had approved of the work, but two weeks after its debut, the statue was removed.

Later, the school faced criticism for its old mascot surrounding WHS in which there were nine different iterations of the Warriors logo, with one closely resembling a Lakota Sioux Indian warrior head.

“That doesn’t represent our Indigenous culture in the Valley. So really the purpose behind the Chief Wasilla is we really want to solidify for our community why we are the Wasilla Warriors and pay respect to those people who are the first peoples of our area,” said Marvel in 2021.

In 2020, efforts were started to rebrand the Wasilla Warrior logo to more accurately depict the Dena’ina Athabascan indigenous Alaskans it represents, specifically focusing on rebranding the Wasilla Warrior.

WHS administration began working with the Knik Tribal Council and the city mayor at the time, Bert Cottle, who said: “A lot of it we can get done is partnerships. I can’t do it all, you can’t do it all but together we can do anything we want and as long as we have public support we will do anything we want.”

No tax payer monies were used to fund the project. Funds were raised through community donations, Mat-Su Health Foundation and Knik Tribal Council.

“Today, we honor our past, embrace our present, and look forward to a future filled with possibilities. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Knik Tribal Council for their partnership, wisdom and vision in this project, Chad Fisher, whose artistic genius made this statue a reality, the Mat-Su Health Foundation for their generous donation to making this dream to honor Chief Wasilla come true, and all the community members who donated money and time to this project.”