Aleutian Islands

The Aleutian Islands (possibly from Chukchi aliat, "island") are a chain of more than 300 small volcanic islands forming an island arc situated in the Northern Pacific Ocean, and extending about 1,900 km (1,200 mi) westward from the extremity of the Alaskan peninsula toward the Kamchatka Peninsula. Nearly all of the archipelago is part of the American state of Alaska and usually considered as being in the Alaskan Bush, but the extreme western end is part of Russia. The islands with their 57 volcanoes are located in the northern part of the Pacific Ring of Fire.

History

Explorers, traders, colonists, and missionaries arrived from Russia beginning in 1741.

Related Topics:
Russia - 1741

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In 1741 the Russian government sent out Vitus Bering, a Dane in the service of Russia, and Alexei Chirikov, a Russian, in the ships Saint Peter (Swiatoj Pietr) and Saint Paul on a voyage of discovery in the Northern Pacific. After the ships were separated by a storm, Chirikov discovered several eastern islands of the Aleutian group, and Bering discovered several of the western islands, finally being wrecked and losing his life on the island of the Komandorski Islands (Commander Islands) that now bears his name (Bering Island). The survivors of Bering's party reached the Kamchatka Peninsula in a boat constructed from the wreckage of their ship, and reported that the islands were rich in fur-bearing animals.

Related Topics:
Vitus Bering - Dane - Alexei Chirikov - Saint Peter - Saint Paul - Pacific - Komandorski Islands - Bering Island - Kamchatka Peninsula

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Siberian fur hunters flocked to the Commander Islands and gradually moved eastward across the Aleutian Islands to the mainland. In this manner Russia gained a foothold on the northwestern coast of North America. The Aleutian Islands consequently belonged to Russia, until that country transferred all its possessions in North America to the United States in 1867.

Related Topics:
Russia - Transferred - 1867

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The Russians were ruthless in their expansion, using technology and cruelty to demand tribute and labor from the Aleuts, especially for sea otter hunting. The Russians captured otter pelts from the Aleutian Islands, through the Gulf of Alaska, along the Alaska Panhandle, and south, even to California. Some Aleuts were moved to the Pribilof Islands so that fur seals could be captured there as well.

Related Topics:
Sea otter - Gulf of Alaska - California - Pribilof Islands

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By 1760, the Russian merchant Adriian Tolstykh had made a detailed census in the vicinity of Adak and extended Russian citizenship to the Aleuts.

Related Topics:
1760 - Adriian Tolstykh - Adak

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Despite some attempts to eliminate slavery and reduce cruel treatment in the 1790s, the Shelikov company depended on the labor of Aleut hunters to collect sea otter pelts.

Related Topics:
1790s - Shelikov company

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During his third and last voyage, in 1778, Captain James Cook surveyed the eastern portion of the Aleutian archipelago, accurately determined the position of some of the more important islands and corrected many errors of former navigators.

Related Topics:
1778 - James Cook

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One of the first Christian missionaries to arrive in the Aleutian Islands was a monk named Herman, who arrived in 1793 with nine other Russian Orthodox monks and priests. Within two years, he was the only survivor of that party. He settled on Spruce Island, near Kodiak Island, and often defended the rights of the Aleuts against the Russian trading companies. He is now known in the Orthodox Church as St. Herman of Alaska.

Related Topics:
Christian - 1793 - Russian Orthodox - Spruce Island - Kodiak Island - Herman of Alaska

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Another early Christian missionary of the Russian Orthodox Church was Father Veniaminov who arrived in Unalaska in 1824. He was named Bishop Innokentii in 1840 and moved to Sitka. He is now known in the Orthodox Church as Saint Innocent of Alaska.

Related Topics:
Russian Orthodox Church - 1824 - Sitka - Saint Innocent of Alaska

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In 1906 a new volcanic cone rose between the islets of Bogoslof and Grewingk, near Unalaska, followed by another in 1907. These cones were nearly demolished by an explosive eruption on 1 September 1907.

Related Topics:
1906 - 1907 - 1 September

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The principal settlements were on Unalaska Island. The oldest was Iliuliuk (also called Unalaska), settled in 1760-1775, with a customs house, a Russian-Greek church, and a Methodist mission and orphanage, and the headquarters for a considerable fleet of United States revenue cutters which patrol the sealing grounds of the Pribilof Islands. The first public school in Unalaska opened in 1883. Adjacent is Dutch Harbor (so named, it is said, because a Dutch vessel was the first to enter it), which is an important port for Bering Sea commerce.

Related Topics:
Methodist - Revenue cutter - Sealing - Pribilof Islands - Dutch Harbor - Bering Sea

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The U.S. Congress extended American citizenship to all Indians (and this law was held to include the indigenous peoples of Alaska) in 1924.

Related Topics:
U.S. Congress - 1924

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A hospital was built in Unalaska in 1933 by the US Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Related Topics:
1933 - Bureau of Indian Affairs

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During World War II, the Aleutian islands were occupied by Japanese forces when Attu and Kiska were invaded in order to divert American forces away from the main Japanese attack at Midway Atoll. The United States, having broken the Japanese military codes, knew that this was a diversion and did not expend large amounts of effort defending the islands. Some Americans were taken to Japan as prisoners of war. Most of the civilian population of the Aleutians were interned by the United States in camps in the Alaska Panhandle. American forces fought the Japanese on Attu and regained control of the islands. See: Battle of the Aleutian Islands.

Related Topics:
World War II - Japan - Attu - Kiska - Midway Atoll - Alaska Panhandle - Battle of the Aleutian Islands

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Monday, June 3, 2002 was celebrated as Dutch Harbor Remembrance Day. The governor of Alaska ordered state flags lowered to half-staff to honor the 78 soldiers who died during the two-day attack in 1942. The Aleutians World War II Campaign National Historic Area Visitors Center opened in June 2002.

Related Topics:
June 3 - 2002 - Dutch Harbor Remembrance Day - Aleutians World War II Campaign National Historic Area

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The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANSCA) became law in 1971. In 1977, the Ounalashka Corporation (from Unalaska) declared a dividend. This was the first village corporation to declare and pay a dividend to its shareholders.

Related Topics:
ANSCA - 1971 - Ounalashka Corporation - Dividend

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