The Fate of the Eyak Indians in Russian America

(1783–1867)
Andrei V. Grinëv, Richard L. Bland

Arctic Anthropology, Volume 54, Number 2, 2017, pp. 52-70 (Article)

Published by University of Wisconsin Press

For additional information about this article

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 The Fate of the Eyak Indians in
Russian America (1783–1867)
Andrei V. Grinëv
Translated by Richard L. Bland

Abstract. This article is dedicated to the dramatic history of the small tribe of Eyak Indians
during the period when Alaska belonged to the Russian Empire. The article was written with the
use of archival data, published documents, notes of contemporaries, the use of statistics, materi-
als of field research of ethnographers, native legends, and a broad circle of scholarly literature in
the Russian, English, and German languages. The article examines controversial questions on the
topic, and erroneous, from the author’s point of view, versions are critiqued. The work presented
to the reader is the most complete outline of the ethnic history of the Eyak, who were a kind of
“Mohicans” of Alaska, the last full-­blooded representative of which died in 2008.

The ethnic history of the small Eyak tribe that the contrary, this was one of the first Indian tribes
inhabited the sea coast of Southeast Alaska is little the Russians learned about when they started to
known. The first detailed ethnographic descrip- open up Alaska after its discovery by the Second
tion of the Eyak was made only in the 1930s by Kamchatka Expedition of Vitus Bering and Aleksei
the Danish researcher Kai Birket-­Smith and the Chirikov in 1741. Of course, the first information
American anthropologist Fredericka de Laguna about the Eyak was obtained by Russians much
(Birket-­Smith and de Laguna 1938). Such a late later—only in 1783. In Russian sources, they are
“discovery” of them is evidently explained by the known by the name Ugalakhmiuty and Ugalentsy.
fact that the Eyak lived in a region where repre- Initially, at the end of the 18th–beginning of the
sentatives of three economic-­cultural types came 19th century, the first ethnonym was usually used.
together: settled fishermen of the Northwest Coast Then, from 1820, it began to be displaced by the
(the Tlingit Indians), taiga hunters and fishermen second. Incidentally, the first variant was not
of the American north (the Athapaskan Ahtna), forgotten. Thus, the American naturalist William
and maritime sea mammal hunters and fisher- Dall believed that identification of the Eyak with
men (the Chugach Eskimos). At the moment of the Tlingit or Dene (Athapaskans) was errone-
contact with Europeans (end of the 18th century), ous, and based on his data of the middle of the
the Eyak had assimilated many elements of the 1860s–1870s, the “Ugalakhmiut” lived on Kayak
culture of their neighbors and therefore were not Island in winter and in summer caught salmon at
always clearly differentiated by investigators. The the mouth of the Ahtna (Copper) River and near
extremely small number of the Eyak contributed to Icy Bay. In Dall’s opinion, they were made up
this as well. of approximately 200 families, representing the
Nevertheless, this does not mean that before “easternmost tribe of Inuit,” that is, Eskimos (Dall
the 1930s nothing was known about the Eyak. On 1876:21), and their culture adopted elements of

Andrei Val’terovich Grinëv, Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University,
ul. Shkol’naya, 11-54, St. Petersburg 197183 Russia; [email protected]

ARCTIC ANTHROPOLOGY, Vol. 54, No. 2, pp. 52–70, 2017 ISSN 0066-6939
© 2017 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
The Fate of the Eyak Indians in Russian America (1783–1867) 53

cultures from surrounding peoples—the Athapas- delta. However, stories and legends, recorded by
kan Ahtna, Chugach Eskimos, and Tlingit Indians. de Laguna (de Laguna et al. 1964:1–2), as well as
Due to the Eskimo suffix “-miut” (“people of”), the the data from toponymy and linguistics, permit
Ugalakhmiut-­Eyak were also sometimes errone- supposing that several centuries ago the Eyak were
ously included in Russian historiography as a settled in a much larger territory, specifically from
component of the Eskimos (Fainberg 1971:40, 44; the mouth of the Kaliakh River to the mouth of
Okladnikova 2001:234, 242). The Eyak were often the Italio River (including the shores of Yakutat
identified as Athapaskans but even more often as Bay), and possibly even farther south (de Laguna
Tlingit. Confusion with the identification of the 1972:76, 82; ORRNB. F. 7 Adelunga. Op. 1. Ed. khr.
Eyak led to Uve Johannsen writing a special, large 139). This larger territory is attested by the fact that
article that was published in the journal Anthro- the Tlingit, newly arrived in this region, called the
pos in the mid-1960s (Johannsen 1964:868–896). Eyak by the ethnonym Yatkuan—“local people,
If we turn to the linguistic aspect of the prob- initial inhabitants” (de Laguna 1972:215).
lem, based on language, the Eyak did not belong to Thus, the Eyak were probably the oldest res-
the Eskimos but rather were distantly related to the idents of this part of the American coast, and their
Athapaskans and Tlingit.1 This relationship was Indian origin is not doubted. The Pacific Ocean
already evident to Russian travelers at the very be- to the west and the impenetrable Coast Range
ginning of the 19th century (Krauss 1990:205–206). of the Rocky Mountains to the east, from which
Thus, Nikolai Rezanov collected a Slovar’ unalash- huge glaciers crawled to the sea, limiting the route
kinskago, kad’yakskago, chugachskago, ugal- either to the north or the south, creating those con-
akhmyutskago i kolyuzhskikh yazykov [Dictionary ditions of isolation in which the development of
of Unalaskan, Kodiak, Chugach, Ugalakhmiut, and the Eyak language and culture occurred (Fig. 1). A
Kolyuzhi Languages] in 1805, which states: relict of the latter was possibly the wooden canoe
with a “forked” form of bow, which was still used
The Ugalakhmiut are a people of small number, both among the Eyak and the Tlingit of Yakutat
who live near Yakutat or Bering Bay. Their lan-
guage is quite different from others, though they
at the beginning of the 20th century (de Laguna
have borrowed some words from the Kolyuzhi 1972:337–338; de Laguna et al. 1964:3). From
[Tlingit] adjacent to them (ORRNB. F. 7 Adelunga. these canoes, the Eyak hunted seals and sea otters,
Op. 1. Ed. khr. 139. L. 2 ob.). but the chief product of their nutrition was fish,
especially salmon (Birket-­Smith and de Laguna
The modern Eyak received their name from a 1938:47, 107, 113). These facts do not support the
settlement in the region of the Copper River delta view of Krauss regarding the formation of the Eyak
(Eyak), though their old ethnonym was proba- as an interior tribe. Some primitivism of tradi-
bly Kuttu-­tayauyu or Kuttu-­taguyu (“people”) tional Eyak culture, in comparison with the cul-
­(ORRNB. F. 7 Adelunga. Op. 1. Ed. khr. 143. L. 3).2 tures of the other Indians of the Northwest Coast,
The language of the Eyak was thoroughly can be explained by the long isolation of the Eyak
studied by the Alaskan linguist Michael Krauss and the lack of cultural impulses from outside.
(1981) in the second half of the 20th century. He At the arrival of Europeans, the ethnic situa-
noted that though this language belongs with the tion in this region was the following. In the south,
languages of the Athapaskans and Tlingit in the around Dry Bay, lived the Athapaskans (probably
large Na-­Dene family, it represents an entirely relatives of the Southern Tutchone), who migrated
independent branch of it. Krauss suggested that from the depths of the mainland along the Alsek
the Eyak language was formed in the interior of the River (de Laguna 1972:18, 82). In the middle of the
mainland, from where its bearers migrated to the 18th century they, as well as the Eyak who lived
coast. In substantiation of this, he referred to the farther north to Yakutat, underwent significant
fact that the Eyak did not hunt sea mammals, but cultural and, in part, linguistic assimilation by
that their economy was oriented toward the use of the Tlingit, who moved from the south. The word
land resources. “It is very difficult to understand,” “Yakutat” itself (in Tlingit Yaakwdaat—“place
wrote Krauss (1981:155), where the canoes rest”) comes from the Eyak word
Diya’quda’t or Ya.gada.at—“the lagoon that is
where the Eyak could live in the present territory
of their settlement and geography of the region
formed (by a glacier)” (Deur et al. 2015:23).
so that they were completely isolated from the Contributing to the process of “Tlingitiza-
Athapaskans, it seems, for over the course of tion” of the Eyak were intensive trade contacts
3,500 years. that were reinforced by marital connections, as
well as a similar model of social organization, the
It should be noted that, at the moment of basis of which consisted of two exogamic phratries
“discovery” of the Eyak by ethnographers in 1930, (moieties) that were divided into matrilineal clans.
they lived in only two small settlements (Eyak According to legends, this process was contributed
and Alaganik) in the region of the Copper River to in significant degree by the legendary Tlingit
54 Arctic Anthropology 54:2

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Figure 1. Geographic names referred to in text in the Gulf of Alaska.

trader and shaman Khatgavet from the Tekwedi According to early Russian sources, in partic-
clan in the region of Dry Bay, who traded with the ular the Journal of noncommissioned officer of the
Eyak from Yakutat to Katalla and who married the Mining Corps Dmitrii Tarkhanov (Dauenhauer et
daughters of the local chiefs. He allegedly “con- al. 2008:67–87; Grinëv 1997:1–17),3 who in 1796–
verted” the Eyak clans to Tlingit form and gave 1797 was the first European to make a trip from
them names corresponding to the Tlingit, such as the region of Yakutat Bay to the middle course
Gaanaxteidí, Kaagwaantaan, and so on (Deur et al. of the Copper River, it follows that the Eyak, and
2015:23–52; de Laguna et al. 1964:8–9, 242–247). not Eskimos inhabited the region of the Chilkat
The Tlingit, surpassing the Athapaskans and River in the 1790s. The small Kayak Island, lying
Eyak in economic, cultural, and military regard, in the ocean not far from the mouth of this river,
began after a rather short period to become domi- probably never had a permanent population. As
nant on the coast from Lituya Bay to Yakutat. The early as 1741, members of the Second Kamchatka
expansion of the Tlingit from the south brought Expedition, under the leadership of Bering, did
about resettlement of the Eyak to the northwest, not encounter residents on the island, However,
to the shore of Controller Bay, and the mouth of they discovered a hut and in it some objects of
the Copper River. Here, the Eyak came into con- daily life of the local natives, who evidently
tact with the Athapaskan Ahtna, who lived up the were occupied with fishing in the winter season
river. On the other side, they began their pro- (Steller [1742]1984:271–272). The Russians, who
tracted feud with the Eskimos, those who inhab- in 1783 next visited Kayak Island, found there
ited the shores and islands of Controller Bay. Uwe Chugach who came for summer fishing (Tikhme-
Johannsen (1964) suggested that these Eskimos nev 1863a:3–4, 6–7). And in 1788, when Russians
were related to the Chugach Tilkaimiut, that is, on the galiot Tri Svyatitelya explored the American
“people from the Tilkat River” or “Chilkat” (Bering coast from Kodiak Island to Lituya Bay, a Chugach
River), who inhabited not only the shore of Con- individual taken on board the galiot reported to
troller Bay but also Kayak Island lying opposite. them that there were “not any residents on that
It was in relation to the Chugach, and not to the island [Kayak]; the Chugach and Ugalakhmyuty
Eyak, Johannsen believed, that the ethnonym Ugal- [Eyak] come there, and then only temporarily, for
akhmiut was used (Johannsen 1964:873–875). hunting beavers [sea otters]” (Shelikhov 1971:96).
The Fate of the Eyak Indians in Russian America (1783–1867) 55

The Tri Svyatitelya was the first Russian ship The galiots arrived in the bay in August 1783,
to visit Yakutat Bay, on the shores of which the Eyak and Zaikov dispatched the artels [work group]
and Tlingit lived at that time. A year before the Rus- in baidary [large skin boats] to explore the sur-
sians, English maritime traders had visited there: rounding areas, become acquainted with the local
skipper George Dixon ([1789]1968:170–177) on residents, and obtain zalozhniki-­amanaty [hos-
the ship Queen Charlotte purchased sea otter pelts tages] from them.4 One of the artels, led by Leontii
from the local Indians in 1787. Then, the English Nagaev, went south to Kayak Island and the mouth
captains James Colnett and William Douglas, and in of the Copper River. Then, for the first time, infor-
1792–1794, William Brown traded in the region of mation was obtained from the Chugach about the
Yakutat (de Laguna 1972:123–125, 128–135; Howey acquisition of native copper on the upper reaches
1973:4–7, 16). In addition, two round-the-world of the river, as well as about the surrounding
government expeditions explored Yakutat Bay in peoples: the Kenaitsy (Tanaina/Denaina) Indians,
the first half of the 1790s: a Spanish one under the Mednovtsy (Ahtna), Kóloshi or Kolyuzhi (Tlingit),
command of Alejandro Malaspina (1791) and an and Ugalakhmyuty (Eyak) (Tikhmenev 1863a:
English one led by George Vancouver (1794). Appendix, pp. 5–7).
However, neither the English nor the Span- These data, recorded in Zaikov’s journal
ish, who up to the 1790s claimed all the Northwest (Tijhmenev 1863), are the first written mention
Coast of America, were in a state to effectively of the Eyak in Russian sources. There is no doubt
compete with the Russians, who not only discov- about the Eskimo origin of the initial ethnonym
ered Alaska and the Aleutian Islands in the course of the Eyak, especially since later the Chugach
of the expeditions of 1732 and 1741–1742 but also designated them with the similar term—Ungalaim-
made considerable effort to explore and develop it. iut—“people from the northeast” (Birket-Smith
Immediately after the Second Kamchatka Expe- and de Laguna 1938:338) or, in M. Krauss’s ver-
dition, Siberian merchants and promyshlenniki sion—Ungalarmiut—“eastern people” (Krauss
[hunter/trapper/traders] rushed to the Aleutian 1982:16). However, the Russians were evidently
Islands to procure the valuable furs, especially the not successful in encountering the Eyak in 1783,
sea otter. Advancing from Kamchatka ever farther especially since Zaikov’s expedition to Prince
east along the chain of Aleutian Islands, the Rus- William Sound ended unsuccessfully: during the
sians acquired furs, bartered them from the Aleuts, wintering, over several dozen Russian promysh-
and organized the Aleuts into baidarka hunting lenniki perished from scurvy and clashes with the
flotillas (“parties” led by Russian promyshlenniki). Chugach so that Zaikov was forced to leave the
Also, they forced the natives to pay yasak (tribute sound in the spring of 1784.
in furs) to the royal treasury. In this same year, the enterprising merchant
As a result, 40 years after the Second Ka- Grigory Shelikhov founded the first permanent
mchatka Expedition of Bering and Aleksei I. settlement of Russians in the New World on the
Chirikov, the Aleutian Islands had been com- large island of Kodiak, which served as a base
pletely opened up by the Russians, who after this for further investigation of Southeast Alaska. It
started toward a more thorough exploration of the was from there that the Tri Svyatitelya set off for
coast of Alaska and the islands adjacent to it. In an inventory of the Northwest Coast of America
1782, several hunting ships had gathered in the in 1788. From there in 1792, a hunting party of
region of the eastern Aleutian Islands, and the 300 Kodiak Eskimos (Kad’yaktsy, Koniag, modern
prospect of successfully acquiring furs there al- Alutiiq) went in 150 two-place baidarki led by the
most ceased. Therefore, the mariners of three ships director of the “Shelikhov” company in America,
decided to join forces to explore the shores of Alexander Baranov, to investigate Prince William
America. The experienced navigator Potap Zaikov Sound and subjugate the Chugach who lived on its
was chosen as the leader. Having studied the maps shores to Russia.
of James Cook, he decided to lead his flotilla to Stopping on Hinchinbrook Island, Baranov
Prince William Sound, discovered by the British set up a temporary camp there, which on the
mariner in 1778. A total of about 300 men took night of June 20–21 incurred an unexpected and
part in the hunting campaign, including appar- unprovoked attack by an armed group of Yakutat
ently several dozen Aleuts from the Fox Islands, Tlingit and their allies the Eyak. Baranov himself
taken with their baidarki [Aleut kayaks] on the was almost killed at the very beginning of the
Russian ships. Having such an impressive force, battle: he was saved by his iron armor, which he
the promyshlenniki clearly counted on a quick always wore under his clothing. The onslaught of
submission of the local Chugach Eskimos and a the Indians was contained only by the fire of the
successful procurement of furs, since the region falconet (a light cannon), which the director fired.
of Prince William Sound still had not been visited The Tlingit and Eyak made several attacks, but in
by Russian hunting ships before this time (Berkh the end, they were forced to retreat to their canoes
1823a:112; Shelikhov [1791]1971:44). and go to sea. It is difficult to say how much the
56 Arctic Anthropology 54:2

Eyak participated in the attack, since the losses Demid Kulikalov. After a hunt in Prince William
were mostly Tlingit (from nine to 13 men killed Sound, the party proceeded to the mouth of the
and many wounded), whereas Baranov lost two Copper River, where the Russians unsuccessfully
Russians and nine to 15 Kodiak people, while tried to meet the Ahtna Indians. After a hunt in
about 15 to 20 men were wounded (RGAVMF. F. this region, the flotilla went to Kayak Island and
870. Op. 1. D. 1784. L. 42; ORRGB. F. 204. K. 32. the shore of the mainland inhabited by the Eyak
Ed. khr. No. 2. L. 5; Khlebnikov 1979:25; Tikhme- Indians. Here for the first time, the Russians came
nev 1863a:37–38). In addition, the Indians took into direct contact with these Indians, when they
captive four of the Chugach zalozhniki-­amanaty visited their settlement of Tatleya (evidently in the
held by Baranov. In turn, a mortally wounded In- region of Controller Bay), where they took a census
dian fell captive to the Russians, who told that his of its population led by Chief Sal’tekhu (RGADA.
kinsmen initially intended to make a raid on their F. 1605. Op. 1. D. 352. L. 7–7 ob.). The census of
ancestral enemies—the Chugach—in retaliation for the native population of Alaska served the Rus-
last year’s attack. The Indians decided to attack the sians both for statistical records of the natives
Russians through lust for plunder. The dying man (real or potential subjects) and for convenience in
also reported that his group was waiting for the levying tribute, taking zalozhniki-­amanaty and
arrival of a reinforcement of ten war canoes with workers-­kayury [forced workers] for the needs of
warriors for a raid on the Kenaitsy (Tanaina). This the “Shelikhov” company (see Grinëv 2000:1–18).5
news forced Baranov to quickly leave camp and Agreement “to undergo a census” was indirect
hasten to Kodiak to undertake measures against evidence, in the opinion of the Russians, that
another Indian attack (Tikhmenev 1863b:37–38). this group of natives recognized the authority of
Despite the attack in 1792, as early as the Russia.
following year, Baranov sent a party of 360 Kodiak After some time, having descended south-
people in 180 two-place baidarki, led by Egor east along the mainland coast, members of the
Purtov and three other Russian promyshlenniki, expedition visited another Eyak settlement of
from Kodiak to the Yakutat region for additional Kalkeyak (evidently “Kaliakh” on the river of the
reconnaissance and procurement of sea otters. same name). The Russians tried by any method
From Purtov’s report to Baranov, preserved in the to establish contact with the local residents and
RGADA archive, about the trip, and the results of even took the Eyak chief and his brother captive.
the hunting expedition of 1793, it follows that his In a subsequent clash, the Eyak killed Ignatii
party conducted sea otter hunting at Kayak Island Bacharov, a baptized Kodiak interpreter. Only
and then investigated to mainland shore lying after negotiations were the sides reconciled, the
opposite. At the mouth of a rather large river, prob- Indians received gifts, and the Russians were able
ably the Kaliakh River, members of the expedition to freely take a census of the residents of the Eyak
discovered an abandoned settlement of the local settlement, with their chief Tskek (like Sal’tekhu
Eyak Indians, and moving 25 versty [~25 km] up earlier) being given the so-called “bilet” [voucher]
the river, found a fort abandoned by them. The of June 3, 1794. It stated that the chief “with all
fort consisted of four large houses surrounded by his assemblage and by his voluntary desire came
a wooden wall with a gate and homes within the under the authority of the GREAT RUSSIAN
fortification joined to each other by underground GREAT AUTOCRAT,” which was Empress Cather-
passages. On the rivers and creeks in the vicinity ine II (RGADA. F. 1605. Op. 1. D. 352. L. 12). The
of the fort, Purtov noted the presence of fish traps Indians themselves, of course, did not understand
and locks. The Russians and Kodiak people did the significance of this act, all the more that the
not succeed in meeting the Eyak themselves: the translation at the negotiations with the Russians
Indians evidently hid, fearing the hostile inten- was far from perfect, and in the Eyak language,
tions of the numerous new arrivals. The Eyak were such concepts as “autocratic power,” “empire,”
probably afraid that they had come for revenge and so on were nonexistent. Nevertheless, in the
for the previous year’s attack. After examining the eyes of the Russians, they were now turned into
fort, Purtov’s party set off to Yakutat Bay, where for full-fledged subjects of the Russian state.
some time the party was occupied with hunting Purtov took from the Eyak seven people as
sea otters and then safely returned to Kodiak in amanaty. Their chief Tskek and one of the Kodiak
July (RGADA. F. 1605. Op. 1. D. 352. L. 1–5 ob.). people, who knew the Tlingit language, were sent
Having obtained this information, Ba- to the south as envoys to the Tlingit of Yakutat
ranov sent a huge hunting flotilla of more than Bay with notification about the arrival of the party.
500 two-place baidarki to Yakutat in May 1794, Soon the whole baidarka flotilla moved there. Ne-
in which there were no fewer than 1,000 Eskimos gotiations with the Yakutat people were difficult.
from Kodiak and the nearby shore of the main- In the words of one of the officers of Vancouver’s
land, as well as a group of loyal Chugach, under British expedition, which was at the time in Yaku-
the direction of ten Russians led by Purtov and tat, the chief of the Tlingit “used all his eloquence
The Fate of the Eyak Indians in Russian America (1783–1867) 57

to define the precise extent of the boundaries of to winter over among the Tlingit. In their place,
their land and to state the injustice of the Russians, Baranov took to Kodiak the son (more likely the
who were killing and taking away the sea otters” nephew) of the chief of the Yakutat people, who
(Vancouver 1833:438). The Russians, on their side, was baptized there and given the name “Fëdor”
shamed the Indians for the unjustified attack in (mentioned in the sources as “toyon Fëdor,” that
1792, demanded the return of the four Chugach is, “chief Fëdor”) (ORRNB. Collection Q.IV.311. L.
amanaty captured at that time, and were interested 5–8; Khlebnikov 1835:28). This information clearly
in the fate of the copper coat of arms of the Russian contradicts data of several Russian and foreign
Empire left in Yakutat in 1788 with the chief of the authors. They report, for example, that Baranov
Tlingit Il’khak. The Tlingit confessed to the attack, allegedly left 30 people in Yakutat in 1795; others
and about the captured Chugach, reported that write that navigator Pribylov brought a group of
they were sold to other Tlingit to the south and settlers there; still others assert that in this year the
there died (most probably were taken as sacrifices settlement of Slavorossiya was founded there; and
to potlatches). The coat of arms, in the words of so on (Tikhmenev 1861:53; Fëdorova 1971:119;
the Indians, was sold to the Chilkat people after Gibson 1992:13).
the death of Il’khak (a group of Tlingit who lived At the moment of the appearance of the
in the region of Lynn Canal) where it was bro- Russians in Yakutat, there were basically repre-
ken (Tikhmenev 1863c:64–65). Nevertheless, the sentatives of two clans—the Kwashkkwan and
negotiations ended with assurances of friendship. the Tlahaik-­Tekwedi. The latter belonged to the
The Russians took a census of the Yakutat people autochthonous Eyak population since they spoke
and the Akoi people—Tlingit of the region of Dry the Eyak language and were a branch of the Eyak
Bay, located 80 km southeast of Yakutat—who clan Kaliakh-­Kagwantan, who settled on the coast
came to them for trade. In the RGADA archive northwest of Yakutat to Controller Bay (de La-
are still kept the lists of Eyak and Tlingit made guna 1972:222). The Tlahaik-­Tekwedi apparently
by ­Purtov in 1794 (RGADA. F. 1605. Op. 1. D. 352. possessed the settlement of Tl’aku-an on Knight
L. 12 ob.–17 ob.). Island in Yakutat Bay.6 It was probably this Eyak
After the successful return of Purtov’s party settlement (“the reconciled Ugalyaemut people
to Kodiak with a multitude of acquired sea otter inside Yakutat Bay”) that Tarkhanov visited in
pelts, the director of the “Shelikhov” company, 1796 (ORRNB. Collection Q.IV.311. L. 22–23). Part
Baranov, decided to establish a couple of new of the Tlahaik-­Tekwedi, also known by the name
Russian settlements on the mainland coast south Lukhedi, inhabited the Lost and Situk rivers east of
of Prince William Sound. They were necessary the bay (de Laguna 1972:76, 221–222).
as bases for supply and places of safe haven for Another Indian clan that lived in the vicinity
the native hunters of the hunting parties, as well of Yakutat was the Kwuashkkwan, the represen-
as for securing the surrounding territories for the tatives of which had evidently already learned
Russians, which was especially critical in connec- the Tlingit language when the first Europeans
tion with the visit of the government and trading appeared on the coast. At least, the English cap-
expeditions of the English and Spanish in this tain James Colnett (1788) noted that the natives of
region. Also, Shelikhov, Baranov’s patron, insisted Yakutat spoke two different languages (de Laguna
at this time on the founding of a Russian colony on et al., 1964:3). These evidently were the Eyak
the American mainland and sent an elaborate plan (Tlahaik-­Tekwedi) and Tlingit (Kwashkkwan)
of the new colony (RGAVMF. F. 198. Op. 2. D. 79. languages.
L. 14–21 ob.). The ancestors of the Kwashkkwan were the
Therefore, Baranov sent a small artel of Athapaskan Ahtna from the lower reaches of the
promyshlenniki, under the leadership of Ensign Copper River, who were mixed with the Eyak and
Ivan Rodionov, to build a settlement on the main- arrived in Yakutat “ten generations ago” (that is,
land shore at Cape Suckling in the territory of the about 250 to 300 years). It can be supposed that
Eyak in May 1795. The new settlement was named only in Yakutat were the Kwashkkwan formed into
“Simeonovskoe.” The director himself decided to an independent clan, since its name originated
personally establish a fort and settlement on the from the stream Kwashk (in Eyak, “humpback
shore of Yakutat Bay in accordance with Shelik- salmon”), which flows in the region of Yakutat,
hov’s instructions. However, because of the hostil- with the addition of the Tlingit word kw’an—“the
ity of the local Tlingit, this attempt failed, though local residents.” Being a group of mixed origin,
Baranov succeeded in compelling the Indians (af- they were much more quickly assimilated by the
ter military demonstrations and long negotiations) Tlingit, than their neighbors—the pure-blood Eyak
to agree with founding a future Russian settlement Tlakhauk-­Tekwedi. The Russians apparently clas-
on their lands. The director left nine Russians, sified representatives of the Kwashkkwan clan as
three Kodiak people, and an Aleut woman transla- Kolyuzhi (Koloshi), that is, to the Tlingit of Yaku-
tor under the leadership of Tarkhanov in Yakutat tat. At the beginning of European colonization, the
58 Arctic Anthropology 54:2

Kwashkkwan were probably the most numerous in documents of the Russian-­American Company
and strongest clan in this region. The large vil- (RAC), which emerged from the union of merchant
lage of Nessudat, which belonged to them, can be organizations under the aegis of the state in 1799.
identified with the “Yakutatskoe zhilo” (village) The tsarist government entrusted the management
that is mentioned in early Russian sources (AVPRI. of Alaska to this monopolistic company up to its
F. Gl. Arkhiv I‑7, 1802 g. D. 1. Papka No. 35. L. 150 sale to the United States in 1867. The last time the
ob.–151). Evidently, Toyon Fëdor, taken by Ba- Simeonovskoe settlement is mentioned in the offi-
ranov to Kodiak, also belonged to the Kwashkkwan cial papers of the RAC was in 1863 to provide fur-
clan, since in his policies the director tried to rely ther weight to its possessions (RGIA. F. 994. Op. 2.
on the most influential Tlingit clans. D. 830. L. 31; AVPRI. F. RAK. Op. 888. D. 288.
Toyon Fëdor spent less than a year on Kodiak L. 31 ob.). Referring to such documents, several
and in 1796 returned to his fellow tribesmen ac- Russian authors write about the existence of the
companied by Baranov, who established a fort and Simeonovskoe settlement even after 1797 (Bolk-
settlement in Yakutat Bay. Tarkhanov, who was hovitinov 1991:195; Fëdorova 1971:118; Mironov
left here together with his comrades to overwin- 2007:26, 75; Molodin 2010:197; Okun’ 1939:55;
ter, took part in building the new colony. At this Tikhmenev 1861:117), which, of course, does not
time, the local Indians, seeing that the Russians correspond to historical reality.
were beginning to settle in their territory, decided Even before his return to Kodiak in the fall
to begin neighborly relations with them. They of 1796, Baranov sent Dmitrii Tarkhanov from
probably feared the so numerous and well-armed Yakutat on an overland trip to the Copper River for
new arrivals (about 80 Russians and several dozen reconnaissance and potential discovery of copper
natives dependent on the Russians, primarily from deposits. Tarkhanov, accompanied by Toyon Fëdor
Kodiak, were occupied in the construction in Ya- and several Tlingit, first visited a settlement of
kutat). The “chief toyon” of Yakutat—one can sup- Eyak located in the back of Yakutat Bay. The elder
pose it was the chief of the Kwashkkwan—went, of this settlement, Eltekh (Ieltekh—the name most
accompanied by his kinsmen, with great ceremony probably of Tlingit origin) together with six of his
to Baranov. During a solemn meeting, the director kinsmen then accompanied Tarkhanov on foot
of the “Shelikhov” company, not satisfied with along the Pacific coast through the whole territory
assurances of friendship, requested that the chief of the Eyak tribe. With them also went several
give him his relatives as zalozhniki-­amanaty. It is Tlingit, “for relations, rendezvous, and trade” with
not out of the question that it was under Baranov’s the local Eyak, as is indicated in Tarkhanov’s jour-
pressure that the old chief transferred authority nal (Grinëv 1997:6). It is evident that at the end of
to his heir (Toyon Fëdor?), who was awarded a the 18th century, between the Tlingit of Yakutat
special paper that confirmed him in this title. At and the Eyak there existed regular barter, which
the same time, giving zalozhniki-­amanaty to the was accompanied, as was often the case, with mar-
Russians, the “Ugalakhmyuty, who lived farther ital connections.
inland from Yakutat Bay” (Tikhmenev 1861:53), Tarkhanov’s trip from Yakutat Bay to Icy Bay
which is the Eyak Tlahaik-­Tekwedi, received and from there to the Eyak settlement at the “river
written guarantees of safety. The later fate of the Khaltekh” (Kaliakh) continued almost two months
Yakutat Eyak is one of the most dramatic episodes (to November 3, 1796). This journey was arduous
in the history of Russian America and is closely for the Russian traveler. In his journal, he com-
connected with the fate of the Russian colony, plained about the Tlingit, who did not at all help
founded here in July 1796. him carry his numerous things. Help in trans-
Construction of the Yakutat fort and the set- porting the cargo was rendered only by the Eyak
tlement of Slavorossiya (changed later to Novo- of chief Eltekh. Tarkhanov himself carried food,
rossiiskoe) continued for two months, after which wares, and weapons with a total weight of more
Baranov set off to Kodiak, leaving up to 80 Russian than 20 kg. It was especially difficult for him when
settlers and promyshlenniki to winter over, many he had to go over rough terrain with snowshoes,
of whom became victims of scurvy in the winter of which severely rubbed and hurt his feet, and sub-
1796–1797. At this time Ensign Rodionov—head sequently affected his health detrimentally.
of the Simeonovskoe settlement recently estab- Tarkhanov kept a detailed description in his
lished in the land of the Eyak—arrived to Baranov journal of the regions he passed through. The trav-
on Kodiak in a baidara. He reported to the direc- eler usually numbered the streams encountered
tor that, because of an inadequate catch of fish, on the route, though sometimes he also used their
normal living there was impossible (Khlebnikov native names: Chakh, Kats, Lakh, and so on. Based
1835:36). Baranov evidently agreed with the on Tarkhnov’s calculations, the travelers went a
arguments of his assistant and gave the order to total of about 285 versty (304 km) from Yakutat to
evacuate the Simeonovskoe settlement. Neverthe- the Kaliakh River. Upon reaching the Eyak set-
less, it sometimes continued to be mentioned later tlement, Tarkhnov and his traveling companions
The Fate of the Eyak Indians in Russian America (1783–1867) 59

were finally able to rest. After staying there for a otter-rich straits of the Alexander Archipelago,
while, some of the Tlingit set off back to Yakutat, the shores of which were occupied by militant
while others remained among their Eyak relatives. Tlingit. Judging by the fragmentary archival data,
Tarkhanov remained at the Eyak village for several the zalozhniki-­amanaty taken from the Eyak were
months. The local Indians evidently treated him sometimes sent with the baidarka parties that
well, since all this time they supplied him with acquired sea otters in this region. Thus, Baranov,
food. While living among the Eyak, Tarkhanov in a letter of the 25th of September 1798 to Ivan
even learned their language a little. From the 3rd A. Kuskov, head of the Konstantinovskii Redoubt
to the 18th of January, 1797, he was occupied with (fort) on Nuchek (Hinchinbrook) Island in Prince
investigating the vicinity of the Kaliakh River, and William Sound, mentions the “great Ugayamutskii
on the 4th of February, together with seven Eyak, amanat Vasilii” who should be sent with the party
he set off to travel 128 versty (137 km) west to (possibly as envoy-­guide). Instead of him, Baranov
the Eyak chief Taete “for a meeting and trade” in proposed taking other amanaty from the number
the small settlement of Chulku (Chilkhu) (Grinëv of Eyak children,
1997:6–7).
Tarkhanov lived for a week with Taete, or if any adults of both sexes are adults present
persuading those Eyak who arrived with him to there [Eyak amanty] or change, if there is anyone
else, or just release them, since they have to be
go farther northwest into the country of the Ahtna looked after, despite the precaution of a pledge
Indians. But his former traveling companions of fidelity, because in cases of threat they can be
refused to follow farther, citing bad weather, the harmful. Becoming carriers [informers], spies and
great distance, and fear of the Copper River resi- assistant in [hostile] actions (ORRGB. F. 204. K.
dents. Nevertheless, with the aid of gifts, Tarkha- No. 32. Ed. khr. No. 3. L. 6).
nov succeeded in persuading the Eyak chief to
take him north. Together with Chief Taete and two Moreover, in 1799, as de Laguna (1990)
Indians, who pulled sleds with food and wares, wrote, the Eyak, because of outrageous oppression
the travelers arrived on February 17, 1797, in the and poaching in their territories by the Kodiak and
region of the Copper River. At this time Tarkhanov Chugach under the leadership of the Russians,
was near Controller Bay since he mentions in his attacked the hunting party at Cape Suckling on its
journal that the Chilkat River is not far from the return from the hunt in the region of the Alexander
mouth of the Copper River, on which subsequently Archipelago. In retaliation for this, an Eyak who
was founded the Tlingit settlement of Chilkat lived in the region of Controller Bay was seized by
(Krause 1885:99).7 the Russians and died under torture (de Laguna
Tarkhanov’s trip with three Eyak was short- 1990:195). Evidently, de Laguna relied on the work
lived. Soon the travelers came across the hut of of Hubert Bancroft, who described the episode of
the Ahtna Indians, where one of their chiefs lived a “Koloshi” attack at Cape Suckling on the 2nd of
with his family and two slaves. At the moment of May 1799 (in which the party lost the 26 crews of
Tarkhanov’s arrival, the brother of the head chief two-man baidarki) (Bancroft [1886]1970:386–387).
of these Indians was also in the hut. Tarkhanov She also used the legend recorded by Birket-­Smith
presented him with beads and tobacco “for ac- (1953:140–141) among the Chugach. However,
quaintanceship” and set off with him farther into nothing similar is recorded in Russian historical
the land of the Athapaskan Ahtna, arriving finally sources. Thus, Kyrill Khlebnikov, having collected
on the middle course of the Copper River. From all the data on the losses of the Kodiak Eskimos
there he then descended to the mouth of the river, from 1792 to 1805, wrote that eight natives died
and by June 1797 reported to Baranov on Kodiak and ten drowned “on the Aglegmut shore” upon
about the results of his expedition, who, however, the return of the hunting party to Kodiak in 1798.
was dissatisfied with its results (AVPRI. F. RAK. And in 1799, on the return of the party from the
Op. 888. D. 121. L. 14 ob.; Grinëv 1997:8–10). hunt in the region of Sitkha (Baranof) Island, 135
Thus, Tarkhanov became the first European more Kodiak people perished from eating poison
to spend several months among the Eyak Indi- shellfish (Khlebnikov 1979:25). However, Khleb-
ans and give a brief ethnographic description of nikov did not mention any attack on them by the
them, even learning some Eyak words (Dauen- Indians.
hauer 2008:80–82; ORRNB. Collection Q.IV.311. Of course, the Eyak, and especially the
L. 62 ob.–72). Incidentally, his expedition did Tlingit, were extremely dissatisfied with the in-
not have any practical significance either for the tensive hunting of the baidarka flotillas of Kodiak,
Russians or the Eyak themselves. Their territory Chugach, and Aleut people led by Russians in
was not rich in natural resources, and the sea coast their hunting territories, since they themselves
occupied by the Eyak did not have suitable bays received for the furs many things they needed
for basing ships or the hunting parties that annu- from the British and American ships. The latter
ally set off from Kodiak to the southeast to the sea were particularly numerous, and they carried out
60 Arctic Anthropology 54:2

regular trading voyages to the Northwest Coast of attack by the Indians on the shore, he decided
America to purchase furs from the local Indians for to go with a large part of his party directly to
subsequent resale in China. It is not surprising that Konstantinovskii Redoubt in Prince William
the Tlingit, encouraged by some American trad- Sound. The crews of approximately 30 baidarki,
ers, rose up in rebellion against the Russians and absolutely exhausted from the long passage from
the natives dependent on them. In May 1802, the Sithka, decided, no matter what, to go to the Yaku-
Indians unsuccessfully attacked the main baidarka tat shore and rest. They succeeded in avoiding an
flotilla under the leadership of Baranov’s assistant attack by the Indians and finally reached Kodiak.
Ivan A. Kuskov 60 versty (64 km) south of Yakutat, A large part of the party together with Demyanen-
when it was sent to hunt in the region of Sitkha kov was lost in a storm. Between 250 and 300 men
Island, where Baranov constructed a Russian fort perished (AVPRI. F. Gl. arkhiv I‑7, 1802 g. Op. 6.
in 1799. In June, the Tlingit attacked, seized, and D. 1. Papka No. 35. L. 141; Khlebnikov 1835:25,
burned the fort after killing most of the defenders. 45; “Zapiski ieromonakha Gedeona . . .” 1994:86).
Then they annihilated two hunting parties—one The tragedy at Yakutat, as in its time on
small one right at Sitkha [Sitka] and the other in Sitkha, was the result of numerous reasons (Grinëv
the region of Frederick Sound. Encouraged by the 1989:1–6, 2005:139–145). In the official docu-
defeat of these parties and the destruction of ments of the RAC board of directors, only two
the Russian fort, the Tlingit also tried to seize the versions are traditionally named: the local Indians’
Russian colony at Yakutat, but it survived due to a “inclination toward fighting and cruelty,” and
fortunate coincidence of circumstances (see Grinëv American traders supplying them with firearms
2005:116–132). The three-­volume Encyclopedia of (“Zapiska direktorov Glavnogo pravleniya . . .”
the Arctic states that the Eyak took part in the raid 1965:242; “Obozrenie sostoyaniya . . .” 1835:66;
on the Russian fort on Sitkha (Hund 2004:604), but “Zapiska Glavnogo pravleniya . . .” 1972:379).
this is a fallacy. However, the attempts of the company directors
In 1803, preparing revenge for the defeat on to shift all the blame for the incident on its trade
Sitkha, Baranov, who had been appointed a gover- competitors and the “barbarity of the savages”
nor of Russian America, concentrated a large con- are unconvincing; all the more that no contacts
tingent of Russian promyshlenniki at Yakutat and of the Americans with the Yakutat people in this
built two ships for the punitive expedition (Berkh period are recorded. The legends of the Indians
1823b:151; ORRGB. F. 204. K. 32. Ed. khr. No. 4. themselves, collected by de Laguna and other
L. 15 ob.). The local Indians, including the Eyak, American ethnographers, help uncover the real
made Baranov suspicious. In a letter to Kuskov of reasons for the events (de Laguna 1972:233–236,
the 21st of April, 1803 he wrote: “The local people 259–261; Deur et al. 2015:111–113). According to
of the Ugalyamytskie shores are in close proximity historical legends, the main reason for the upris-
and always connected with the Kolyuzhskie, they ing of the Yakutat Eyak and Tlingit was the fact
have frequent intercourse” (ORRGB. F. 204. K. 32. that the Russians did not permit them to use their
Ed. khr. No. 4. L. 20). However, the presence at traditional fishing grounds. The promyshlenniki
Yakutat of a large number of well-armed promysh- constructed fish locks in the Taval River, which
lenniki forced the Indians to refrain from open blocked the fish from going to spawn. In fact, in
manifestations of hostility. Russian sources, two fish locks near their village
In 1804, all the preparations for the campaign at Yakutat are mentioned (ORRGB. F. 204. K. 32. D.
against the rebellious Tlingit were finished, and 4. L. 15 ob.). Inadequate fish obviously brought on
Baranov personally led the “reconquest” of Sitkha the threat of famine among the Indians, which is
Island. In the fall of that year, he again established also mentioned in the legends. In addition, when
himself on it, expelling the local Tlingit from their the Indians traveled on the river, they often had
fort on the western shore of the [Sitkha] island. In to drag their heavy wooden canoes over a portage
the place of their former settlement, he established since the Russians opened the locks only when the
Novo-­Arkhangel’sk [present-­day Sitka], which chief passed, and from the ordinary Indians, they
became the “capital” of Russian America in 1808. took a toll of a sea otter skin.
In the summer of 1805, after the establishment Another significant reason for the outrage of
of peace with the Tlingit, Baranov again sent a the Yakutat people was the fact that the employees
baidarka flotilla to hunt sea otters in the straits of the RAC took their children away to “school”
of the Alexander Archipelago. After a successful and used them there for “slave labor.” It was
hunt, a large part of the party under the leadership evidently the matter that children amanaty were
of Timofei Demyanenkov was sent to Kodiak. sent to school on Kodiak Island, which Shelikhov
On the way, Demyanenkov received news had organized there. Students in this institution
from the Tlingit he encountered of the seizure were in fact used in light work for company needs.
by the Indians of the Yakutat fort and settlement. However, from the point of view of the Indians,
Making sure of this personally and fearing an this was slavery.
The Fate of the Eyak Indians in Russian America (1783–1867) 61

In Yakutat, as well as at one time on Sitkha, subsequent plundering (ORRGB. F. 204. K. 32. Ed.
some Russian promyshlenniki mistreated the local khr. No. 6. L. 3 ob.). Tanukh, it is said in the Indian
residents, took for themselves Indian women, and legend, was seized sometime later by the Russians
used the Indians for work without pay. In addition, and subsequently died (de Laguna 1972:235).
they refused to sell the Yakutat people firearms, Judging by the letter from Repin, the head of
which they badly needed. Finally, the employees the Konstantinovskii Redoubt, dated to the 24th of
of the RAC never paid the Indians for the land September, 1805, the attack on the Yakutat col-
ceded to them for the settlement, though they had ony occurred on the 20th of August (Tikhmenev
promised to do that. The immediate reason for the 1863d:196). The indications of some authors that
uprising, it says in one of the legends (de Laguna this event occurred later—in the fall of 1805—
1972:259–260), was the threat of the Russians should be considered erroneous. Of course, in the
to kill one of the Yakutat Eyak because he took Russian sources known to us, there are no details
nails from a shattered skiff on the shore without about the destruction of Yakutat by the Indians.
permission. According to Tlingit legends, the fort was seized
In Russian sources, there is no clarity in when almost all the promyshlenniki had gone to
pointing out the instigators and participants in the catch fish. The few who remained, not managing to
uprising of the natives in Yakutat. The head of the provide any resistance, were killed by the Indians.
Konstantinovskii Redoubt, Ivan Repin, reported After this event, the Indians attacked the promysh-
to Baranov that the Russians were killed by the lenniki returning from fishing and killed them all.
kayury, who were at the fort and settlement, with Seizing the fort, the Yakutat people plundered and
the support of part of the local Indians (Tikhmenev burned it. Some items that fell to the Indians at the
1863: Appendix. Pt. II. P. 195). Rezanov wrote that time were handed down from generation to genera-
the kayury carried this out, possibly bribed by the tion and are preserved up to now as family relics.
Akoi Tlingit people (Tikhmenev 1863: Appendix. They include, for example, a copper cannon, a
Pt. II. P. 287). Baranov supposed that the fort was sword with scabbard, and a copper kettle, which
seized by the kayury, who were “brushed up” by belonged, the Indians assert, to the head of the
some of the local Indians and “Akoi” (ORRGB. Russian fort (de Laguna 1972:232–234, 260–261).
F. 204. K. 32. Ed. khr. No. 6. L. 3 ob.). The board of Information about the number of Russians
directors of the RAC reported to the emperor that who were in the Yakutat colony during the attack
the attack on Yakutat was carried out by “non- by the natives is somewhat contradictory. In the
peaceful people who lived around this place” (AV- report of the RAC board of directors to Emperor
PRI. F. Gl. Arkhiv II‑3, 1805–1824 gg. Op. 34. D. 7. Alexander I, it says that 22 Russians were there
L. 2). Based on Khlebnikov’s data, these were Ko- with “loyal islanders” (that is, Kodiak, Chugach,
loshi, which is Tlingit (Khlebnikov 1835:102–103). and Aleuts) (AVPRI. F. Gl. Arkhiv II‑3, 1805–1824
According to Tikhmenev’s evidence, the fort was gg. Op. 34. D. 7. L. 2). Khlebnikov stated that on
attacked by the Ugalakhmyuty (Yakutat Eyak), but the eve of the tragic event in the fort there was a
then he says that it was carried out by the Koloshi total of 12 Russian promyshlenniki led by Ste-
(Tikhmenev 1861. Pt. I. P. 151). pan F. Larionov (Khlebnikov 1835:102), while
Comparing the Russian accounts with In- in the opinion of the Canadian historian James
dian legends, it can be concluded that part of the Gibson, 22 Russian families and many Aleuts lived
Yakutat people—the Eyak Tlahaik-­Tekwedi (de in Yakutat (Gibson 1976:14). Probably the most
Laguna 1972:233–236, 259–262)—whose kins- reliable data are provided by Rezanov, who used
man the Russians threatened to kill for stealing colonial statistics (AVPRI. F. Gl. Arkhiv I‑7, 1802 g.
nails, participated in the seizure of the fort. It is D. 1. Papka No. 35. L. 154). He reported that under
also probable that it was from this clan that the the leadership of Larionov in Yakutat in 1805 were
Russians would sometimes acquire temporary 15 Russian promyshlenniki, nine colonists with
kayury workers since they feared taking people families, a clerk, a blacksmith, and a locksmith.
from the more numerous Kwashkkwan clan for In addition, at the fort lived kayury—20 men and
work. It is also possible that these kayury helped 15 women. It cannot be excluded that, besides
their kinsmen in the uprising against the Russians. these kayury, in the settlement were also six
The legends report that the Tlahaik-­Tekwedi were Chugach and four Kodiak people, about whom the
led by one Tanukh (Tanuk). Only a few of the head of the Konstantinovskii Redoubt reported to
Kwashkkwan clan supported him since their chief Baranov (Tikhmenev 1863d:196).
“did not want war with the Russians” (de Laguna Meanwhile, it does not seem possible to
1972:233–236, 259–262; Deur et al. 2015:112, 114). establish precisely the Russian losses at the seizure
Moreover, based on Baranov’s data, Toyon Fëdor of the Yakutat colony: information in the sources is
did not take part in the seizure of the fort (“every- contradictory on this account. Tlingit legends say
one says he is not guilty of villainy”), though it is that only the keeper at the fish lock and the light-
possible that some of his people took part in the house keeper, as well as the daughter (wife?) of
62 Arctic Anthropology 54:2

the commandant of the fort, “Stanislav” (Stepan), The fall of Yakutat and annihilation of the
managed to avoid death (de Laguna 1972:235, Demyanenkov’s party were a heavy blow for
259–260). A contemporary of the events, Rezanov, the Russian colonies in America. An important
wrote that of 40 people who were at Yakutat in economic and strategic base was lost. The RAC
1805, only eight men, two women, and three boys suffered great material losses: the structures alone
managed to save themselves (Tikhmenev 1863e: in Yakutat were valued (in 1805) at 31,525 ru-
Appendix. Pt. II. P. 278). Based on the official data bles—this was the most costly Russian settlement
of the RAC board of directors, at that time 14 Rus- in Alaska after Novo-­Arkhangel’sk (AVPRI. F. Gl.
sians perished “and with them still more island- Arkhiv I‑7, 1802 g. D. 1. Papka No. 35. L. 166).
ers,” that is, obviously, dependent natives—the News of the devastation of the Yakutat fort and
Kodiak and Chugach, who lived in the fort and settlement brought about unrest among the natives
colony. Only four promyshlenniki, four colo- of Russian America. The Tanaina Indians, in the
nists with two women and three boys managed words of Rezanov, began to show “coldness” to
to save themselves by running northwest along the Russians, and the Chugach and Ahtna openly
the seashore, trying to reach the Konstantinovskii threatened to attack the Konstantinovskii Redoubt
Redoubt on Nuchek Island, but along the way fell (Tikhmenev 1863e:278).
captive to the Eyak (“Glavnoe pravlenie . . .” 1963. The loss of the Russian promyshlenniki and
Ser. I. Vol. 3. P. 106; also Tikhmenev 1863e:278). colonists at Yakutat, with their already chronic
Subsequently, it appears that they were in part labor shortage in Russian America, especially
released by the Indians and in part given up for the loss of the Demyanenkov party, significantly
ransom. In 1806, in one of his letters, Baranov weakened the position of the RAC. It was not by
reported to Kuskov that the crew of 39 baidarki chance in this regard that Khlebnikov remarked
who survived from Demyanenkov’s party, includ- in his notes: “This misfortune stopped success in
ing one “Roman,” overwintered with the fugitives hunting, and in 1806 there was not a hunting party
from Yakutat among the “Ugalyamutsy” (that is, from Sitkha” (Khlebnikov 1985:45). In addition,
Eyak), after which this Roman brought all safely to Khlebnikov wrote that, after the devastation of the
the Chugach, loyal to the Russians (ORRGB. F. 204. Russian colony, the Yakutat people led by Toyon
K. 32. Ed. khr. No. 6. L. 3 ob.). In Baranov’s letter, Fëdor allegedly tried then to destroy the Konstanti-
Roman was probably the baptized Kodiak Eskimo novskii Redoubt in Prince William Sound as well,
Roman Belorukov, who knew the Russian language but due to a warning from a Chugach slave fleeing
and served as an interpreter for the RAC at the from the Indians, their intention was revealed.
beginning of the 1800s (Grinëv 2009:55). Fëdor was seized by the Russians and committed
The number of colonists of Yakutat who were suicide, some of the Yakutat people the Chugach
saved was, in fact, more substantial, since in Ba- killed, and a large part of the remainder drowned
ranov’s letters several other people are mentioned when a sudden storm capsized and smashed up
who fell captive to the Tlingit groups that lived their canoes on a bar near the mouth of the Copper
south of Yakutat, with one Russian dying in Indian River. The remainder of the Yakutat people then
captivity (ORRGB. F. 204. K. 32. Ed. khr. No. 6. L. allegedly were almost all killed by the local Ugal-
2 ob., 20). Several Kodiak people who had been akhmyuty (Eyak) (Khlebnikov 1835:103–104).
captured by the Indians also survived, as well Khlebnikov’s information is not supported in
as three Chugach who managed to escape from the archival documents or legends of the Yakutat
Yakutat in a three-seat baidarka during the mas- people known to the author; moreover, it con-
sacre. It was they who reported the tragedy to the tradicts them. The head of the Konstantinovskii
head of the Konstantinovskii Redoubt (Tikhmenev Redoubt was not Grigorii Uvarov, as Khlebnikov
1863d:195). One Kodiak man and his fellow tribes- wrote, but Ivan Repin. Fëdor did not commit
woman were subsequently freed by the American suicide in 1805, but prospered at least until 1807,
captain Oliver Kimball in September 1806 (OR- inviting Baranov (through the mediation of the
RGB. F. 204. K. 32. Ed. khr. No. 6. L. 1 ob.–3 ob., Ugalakhmyuty-­Eyak) to visit Yakutat and col-
5 ob.), and Baranov evidently managed to rescue lect from him items from the destroyed Russian
several more captives by 1809 who remained alive, fort (ORRGB. F. 204. K. 32. Ed. khr. No. 6. L. 10).
about which the RAC board of directors reported Nevertheless, Khlebnikov’s most likely erroneous
to the emperor (RGIA. F. 13. Op. 1. D. 287. L. 65.). version was later repeatedly cited in the works of
However, still among the Tlingit was the Creole several American and Russian researchers (An-
(Métis) Dmitrii Larionov, the younger son of the drews 1947:81–82; Bancroft [1886]1970:451–452;
head of the Yakutat fort. Dmitrii was able to escape Dauenhauer 2008:84; de Laguna 1972:175; Zorin
Indian captivity over a decade later in about 1819. 2002:208–215). Moreover, according to a recent
Two of his older brothers had been in the service American encyclopedia, as a result of a retalia-
of the RAC for several years at this time (Grinëv tory raid of the Russians many Eyak and Tlingit
2005:323). were taken captive, tortured, and killed (Hund
The Fate of the Eyak Indians in Russian America (1783–1867) 63

2014:273), which also does not have any documen- this. Only in the notes of an officer of the Corps
tary evidence. of Mining Engineers Pëtr Doroshin and Governor
Tlingit legends describe the situation that M. D. Teben’kov is it said that part of the Chugach
existed after the seizure of Yakutat quite differ- settled at the Konstantinovskii Redoubt on Nuchek
ently (de Laguna 1972:261–263, 266–268). The Island in order to find, under the cannons of the
Eyak of the Tlahaik-­Tekwedi clan who ravaged Russian fortification, protection from the attacks
the Russian colony not only did not stage a raid of the Tlingit who settled from Yakutat to Kayak
on the Chugach and the Konstantinovskii Redoubt Island (Doroshin 1866:367; Teben’kov 1852:22).
but on the contrary, retreated from the coast, Based on the census made by employees of
fearing Baranov’s revenge. Under the leadership the RAC in 1820, the Eyak (Ugalentsy) numbered a
of their chief Lushvak, they built the fortification total of 105 people (most probably the calculation
Chak‑Nu (in the Tlingit language—“Eagle Fort,” was incomplete, and children were not included
in Eyak Kuchgalak Glasha’l) on the Situk River. in it) (Khlebnikov 1985:216).8 At this time, the
At this time, among the Tlingit who lived south of Eyak begin to be perceived in the Russian colonies
Yakutat, a rumor spread that the Tlahaik-­Tekwedi as a small [ethnic] and exclusively peaceful peo-
allegedly became very rich, having plundered the ple, in distinction from their neighbors the Tlingit.
Russian fort. Rumors of this wealth prompted the This perception is attested to by a note made by
Tlingit of the Tluknakhadi clan from the region of Russian naval officer V. P. Romanov, “Prednacher-
Dry Bay, with the support of other Tlingit clans, tanie ekspeditsii ot reki Mednoi po sukhomu puti
to attack in turn the Tlahaik-­Tekwedi. The first do Ledovitogo morya i do Gudzonskago zaliva”
raid was unsuccessful: with the attempt to seize [Outline of an Expedition from the Copper River
Chak-Nu the Tluknakhadi were completely de- by a Land Route to the Arctic Ocean and to Hud-
feated by the defenders of the fort. Again gathering son Bay], made in December 1822. In it he wrote:
forces, the Tluknakhadi and their allies carried
out a raid on Yakutat. Secretly paddling up at The Copper River, north of Mount Saint Elias, ly-
night in war canoes to the fortified hunting camp ing at latitude about 60° north and longitude about
144° west from Greenwich in Russian possessions,
of the Tlahaik-­Tekwedi on the coast, they unex- belonging to the American Company, flows out,
pectedly attacked their sleeping enemy and killed in the words of the residents and promyshlenniki,
almost all. According to the legends, only Lushvak of the Rocky Mountains, inhabited by a short and
managed to escape into the mountains, but he was peaceful people called Ugalakhmyuty (RGAVMF.
wounded and was soon finished off by pursuers F. 166. Op. 1. D. 2595. L. 211).
(de Laguna 1972:264, 267).
This was the end of the Yakutat Eyak. If any It is evident that under pressure of the Tlingit
of them managed to escape, they could have fled from the southeast, the Eyak moved farther to the
only to the northwest, to their Eyak relatives of northwest to the region of the mouth of the Cop-
the Kaliakh-­Kagwantan clan. The lands of the per River (de Laguna 1990:189), where at the end
Eyak were seized by members of the “true” Tlingit of the 18th century some of their relatives and
Tekwedi clan from the region of Dry Bay, and since the Ahtna Indians still lived. Moreover, rumors
then only toponymic names attest to the former were arriving to the Russian colonial leadership of
presence of the Eyak in Yakutat. clashes between the Eyak and the Tlingit of Yaku-
After the tumultuous and tragic events of tat. Thus, in a letter to the manager of the Kodiak
1805–1806, information about the Eyak very office of the RAC, M. I. Murav’ëv, the governor of
rarely appears on the pages of Russian documents. Russian America, wrote in the winter of 1824:
Nevertheless, de Laguna (1990:195) suggested
that from 1806 to almost 1825 the united forces Information came to me that between the Yakutat
and Agalegmut peoples there was discord that
of the Tlingit and Eyak carried out raids on the ended in murders on both sides; if this seems to be
Chugach Eskimos. The latter in turn mounted true, then, of course, you have from Ershov [head
raids on their opponents; however, the Chugach of the Konstantinovskii Redoubt] detailed news
were finally forced from the region of the Copper about this (NARS. RG 261. RRAC. Roll. 29. P. 22).
River where part of the Eyak settled. According to
the legends of the Eyak, their last battle with the Nevertheless, in Tlingit–Eyak, it was not
Chugach occurred on Hawkins Island in Prince hostile but rather peaceful relations that clearly
William Sound, where they fought until they dominated. Khlebnikov in those same years gave a
had killed all the Eskimos (Birket-Smith and de brief reference about the Eyak, dividing them into
Laguna 1938:147). The echoes of this struggle two groups: “The Ugalentsy live along the shore to
are possibly reflected in one of the legends of the Cape Saint Elias and, finally, the Ugalyakhmyuty,
Chugach recorded by Birket-­Smith (Birket-­Smith who extend farther along the same shore and are
1953:141–142). However, in the Russian sources joined with the Koloshi near Yakutat” (Khlebnikov
known to the author, nothing is reported about 1979:52). In a footnote, he added:
64 Arctic Anthropology 54:2

The Yakutat Koloshi arrived for trade with these Ugalentsy next year, I will prohibit them from
peoples; in 1829 there were up to 50 people in buying river beavers from the Yakutatskie Koloshi
six baty [wooden canoes]. They trade guns, tsukli in Sitkha. Meanwhile, I considered it necessary
[Dentalium shells], and other things, and take to obligate the Ugalentsy with moderate debts to
moose and marmot capes, ground squirrel parkas bring their catch to the redoubt, not giving it to
[warm fur clothing from the skins of long-tailed the Koloshi, who, for their part, according to the
ground squirrels], and gut kamlei [a waterproof custom among all savage peoples, will certainly
cape with a hood, sewn from the gut of seals or try to indebt the Ugalentsy in order to be sure to
bears]. Many Ugalentsy have Kolosh girls, and obtain the catch, because the Ugalentsy, like the
the Koloshi, in turn, have Ugalentsy girls, and by Chugach, observe obligations of debtors faithfully
means of this intermarriage, close relations. The and sacredly (NARS. Roll. Pp. 87–88).
Yakutat Toyon Klemuk lived from 1826 among the
Ugalentsy. Wrangell also noted that from 1829, the
Yakutat people began regular trips to the Chugach
Thus, the process of gradual cultural-­linguistic and for trade. And though their exchanges were not for
physical assimilation of the Eyak by the Tlingit furs (the acquisition of which was an RAC monop-
continued in this period. oly) but rather on tanned moose and deer hides or
In their turn, the Eyak themselves traveled to ground squirrel parkas for which the Tlingit gave
Yakutat for trade and participation in solemn cere- the Eskimos blankets of European production and
monies—potlatches—to which the local Tlingit in- tsukli [Dentalium shells], nevertheless, the gover-
vited them. The Eyak also traded with the Chugach nor feared negative consequences:
and the Ahtna (Birket-­Smith and de Laguna
However, sooner or later this trade will take such a
1938:150), even at the Mednovskaya odinochka— negative turn for the Company, and the Koloshi, a
a small trading post founded by the Russians at the people enterprising and numerous, might gradu-
beginning of the 1820s on the middle course of the ally settle along the shores farther and farther to
Copper River (Doroshin 1866:384). Kenaiskii Bay [Cook Inlet] and hamper or weaken
In the mid-1830s, the Eyak began to be seen the sphere of activity of the Company, and its un-
by the Russian colonial leadership as semidepen- restricted influence on other generations of Kodiak
dent natives, which is attested by documents of people, Kenai people, and Chugach (NARS. Roll.
the governor of Russian America, Baron Ferdinand Pp. 88 ob.–89).
von Wrangell. He wrote about them: “This people Therefore, Wrangell simply forbade the Yakutat
is peace-­loving and submissive” and reported that people (in discussion with their chiefs in Novo-­
they were assigned to the “office” of the Konstan- Arkhangel’sk) to go to the Chugach or to arrive
tinovskii Redoubt, where they regularly supplied at the Konstantinovskii Redoubt. However, the
the furs procured in the summer season—from Yakutat people ignored this prohibition, especially
500 to 700 pelts of river beavers (Wrangell since Wrangell himself left the post of governor in
1839a:96–97). And in winter, hunting parties of 1835 and went back to Russia.
Chugach and Eyak were sent by the head of the Based on the urging of Wrangell, who re-
Konstantinovskii Redoubt to Kayak Island, where turned to St. Petersburg, the rate of the furs pur-
they caught valuable silver foxes. In addition, a chased from the natives of Russian America was
few Eyak were sometimes hired for service at the increased in 1836. In a dispatch of March 12 that
Konstantinovskii Redoubt, and one of them even year, the RAC directors wrote to the new gover-
served at the Novo-­Alexandrovskii Redoubt on the nor I. A. Kupreyanov that for the encouragement
Nushgak River in eastern Alaska (NARS. Roll. 37. of hunting and the increase of trade for furs, it
Pp. 82–84, 87; Roll. 41. P. 186 ob.). was necessary to raise the rate for the Tanaina
In the words of the governor, the Eyak inter- (Denaina) Indians to the level of the Aleuts and
married with the Yakutat Tlingit and maintained Chugach,
regular contacts with them, trying to snatch from
them furs intended for sale to the RAC: and also to extend this rule to the Ugalentsy,
because they, seeing an increase in pay, will more
It is noticeable that the Koloshi teach the Uga- gladly bring their catch to the Konstantinovskii Re-
lentsy not to sell to the Company the catch for doubt, and not trade with the Koloshi as they are
such cheap prices as were established for this doing now (NARS. Roll. 10. P. 29 ob.).
trade (at 2 rubles 50 kopecks for a large river
beaver) and pay more for them, having in mind the The problem of the “leakage” of furs from the
resale of the purchased furs in Novo-­Arkhangel’sk, hands of the company to Tlingit traders bothered
where the Yakutatskie [Tlingit] annually go: That the colonial leadership. In a message to the Kodiak
is the reason that today the Ugalentsy delivered office of the RAC on the 18th of May 1838, Ku-
less river catch than in previous years. In order
to stop the Koloshi from doing such harm to the
preyanov ordered:
Company, I ordered it to be announced to them In reasoning presented to Me in the report [of the
that if a reduction in the catch is seen among the head of the Konstantinovskii Redoubt] Naumov
The Fate of the Eyak Indians in Russian America (1783–1867) 65

about the Ugalentsy retendering furs from the After a year (1848), Teben’kov, describing the
hunts with the Koloshi, I instruct the manager of state of the Kodiak department, again mentioned
the Kodiak office Mr. Kashevarov, as acquainted the Eyak:
with the localities of that region, in common with
the Manager of the Konstantinovskii Redoubt, to The Koloshi and Ugalentsy arrived [at the Kon-
seek out reliable measures for suppression in the stantinovskii Redoubt] before my arrival. . . .
future of such retendering by the Ugalentsy, which They arrive almost annually, and there are no
through this deprives the Company of benefits complaints about their visit. All the encounters
(NARS. Roll. 41. Pp. 53–53 ob.). end very peacefully, and in complete dependency
on the manager [of the redoubt] (NARS. Roll. 54.
The prohibition placed on the Eyak by the P. 252).
Russian colonial leadership that forbade trade of
their furs to the Tlingit evidently incurred extreme The officer of the Corps of Mining Engineers,
dissatisfaction in the latter. They began to harass Pëtr Doroshin, who visited Russian America in
and oppress their neighbors and trade partners. those years (Bland 2007:101–112), left a similar
In its turn, the colonial administration tried to but more detailed description of the Eyak:
take the Eyak under their protection. A. K. Etolin, The Copper River and its tributaries are not rich in
who replaced Kupreyanov as governor of Russian human population. In summer, the Ugalentsy live
America, requested in instructions to the Kodiak at its mouth where they occupy themselves with
office on October 18, 1840: fishing. After drying yukola [smoked and dried
fish], they go to their winter dwellings, which
Based on the thinking of the Manager of the Ko-
are located in a small bay [Controller Bay] east of
diak Office in the report No. 13 about the offenses
Kayak Island. These people are peaceful, engaging
caused by the Koloshi to the Ugalentsy, I will defi-
in company work at the Konstantinovskii Redoubt
nitely take proper measures in order that this does
where in summer (for 3 1/2 to 4 months) they
not happen in the future (NARS. Roll. 44. P. 265).
obtain a salary of up to 30 rubles and company
And Etolin’s instructions on March 22, 1841, to food. The Ugalentsy are fellow tribesmen of the
the commander of the brig Polyfem, skipper Lind- Tlingit, with whom (the Yakutat people) they are
berg, who was sent with a party of Kodiak people, closely related. Their language is of the same root
Chugach, and Kenai people for hunting sea otters as Tlingit, though sometimes there are great differ-
ences in the words. The mode of life and beliefs
in the region of Yakutat Bay, stated:
are the same as the Tlingit. They use a boat similar
I ask to announce to the Yakutat Koloshi that to the Tlingit for sailing in the ocean.
complaints have come to me from Nuchek: that They hunt beavers, of which they deliver
they, visiting the Ugalentsy, cause them various a part to Yakutat and a part to the Copper River
grievances, start a dispute with them, take away trader, or directly to Konstantinovskii Redoubt. A
their girls, and the like, and when they arrive at few hours of trade gives them an opportunity to
the Konstantinovskii Redoubt they for some time obtain from us what they need. They often need
refuse to observe the established order there: that tobacco, and the manager of the redoubt sells up
during their visit in this redoubt, to place all the to 11/2 pudy [1 pud = 36.11 lbs or 16.38 kilos] of
weapons they have with them under the care of tobacco for winter to the Ugalenski head man
the local baidarshchik [head of the redoubt]. Tell who exchanges it for furs. In spring, the head man
them on my behalf, that if someone of the Koloshi gives a detailed report on the tobacco used and
will yet be guilty of such disobedience, he will turns in traded furs (Bland 2007:110; Doroshin
be arrested and certainly be subjected to strict 1866:383–384).
accountability (NARS. Roll. 45. P. 69).
In addition, several Eyak were hired to accompany
However, over time, the Yakutat people again a research expedition of navigator Ruf Serebren-
took up oppression of the Eyak. In a report to the nikov to the Copper River valley in 1848, which
RAC directors in St. Petersburg, M. D. Teben’kov, ended with the latter’s death at the hands of the
who replaced Etolin, wrote in May 1847: local Ahtna Indians (Bland 2007:103–112; Doro-
All is well in the Konstantinovskii Redoubt. The shin 1866:378–382).
Lituya and Yakutat Koloshi [Tlingit who lived on These Indians, like the Eyak, were seriously
the shores of Dry Bay and Yakutat] arrived to the affected by the epidemic of measles that spread
Chugach, but there was no disorder. The route of through Russian America in 1849; according to Te-
the Koloshi is continually accompanied by trouble ben’kov’s data, the Eyak spread the measles to the
for the Ugalentsy—a tribe that lives between the Chugach, but no one of the latter perished due to
Yakutat and Copper River. The small number of
measures undertaken by the head of the Konstan-
this tribe and a special kind of cowardice give
rise to perpetual insolence and arrogance of the tinovskii Redoubt (NARS. Roll. 55. Pp. 286 ob.,
Koloshi. Thus, one side always tells the Chugach 312 ob.–313). It must be said that even before this
their grievances, while the other glorifies the epidemic, the number of Eyak sharply declined
exploits, what it succeeded in doing on this trip because of the epidemic of smallpox that swept
to Nuchek” (NARS. Roll. 52. P. 461 ob.). Alaska in 1836–1840, killing thousands of natives
66 Arctic Anthropology 54:2

(Gibson 1982–1983:61–81; Zorin 2005:16–23). If abolished in 1850) to counteract their trade oper-
Wrangell (1839:96) counted about 38 families of ations (RAC 1861:34). With the aid of the Ahtna,
Eyak in the mid-1830s (before the appearance of the odinochka was restored in the spring of 1861
smallpox), in 1852, based on information available (NARS. Roll. 63. Pp. 142–144), but then it was
in the Konstantinovskii Redoubt, they numbered eventually abandoned in 1866 (NARS. Roll. 65.
only 17 families, a total of 117 people (not count- Pp. 76–76 ob.), on the eve of the sale of Alaska to
ing children): 48 men and 69 women (Doroshin the United States. At this time, a large part of the
1866:384). This statistic attests to the reduction Eyak had been almost completely assimilated by
in the number of Eyak by almost half and a sharp the Tlingit in cultural and linguistic regard. It is no
gender disproportion between women and men in coincidence that in the first census that counted
the composition of this small ethnic group. the population of Alaska in 1880, all the natives
The epidemics significantly weakened the who lived from Yakutat to the mouth of the Copper
Eyak, whom the colonial leadership ultimately be- River were designated as “Tlingit.” It was exactly
gan to view as natives fully dependent on the RAC, 50 years until the “discovery” of the Eyak by eth-
along with the Chugach and Ahtna Indians (NARS. nographic science.
Roll. 56. P. 168). This tendency was attested by the
appointment of the baptized Eyak Yakov Aikhva
as toyon (chief) of the “Ugalenskii settlement” of Endnotes
Alaganik at the mouth of the Copper River by Gov- 1. Today the Eyak language is considered extinct
ernor Teben’kov in October 1849. Aikhva was also after the death of the last pure-blood representa-
mentioned in RAC documents in 1856 (NARS Roll. tive of the tribe in 2008 who spoke this language
55. Pp. 261–261 ob.; Grinëv 2009:18). The head of fluently, though recently in Alaska attempts have
the Konstantinovskii Redoubt even began to pull been made to revive it (see URL: http://www.
the Eyak into the baidarka parties of the Chugach telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1576562/Last-
for hunting sea otters, which probably brought remaining-Eyak-Indian-dies-in-Alaska.html).
on complaints from the Indians. Therefore, the
governor of Russian America, at that time S. V. Vo- 2. The modern ethnonym of the Eyak—dAXun-
evodskii, ordered such practice stopped in 1857 hyuu—the Eyak People.
(NARS. Roll. 61. P. 34 ob.).
At this time, Abbot Nikolai (Militov) from 3. One of the two variants of Tarkhanov’s Journal
the Kenai mission had baptized practically all the was published in English as Anooshi Lingit Aani
Eyak. He had begun preaching the Orthodox faith Ka.: Russians in Tlingit America. The Battles of
among them in 1849, when he baptized 43 Indians Sitka 1802 and 1804, and edited by N. M. Dauen-
(Kliment 2009:205). Reporting in his journal about hauer, R. Dauenhauer, and L. T. Black in 2008 on
a new trip from Nuchek Island in baidarkas to the pages 67–87 through the University of Washington
Eyak from the Konstantinovskii Redoubt in the Press.
summer of 1859, Nikolai wrote: 4. On the role of zalozhniki-­amanaty in the his-
Now it is necessary to go farther south to the tory of Russian America see Grinëv (2003). Zalozh-
Ugalentsy. The Ugalentsy belong to a clan of the niki are generally seized hostages; amanaty are
fierce Koloshi; language, manners, customs, dress, generally voluntary hostages.—Trans.
way of life—everything is the same as the Koloshi.
But they live well with me. . . . On the 22nd of 5. Kayury in Russian America was the name of
June we arrived at the Ugalentsy settlement. They the most oppressed and downtrodden part of the
met us with gun shots as a sign of cordiality. My Native population. These were in fact slaves of the
Kenai [Tanaina] paddlers were frightened of the merchant companies. For more detail, see Grinëv
Ugalentsy, but we were experienced and familiar (2000).
and calmed them. On this same day, I baptized 40
people including infants here (Yakimov 2001:214). 6. The first part of the name of the clan means
The total number of baptized Eyak amounted to the place that it occupied, and the second is the
148 people in 1859 (Kliment 2009:206). This num- personal clan name. “Tlahaik” is an Eyak word
ber (73 men and 75 women) was also cited in the that was used by the Tlingit for designating Yaku-
Obzor [Overview] of the inspector of RAC activi- tat Bay.
ties in 1860–1861 P. N. Golovin (1962:141). 7. Based on de Laguna’s data (1972:103–104),
However, the Eyak were not entirely con- this settlement belonged to the Tlingitized Eyak
trolled by the Russians and purchased furs from Kaliakh-­Kagwantan clan.
their neighbors the Ahtna Indians for subsequent
resale to the Tlingit. Therefore, the colonial 8. Slightly more of them were counted in 1818—
leadership ordered the Mednovskaya odinochka 117 people: 51 men and 66 women (AVPRI. F.
on the Copper River reestablished (it had been RAK. Op. 888. D. 285. L. 2–3).
The Fate of the Eyak Indians in Russian America (1783–1867) 67

Archival Materials Bolkhovitinov, Nikolai N.

1991 Rossiya otkryvaet Ameriku. 1732–1799 [Rus-
AVPRI—Arkhiv vneshnei politiki Rossiiskoi imperii [Ar- sia Discovers America: 1732–1799]. Moscow:
chive of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire]. ­Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya.
NARS—National Archives and Record Service, Wash- Dall, William Healy
ington, D.C. 1876 Tribes of the Extreme Northwest. Washington,
D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
ORRGB—Otdel rukopisei Rossiiskoi gos. biblioteki
[Department of Manuscripts of the Russian State Dauenhauer, Nora M., Richard Dauenhauer, and Lydia
Library]. T. Black (eds.)
2008 Anooshi Lingit Aani Ka. Russians in Tlingit
ORRNB—Otdel rukopisei Rossiiskoi natsional’noi bib- America. The Battles of Sitka 1802 and 1804.
lioteki [Department of Manuscripts of Russian Seattle and London: University of Washington
National Library]. Press.
RGADA—Rossiiskii gos. arkhiv drevnikh aktov [Russian de Laguna, Frederica
State Archive of Ancient Acts]. 1972 Under Mount Saint Elias: The History and
Culture of Yakutat Tlingit, pt. 1. Smithsonian
RGAVMF—Rossiiskii gos. arkhiv Voenno-­morskogo flota Contributions to Anthropology. Washington,
[Russian State Archive of the Naval Fleet]. D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
RGIA—Rossiiskii gos. istoricheskii arkhiv [Russian State 1990 Eyak. Handbook of North American Indians,
Historical Archive]. vol. 7: Northwest Coast. Wayne Suttles and Wil-
liam Sturtevant, eds. Washington, D.C.: Smith-
sonian Institution Press.
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