Last modified: 2019-11-14 by rick wyatt
Keywords: yupiit of andreafski | alaska | native american |
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Andreafski village is located on the north bank of Andreafski River, in
Unorganized Borough, Alaska.
History of the City of St. Mary's, Algaaciq
Tribal Government and Yupiit of Andreafski (three separate entities)
In
1899, Andreafsky was established as a supply depot and winter headquarters for
the Northern Commercial Company’s riverboat fleet.
The village took its
name from the Andrea family which settled on the River and built a Russian
Orthodox Church. In 1903, Jesuit missionaries set up a mission 90 miles
downriver at “Akulurak” to educate and care for the children orphaned by a flu
epidemic in 1900-01.
Akulurak means “in between place,” aptly describing
the village, which was on an island in a slough connecting two arms of the Yukon
River. The mission school flourished, and by 1915, there were 70 full-time
students.
Over the years, the slough surrounding Akulurak silted in
severely. In 1948, the villagers decided to move to higher ground. Materials
from an abandoned hotel built during the gold rush were used to construct the
new mission and several village homes at the present site. In 1949, an unused
15′ by 30′ building and other building materials from Galena Air Force Station
were barged to Saint Mary’s by Father Spils, a Jesuit priest. These materials,
along with a tractor borrowed from Holy Cross, were used to construct a school.
In 1967, St. Mary’s incorporated as a city, although the residents of Andreafsky
chose to remain a separate community. In 1980, the communities combined. In 1987
the Catholic Church closed.
A federally recognized tribe is located in
our village– the Algaaciq Tribal Government; Yupiit of Andreafski.
The
photo of the Yupiit of Andreafski flag was taken from the official Facebook
page.
Valentin Poposki, 7 August 2019