Aleknagik (uh-LECK-nuh-gik) (Alaqnaqiq in Central Yup'ik) is a second class city in the Dillingham Census Area of the Unorganized Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska. The population was 221 at the 2000 census.
Geography and climate
Aleknagik is located at 59°16′42″N 158°37′23″W / 59.27833°N 158.62306°W / 59.27833; -158.62306 (59.278362, -158.622928)[2] (Sec. 31, T010S, R055W, Seward Meridian). Aleknagik is located in the Bristol Bay Recording District.
Aleknagik is located at the head of Wood River on the southeast end of Lake Aleknagik, 16 miles northwest of Dillingham. Aleknagik is named after Aleknagik Lake. One bit of lore would have people believe that Aleknagik means "wrong way home" in Yupik. According to an undocumented, biased source with a lot to gain from the potential lack of traditional land claim to the area, "Yupiks returning to their homes along the Nushagak River would sometimes become lost in the fog and find themselves swept up the Wood River to Aleknagik Lake by the tide." This unsubstantiated claim does not seem to take into account the fact that the tidal influence of the Nushugak Bay on the Wood River does not in fact have enough strength to propel an unwilling adult paddler up the Wood River, which stretches more than twenty miles to get to Lake Aleknagik. Additionally, expert kayak paddlers, as the Yup'ik people would have to be to survive in the era in which the supposed etymology of the word would suggest, would not 'sometimes become lost in the fog and find themselves swept up...' Rather, the wiser course of action taken would be to paddle to the shore and wait it out, or count how many river mouths are there and poke along the shore of the second one to this supposed home on the Nushugak River. The pejorative explanation of the town's name is consistent with bigoted attitudes toward indigenous people found throughout history, and particularly congruent with the idea of using missionaries as a tool of colonization.
Aleknagik is in a transitional climate zone. The primary influence is maritime, although a continental climate does affect the weather here. Average summer temperatures range from 30 to 66 degrees Fahrenheit. Average winter temperatures range from 4 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Annual precipitation is 20 to 35 inches and annual snowfall is 93 inches. Fog and low clouds are common during July and August, and may preclude access. The lake and river are ice-free from June through mid-November.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.8 square miles (48.6 km²), of which, 11.6 square miles (29.9 km²) of it is land and 7.2 square miles (18.7 km²) of it (38.47%) is water.
History and culture
Wood River and Aleknagik Lake have been used historically as summer fish camps. As described by non-Native settlers, "Aleknagik means 'Wrong Way Home,' because Natives returning to their homes along the Nushagak River would sometimes become lost in the fog and find themselves swept up the Wood River with the tide, inadvertently arriving at Aleknagik Lake."
However, recent research has debunked this myth, placing the original site with the name Alaqnaqiq as far to the south near the mouth of the river. Whether the renaming of the village is a blunder in cross-cultural communication as a result of the settlers' poor grasp of geography or an outright ploy to displace the Native people from the area is a topic of debate.
The 1929 U.S. Census found 55 people living in the "Wood River village" area to the south. During 1930, there were five families living on the shores of the lake year-round, the Waskeys, Polleys, Hansons, Yakos, and Smiths. A log cabin territorial school was built on the south shore of the lake in 1933, and Josie Waskey was the first teacher. Attracted by the school, other facilities, and plentiful fish, game and timber, a number of families from Goodnews, Togiak, and Kulukak area relocated to Aleknagik. A post office was established in 1937. A two-story framed school with a teacher apartment was constructed in 1938. By 1939, Aleknagik had 78 residents, over 30 buildings, and a small sawmill. In the late 1940s, a Seventh-day Adventist mission and school were established on the north shore. During the 1950s, a Moravian Church and a Russian Orthodox Church were built in Aleknagik and over 35 families lived along the lake. In 1959, the state constructed a 25-mile road connecting the south shore to Dillingham. The road was passable only during the summer months, until the late 1980s, when it was upgraded and maintained year-round. The City was incorporated in 1973. Over 24 additional square miles were annexed to the City in April 2000.
In the late 1800s there were about 200 people in Aleknagik and the other Wood River villages. The 1918-1919 influenza epidemic killed most of the residents of the villages. The few survivors were moved out of the area. In the 1920s former residents of the area started drifting back to Aleknagik, and the village grew to about 40 people by 1931. A United States Post Office was opened in 1937 by Mable Smith. By 1940, Aleknagik had over 30 buildings, including a community school, church, and small sawmill. The decline of a Seventh-day Adventist colony across the lake from Aleknagik brought several new families to Aleknagik.
In 1946, a territorial school was constructed near Aleknagik. During this period, a Moravian Church, a Russian Orthodox Church and a Seventh-day Adventist mission school were established in the community. In the 1960s, the State of Alaska constructed a 41 km (25 mile) road connecting Aleknagik to Dillingham.
A federally-recognized tribe is located in the community -- the Aleknagik Traditional Council.
Demographics
As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 221 people, 70 households, and 52 families residing in the city. The population density was 19.1 people per square mile (7.4/km²). There were 107 housing units at an average density of 9.3/sq mi (3.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 13.57% White, 81.90% Native American, 1.36% from other races, and 3.17% from two or more races. 1.36% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 70 households out of which 41.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.6% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.3% were non-families. 17.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.16 and the average family size was 3.62.
In the city the population was spread out with 37.1% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 16.3% from 45 to 64, and 7.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 121.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 131.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $22,750, and the median income for a family was $30,625. Males had a median income of $29,583 versus $75,487 for females. The per capita income for the city was $10,973. About 21.7% of families and 40.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 49.0% of those under the age of eighteen and 21.4% of those sixty five or over.
Public services
The majority of residents (49 homes) have household plumbing, and most use individual wells. 12 homes do not have water or sewer service - some haul water from the community center, and a few are served by a spring water catchment system. Septic tanks, leechate fields and public sewage lagoons are used for sewage disposal. The North Shore uses eleven shared residential effluent pumps (REP units) which discharge into a piped system. There are three landfill sites. The North Shore landfill is being relocated; the South Shore landfill has an incinerator but is unfenced. A third landfill is located 2 miles from the South Shore, on the West side of the Aleknagik-Dillingham road. Nushagak Electric in Dillingham provides electricity to Aleknagik. Electricity is provided by Nushugak Electric Cooperative. There is one school located in the community, attended by 33 students. Local hospitals or health clinics include North Shore Health Clinic (842-5512), South Shore Health Clinic (842-2185) or Kanakanak Hospital in Dillingham. Both, North and South Shore Clinics are Primary Health Care facilities. Aleknagik is classified as a highway village, it is found in EMS Region 2I in the Bristol Bay Region. Emergency Services have limited highway, air and aatellite access. Emergency service is provided by volunteers and a health aide Auxiliary health care is provided by Aleknagik First Responders Group (907-842-2085); or Kanakanak Hospital in Dillingham (25 road miles).
Economy and transportation
Many residents participate in commercial and subsistence activities on the Bristol Bay coast during the summer. 33 residents hold commercial fishing permits. Trapping is also an important means of income. Most families depend to some extent on subsistence activities to supplement their livelihoods. Salmon, freshwater fish, moose, caribou, and berries are harvested. Poor fish returns and prices since 1997 have significantly affected the community.
Aleknagik is the only regional village with a road link to Dillingham, a 25-mile road which connects the south shore. The "New Aleknagik" airport is a State-owned 2,070' long by 90' wide gravel airstrip located on the north shore, and regular flights are scheduled through Dillingham. The north shore of the lake is not road accessible; residents use skiffs to travel to town on the south shore. Moody's Aleknagik Seaplane Base, also on the north shore, accommodates float planes. There are two additional airstrips, the public Tripod Airport, a 1,250' turf-gravel airstrip located 2 miles southeast of Aleknagik, and the Adventist Mission School Airport, a 1,200' gravel/dirt airstrip with a crosswind runway. The State owns and operates a 100' dock on the north shore of Aleknagik Lake. A breakwater, barge landing, boat launch ramp and boat lift are available on the north shore. Vehicles, skiffs, ATVs and snowmachines are the most frequent means of local transportation.
Taxes: Sales: 5%, Property: None, Special: 5% Accommodations Tax
The city is served by nearby Aleknagik Airport.
References
- ^ "Annual Estimates of the Population for Incorporated Places in Alaska". United States Census Bureau. 2008-07-10. http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/tables/SUB-EST2007-04-02.csv. Retrieved on 2008-07-14.
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
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