Our Aleut / UnangaXˆ History
Our Corporation
Against All Odds
On June 21, 1972, The Aleut Corporation (TAC) was established. Over the ensuing days and weeks, news of this historic event traveled through our rugged and windy islands as communities learned they were now shareholders of The Aleut Corporation. To honor the work that brought us to our 50th Anniversary, TAC embarked on a major endeavor to chronicle the creation of our corporation, document shareholder stories, and set the stage for TAC’s future. Enjoy Against All Odds!
Brief Timeline of Our Aleut / Unangax History
1741
In all of Alaska, it was the Unangax̂ that experienced the earliest contact with foreigners. In 1741, Vitus Bering and Alexei Chirikov ventured eastward, eager to establish the geographic relationship between Asia and North America. Following the return of their crews to Russia, fur hunters began sailing to the Aleutian Islands. Over the second half of the eighteenth century, Russian crews sailed ever farther eastward, expanding their colonial reach to the central Aleutian Islands.
1800
The early Russian period was a devastating time for Unangax̂. By 1800, little more than 50 years after first Russian contact, the population had been reduced by some 80 percent, to about 2,500 people. By the end of the Russian era in 1867, only approximately seventeen Unangax̂ communities remained.
1867
Russia sells Alaska to the United States for $7.2 million – about 2 cents per acre.
1942
On June 3 and 4, 1942, Japanese military forces conducted airstrikes on U.S. Army and Navy facilities at Dutch Harbor, or what is now the city of Unalaska. Several days later, they occupied Kiska and Attu Islands. Within a short time, the 42 Unangax̂ residents of Attu and a non-Native teacher were taken to Japan, where they served as laborers for the Japanese for the duration of the war.
The Japanese attack on Dutch Harbor caught the government and military planners off-guard and beginning on June 12, 1942, the Unangax̂ residents of nine communities were hastily boarded on ships and evacuated. In all cases, the Unangax̂ were only allowed to take a few possessions with them. They were taken to several locales in southeastern Alaska where housing, sanitation, and medical care were uniformly appalling during their internment. By the war’s end, some 82 of the 881 interned Unangax̂ had died.
1971
The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) legislation was passed by Congress on December 18, 1971. This extinguished aboriginal land claims in Alaska and mandated a for-profit corporate model. To learn more about the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, visit the ANCSA Regional Association website.
1972
The Aleut Corporation was incorporated on June 21, 1972, as one of 13 original Alaska Native corporations (ANC) established under ANCSA. The Aleut Corporation received a settlement of $19.5M, entitlement to 70,789 acres of surface lands, and 1.572 million acres of subsurface state. 324,900 shares of the original voting stock were issued to 3,249 Aleut shareholders.
1981
The Aleut Corporation pays its first dividend distribution to shareholders.
1987
The Aleut Foundation was formed. TAF’s mission is to support the economic and social needs of the Aleut people with scholarships for post-secondary education, career development and burial assistance for shareholders and descendants of Aleut.
1988
As had occurred during the Russian period, during World War II the outside world had taken control over the lives of the Unangax̂, ignoring their fundamental rights and welfare. Although the injustices that Unangax̂ faced during their internment were addressed in 1988 through formal federal reparations, the legacy of World War II has been one of cultural loss and change for which reparations cannot make amends.
2004
On March 17, 2004, The Aleut Corporation received 47,150 acres (about twice the area of Manhattan) of land and many repurposed facilities on Adak Island as the result of a Land Transfer Agreement with the United States Government facilitated by the Department of the Interior under public Law Order 7609.
2022
The Aleut Corporation celebrates 50 years!
Today
Over the two-and-a-half centuries of foreign contact in the region, the number of remaining villages has decreased to less than a dozen. Though you can find Unangax̂ all around the world, these remaining village communities are now home to around 1,700 Unangax̂ people.
Though much of the Unangax̂ heritage and language has been lost, the Unangax̂ people remain strong, resilient, and dedicated to preserving and revitalizing their language and culture.
This information has been adapted from the Aleutian Pribilof Island Association (APIA). For more information or additional resources about the Aleut Region and Unangax̂ people, visit the APIA website.
