By Aaron Leggett, CIRI history intern
(This is the second of a two-part series on an historical event in post-contact Dena’ina history.)

Dena'ina women were considered to be the most beautiful Natives by European standards, and many oral traditions attest to this. Their attractiveness likely made them more susceptible as targets for kidnapping. This, of course, only added to the antagonism that the Dena'ina felt toward their tormentors, the Russians, who had come into the region in the late 1780s.

There are many theories as to why the Dena'ina decided to force the Russians out in 1797. Having studied all the material I can from the work of Professor Alan Boraas, who has done most of the research on this topic, it seems possible that the Dena'ina may have continued to put up with the assaults and deaths because they were viewed as a cost of doing business. But what ultimately led them to attack were the constant kidnappings, especially of their women. It was said that almost every Russian had Dena'ina concubines and, according to one oral tradition, some of these females were as young as 10 years old.

Because there are no first-hand accounts of the battle itself, we will never know how it started. We do know, however, that Vasilli Malakhov was sent from English Bay with a detachment of Russians and arrived just as the Dena'ina were about to set the fort on fire. It is unknown how many of the Dena'ina who attacked the fort died. But we do know that all 25 Russians who lived there were slaughtered. And about 100 Dena'ina, who were sympathetic toward the Russians and also residing at the post, were killed.

I find this to be both chilling and inspiring because we killed our own people who chose to align themselves with the Russians. There is no easy answer as to why this would happen, but the event has led me to wonder if the Dena'ina viewed this battle as one of survival, in order to maintain their way of life. It is possible they decided that nothing would stop them. Why did some Dena'ina choose to live with the Russians? My theory is that during these turbulent times there must have been some benefit to having an association with the post. In result, these Dena'ina completely circumvented the traditional matrilineal clan system, whereby resources were distributed by the Qeshqa or "rich man" and his ukiaqa or "clan helpers." And those who lived with the Russians perhaps felt they could gain access to wealth in a new way.

The consequences of this battle were certainly a turning point in Russian-American history. By 1798, the Lebedev Company had left Alaska for good and the Shelikov Company had moved most of its operations to Sitka. And the Dena'ina essentially bought themselves 80 more years of sovereignty.

Therefore, the Battle of Kenai was not only an important event in Dena'ina history but also an important event in Alaska history, and has been virtually ignored. I would like to end with a quote from Boraas whose countless hours of research on this subject and whose ideas have helped greatly influenced this article.
"The decision to wage war must never be taken lightly. But the Dena'ina children today need to know that the decisions their ancestors made two hundred years ago, changed history."

Chin'an