By CIRI Historian A.J. McClanahan

Father Simeon Oskolkoff arriving in Tatitlek to provide solace for villagers affected by the Exxon-Valdez oil spill. He was accompanied by two other Orthodox priests on a plane that nosed to the ground on landing. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

Photo courtesy of the Anchorage Museum of History and Art, Archbishop Gregory Afonsky collection

Development of the Alaska Native History Day-by-Day book continues. It is hoped that a manuscript will be ready for publication within the next two months. The following are a few historical entries for the month of March:

March 15, 1972   Interior Secretary Rogers C.B. Morton, acting under the authority of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, withdraws some 80 million acres to be considered for inclusion in the natural conservation system and another 45 million acres for public interest lands, including many forests and mineral deposits. He also set aside an additional 44 million acres for Native selections.

March 17, 1944   Gov. Ernest Gruening writes a supportive letter to Alberta Schenck of Nome, who was fired from her job as an usher at the Dream Theater in Nome after objecting to the theater's policy of forcing Eskimos to sit on the right side of the theater or in the balcony. Schenck, whose mother was Eskimo and father was white, sent a letter she had written to Major "Muktuk" Marsten discussing her concerns about the policy to the Nome Nugget, which published it.

March 20, 1975   Action is taken to establish the Seldovia Development Co. Inc., the development arm for the village of Seldovia in the Cook Inlet region. SDCI handles all business ventures such as timber and seafood processing.

March 21, 1999   CIRI celebrates the official opening and dedication of the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge. As part of the opening of the lodge, the Alaska Climbers Hall of Fame is unveiled.

March 24, 1978   Ninilchik Village Council, the council for the Russian-Aleut village of Ninilchik in the Cook Inlet region, becomes officially incorporated.

March 24, 1989   The Exxon-Valdez runs aground on Bligh Reef in the Valdez Narrows, spilling more than 11 million gallons of crude oil in the waters of Prince William Sound, creating the largest oil spill in North America. The spill has devastating effects on subsistence resources of a number of Native villages, as well as commercial fishing. Several Native corporations became instrumental in the oil spill cleanup and benefited greatly from the financial terms of the effort.

March 26, 1958   The "White Alice" communications system, which became a source of training for a number of Alaska Natives and key leaders, goes into operation in northern Alaska. The system was the U.S. Air Force's ultrahigh-frequency communications system in Alaska that was built from 1955 to 1958 to enhance defense of the continent and to provide telephone and telegraph service to the Alaskan public. The name is an acronym for White, as in the "frozen north," and Alice for ALaska Integrated Communications and Electronics.

March 27, 1964   At 5:36 p.m., the Great Alaskan Earthquake strikes. Known as the "Good Friday Earthquake," it registered upwards of 9.2 on the Richter scale and killed 131 people. The quake lasted approximately five minutes and damage was estimated at more than $500 million. The tsunami that followed the quake caused great destruction in Alutiiq communities. Chenega, Kaguyak and Afognak were destroyed and 23 people ‹ about a third of the population ‹ died in Chenega. Eleven people were killed in the Kodiak area. Both Kodiak and Ouzinkie sustained severe damage. Old Harbor had to be substantially rebuilt, while residents of Afognak were relocated to a new village, Port Lions. Kaguyak villagers were moved to the existing community.

March 28, 1974   The Kenai Natives Association, at approximately 3:15 p.m., receives clear title to 4,267 acres of land complete with buildings, furnishings and paved one-way streets. Kenai Natives Association President George Miller accepts the patent, which marks the first transfer of land to Natives under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. His words are: "You are now on Indian land." The land, formerly Wildwood Air Force Base, is federal surplus property.

March 28, 1974   Cook Inlet Region, Inc. disburses some $5 million to approximately 6,000 shareholders. This is the first distribution made by the corporation to its shareholders and is comprised of monies received by the corporation pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 from the Alaska Native Fund.

March 30, 1867   At 4 a.m., representatives of the United States and Russia sign the Treaty of Cession. Under its terms, the U.S purchases Alaska from Russia at a cost of $7.2 million. The final sentence of Article III of the treaty deals with the political status of Alaska Natives. It states: "The uncivilized tribes will be subject to such laws and regulations as the U.S. may, from time to time, adopt in regard to aboriginal tribes of that country."

March 31, 1978   Tyonek Native Corporation receives interim conveyance of the former Moquawkie Indian Reservation ­ 26,917.56 acres. Subsurface rights are conveyed to Cook Inlet Region, Inc. The village began its land selection process in 1973. Tyonek has a total entitlement of surface estate of 115,200 acres.

Previous Article | Top | Next Article | Return to the list of newsletters