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1962 & 1894 Churches.

Russian presence in South Central Alaska was well established in the 18th century. The United States bought the territory from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million, and, nearly a century later, in 1959, it became the 49th state. This magnificent territory has 17 of the 20 highest snow-covered peaks in the United States and is bordered by Canada’s Yukon Territory, British Columbia and the Beaufort Sea and Arctic Ocean, which is home to the acrobatic and graceful humpback whales.

Juneau, the capital, is located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, about 550 miles from Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, which is in the South Central part of the state on the Cook Inlet. This region has a rich cultural heritage of indigenous people called Dena’ina, and this is where our story begins.

The Dena’inas are descendants of the Athabascan people, who crossed the Bering Strait 12,000 years ago. They migrated to South Central Alaska around 1,000 to 1,500 years ago from the Mulchatna and Stony River areas, and, because they lived on a saltwater coast, they were able to have a sedentary lifestyle.

The Dena’ina people are organized into regional bands or ht’ana, which have several villages, each containing multifamily dwellings called nichil. The villagers are divided into local clans. Men, women and children belong to their mother’s clan. The villagers are allowed to marry only outside of their own clan. They speak Dena’ina, which is one of 11 Alaskan Athabaskan languages; four primary dialects are spoken today.

About 24 miles from Anchorage is a small Dena’ina village called Eklutna, which today has a population of 70.

The Russian Orthodox priests and fur traders who arrived in the 1700s built settlements, but none of them ever developed into major towns and no buildings remain today. The Dena’ina people were introduced to the Russian language and eventually converted to the Russian Orthodox religion in the 19th century.

Eklutna Village was established by a tribe of Tanaina Indians who move there from Knik in 1897. It is home to a small, quaint cemetery established in the 1650s, which is surrounded by groves of trees and nestled at the foot of the Chugach Mountains. Within the cemetery is the Old Saint Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, a small spruce log building constructed around 1894 and moved to the cemetery in 1900. A newer ornate Russian Orthodox Church, painted white with blue trim, was constructed by Chief Mike Alex and his sons.

*NMFH

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Completed in 1962, the New Saint Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church. It’s one of only 19 Orthodox Russian Churches remaining in Alaska.

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Old Saint Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, a small spruce log building constructed around 1894 and moved to the cemetery in 1900.

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