History

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History

Yup'ik Eskimos and Aleuts jointly occupied the area historically. This Aleut village was first recorded in 1880 as "Oogashik." In the 1890s, the Red Salmon Company developed a cannery, and Ugashik became one of the largest villages in the region. The 1919 flu epidemic decimated the population. The cannery has continued to operate under various owners. The Briggs Way Cannery opened in 1963. The village has a small year-round population.

State of Alaska website

http://www.dced.state.ak.us/dca/commdb/CF_BLOCK.cfm?Comm_Boro_Name=Ugashik&Data_Type=Overview

Any pictures or stories you want added can be emailed to the office

the pictures that are in the album "Historic" have been found @

http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/fishimages&CISOPTR=40722&REC=4

and

http://www.mnh.si.edu/lookingbothways/data/sites/7a.html

About the Family Roots

The Ugashik region has attracted settlement for centuries because of its rich food resources. Archaeological sites near the Ugashik Lakes tell us that people lived there as long as 9,000 years ago. Native men hunted great numbers of birds, caribou, and bear, in addition to fishing and hunting seals, walrus and beluga whales in Bristol Bay. In fact, William Fisher collected a beluga whaling point during his visit to Ugashik in 1885, as well as carvings made of walrus ivory. Women dried fish, trapped small animals like ground squirrels, collected berries, and prepared plant foods. Hunters also traveled across the mountains to the Pacific coast of the Alaska Peninsula for trade and to hunt sea otters.

When the Russians came, both Yup’ik and Alutiiq people were living at Ugashik village. In the early 1800’s, Yupiit had migrated from lands in western Alaska to the eastern shore of Bristol Bay. Some of them settled at Ugashik, others at Paugvik (Naknek). Like people in other villages, Ugashik men and women worked in the fur trade. Men hunted the valuable sea otter for the Russians and Americans who then traded these furs to China. Women prepared food and clothing for the hunters and their families. However, trade in furs declined by the late 1890’s, largely due to over-hunting. At this point, the salmon salteries and canneries located along the Ugashik River provided families with more cash than the fur trade.

http://www.mnh.si.edu/lookingbothways/data/sites/7a.html

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