The area’s natural riches of fur, copper ore, salmon and other seafoods brought exploration and exploitation that greatly impacted the native population. Outside exploration and influences came earliest from Spanish, Russian and English explorers. A Russian post, founded in 1793 at Nuchek, brought fur traders who introduced tea and the Russian Orthodox religion, and enslaved many natives as guides. The purchase of Alaska by the United States brought Asian, European, and Scandinavian names and ancestry, which are mixed with native blood in the region today.

The hearts and souls of many native people in Cordova suffered greatly as their language, culture and persons became devalued as a result of these influxes of Europeans and Americans. The early school system segregated students by having a BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) Native school and a public school. At both schools students were punished for speaking their native tongue. Fluent Eyak and Alutiiq speakers diminished. A main street business posted the sign -- “No natives or dogs allowed.” Natives were not allowed on the main floor of a theatre and were denied membership in local fraternal organizations.

In 1971, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act was signed into law. It was intended to resolve land settlement claims between aboriginal Alaskans and the United States. And while it redrew and confused some traditional boundaries, it also heralded the start of a native renaissance.

Access to cultural resources by rural residents has played a key role in this cultural resurrection. Today, preservation work of historical knowledge and skills, language revivals, and the display of tribal artifacts and art are rebuilding and celebrating the indigenous spirit. The Tatitlek school hosts an annual Cultural Heritage Week that teaches traditional skills, songs, dances and feasts with traditional foods. The Chugach regional office holds the annual Spirit Camp at the village site of Nuuciq, on Hinchinbrook Island, where elders and youth from the region can interact -- sharing, learning, and perpetuating cultural traditions. The Native Village of Eyak hosts Sobriety Celebration, which has brought native pride back through promotion of sobriety, dance groups from many communities, and a traditional foods feast.

In Cordova, the Native Village of Eyak founded the permanent Ilanka Cultural Center, Museum and Gift Gallery as repository, classroom, and showcase of tribal treasures. Its museum exhibits are windows into our past, showing actual pieces of our history. Two favorite displays in the cultural center are the Subsistence totem and a complete Orca whale skeleton. The tribal library and artist workspace classes teach traditional skills. And the gift gallery provides a venue for native artists. Additionally, the center provides educational tours and materials to the public school and other groups.

Our culture is alive in many ways today as elder’s share stories and skills -- in the sight and sounds of language classes; in the openings of buildings dedicated to honoring our heritage and cultural treasures; in the revival of native crafts and skills; and in the sharing of our foods, regalia, songs and dances. These all have brought healing, revival and -- most importantly -- pride in our native heritage. The vibrant life of the descendants of the Eyak, Alutiiq, Athabascan and Tlingit is an enduring and rich heritage, both to the people who call the towns and cities of the Copper River Delta and Prince William Sound home and to the student of the history of mankind.