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Ilanka Native
Artists Consortium

Featured Artist

Darlene Nichols

Our featured artist is Darlene Nichols. Darlene grew up watching her mother and aunts sew, bead, and weave. She learned these traditional arts sitting at their sides. Darlene says,

"These skills are important to me because fewer and fewer people are learning them now. I want to pass them on to my children, and to other people who want to learn."

Darlene teaches traditional Alaska Native arts classes at the Ilanka Cultural Center. Click here to view Darlene's beautiful work at our online store.

Our History

The Copper River Delta and Prince William Sound region is the northern-most rainforest on North America's west coast. Of breathtaking beauty, it encompasses wetlands, glaciers, alpine peaks, and remote beaches. Here, delicate wildflowers and berries grow in hidden meadows. Deer and bear roam freely across largely uninhabited terrain, and salmon swim the rivers and streams.

For 10,000 years, our peoples have made this region their homeland.

In the coming weeks, this web site will include oral histories spoken by Native elders, legends of the Eyak and Chugach peoples, and written historical accounts contributed by tribal members. The Ilanka Cultural Center is proud to bring our history to our tribe, our community, and the world.

General History

Historical Accounts

I Called My Grandmother Gammie by Virginia Lacy
The Mail Man of Prince William Sound by Virginia Lacy

Legends of the Eyak

In the 1930's, a team of anthropoligists, led by Dr. Fredericka de Laguna, came to Cordova to study the Eyak language and culture. They documented a comprehensive collection of Eyak Legends, which were compiled by John F.C. Johnson of the Chugach Heritage Foundation in the 1990s. The preface of this fascinating account is taken from the writings of De Laguna and her counterpart, Kaj Birket-Smith:

The following tales have been written down as nearly as possible in the language of our informants. Most of the stories were told to us by Galushia, prompted by his wife, Annie, from whom he had originally learned them. A few he wrote out for us. The stories which Annie told were rendered in Eyak and were translated by her husband. She told us she had learned them from Old Chief Joe. A few stories were obtained from Johnny Stevens and Old Man Dude. He unfortunately refused to tell the stories in Eskimo, which he spoke with a good deal of fluency, although Matrona Tiedeman offered to act as an interpretor for him. Dude informed us that all myths were supposed to be sung. After giving us his version of The Raven Cycle in English, he sang the same in Eyak. Unfortunately we were not able to record either the text or the music. Galushia also told us that all stories were supposed to be recited word-perfect, but he did not remember which ones were sung. He specified that the tale "Living with the Black Bear" was not sung. We have very little information about songs. We have mentioned the songs used in potlatches, the songs of the shamans and the derision songs. Apparently every person had his own song, but when these were sung we did not learn.

Click on the links below to read a few of the Eyak stories, or visit our online store to purchase a copy of Eyak Legends.

Legends of the Chugach

Click on the links below to read a few of the Chugach stories, or visit our online store to purchase a copy of Chugach Legends