I V-Russian America

Module IV-Russian America 

What was the nature of cultural contact between the Europeans of Russian America and the Natives of Alaska?

Aleut Hunters in Kayaks

The nature of cultural contact between the Europeans of Russian America and the Natives of Alaska varied greatly throughout the different regions of Alaska.  The Aleut and Koniag were the two Native groups that received the most cultural impact.  While some positive interactions did take place between the two groups during the early part of Russian America, many were very hostile, with the Russians exploiting and using the Natives to further the progress of the Company.

When the Russian fur traders arrived in Alaska, they thoroughly defeated and often enslaved the Aleuts and Koniags by meeting them in battles, taking hostages and seizing their boats.   The Russians then used the natives to hunt their desired furs and to complete daily living tasks for the company such as hunting and gathering food and sewing.  In many instances the Russians also organized the Natives into large communities to better control them.

During this early time of hostility the Russians began to introduce education and religious instruction to the Natives.  While Russian Orthodox missionaries did not arrive in Alaska until 1794, many of the fur traders began teaching Christianity and baptizing natives prior to that time.  In 1784, Gregorii and Natal’ia Shelikhov opened the first formal school to teach Russian and religion to the Native children of Kodiak that they were holding hostage.   

During this early time of contact, both the Russians and the Natives assimilated or adopted many aspects of each others diets, clothing, housing and tools.   The Natives usually continued to eat their traditional diet, live in their traditional housing styles and wear their traditional dress with a few items of European clothing mingled with it.  The Russians often ate many of the Native foods, and adopted the traditional housing styles and clothing of the local Natives.  Through trade with the Russians, the Natives obtained and quickly  began using many new tools and weapons such as knives, axes, saws, metal cooking pots, crockery. 

In addition to changes among the Russians and the Natives, an entirely new Creole culture began during the Russian America period.  While in Alaska, many of the Russian men married and had children with Native women.  The children of these unions were called Creoles.  The Creoles were considered Russian citizens, however, they were excused from serving in the military and paying taxes.  They could choose to work for the Russian Company or to live as natives.   The Russians opened several Creole technical schools to train them to work in different jobs for the company.

 How did the establishment of the Russian Orthodox Church in Alaska change both the Colony and the indigenous population.

Kodiak Russian Orthodox Church

 In general, the establishment of the Russian Orthodox Church in Alaska helped to improve the moral conduct of the Russian colonists and the treatment and status of the indigenous people.  When the first Russian Orthodox missionaries arrived in Alaska in 1794, they strongly objected to the moral conduct of the fur traders and their abuse of the Natives.  The missionaries first complained to the company officials, and when little or no improvements were made, they then complained to the officials in Russia.  In 1796 one monk named Makary was so disturbed by the situation that he personally went to Saint Petersburg to complain. 

The moral conduct of the company and the treatment of the indigenous population greatly improved after Governor and Company Manager Aleksandr Baranov left Alaska in 1818. After his departure, the fur traders began providing more support to the missionaries.  The treatment of the indigenous population further improved in the 1820’s after the second Charter of the Russian American Company required an increased amount of priests and church personnel to be present in the colony.  As a result of this requirement, many new missionaries arrived in Alaska in the 1820’s.  One of their first tasks was to train the Natives to be priests and to perform lay positions in the church.  They also helped create alphabets and written languages among the natives, translated religious texts, established and taught at schools and ministered to the sick.

One of the most influential missionaries in Alaska was Father Ioann Veniaminov, later named St. Innocent,  who arrive in Alaska in 1824.  During his time in Alaska, he lived in Unalaska, Sitka and Yakutusk.  Some of his achievements included writing ethnographic and scientific studies of Alaska, teaching at a school, assisting in the development of an alphabet for the Fox Islands Aleuts, and translating some liturgical texts into the Aleut language.  He also instructed the Natives in skills such as carpentry and bricklaying.  In the 1830’s when a smallpox epidemic arose throughout the colony, he helped to vaccinate many people. 

Another very prominent and successful Russian Orthodox missionary in Alaska was Netsvetov, who was the son of the Atka Island manager for the Russian-American Company and his Aleut wife.  He went to seminary and then returned to Atka to work.  During his time in Atka he improved the school, studied the Aleut language and culture and revised the Fox Island Alphabet  that Veniaminov and the Aleut Chief Ivan Pankov had developed earlier.  In 1845 he moved to the Yukon-Kuskokwim church mission where he worked until 1862.

In conclusion, the establishment of the Russian Orthodox Church in Alaska caused the Russian colonists to be held accountable for their treatment of the natives.  As a result of this higher degree of accountability, the position of the indigenous people was raised  from one of essentially being slaves to the Russian fur traders, to that of citizens who were able to attend school, read and write in their traditional languages, be trained and work in various vocations, and hold positions in the church.

Three Blog Reviews:

Joel's Blog:  Joel teaches mainly math and science at a small k-12 school on the Glenn Highway.  He has some interesting discussion about how a culture is defined.  He also gives neat examples from experiences that he had in Toksook Bay.

Educational Exploration in AK: Kristen teaches 9th and 10th grade English at Eagle River High School in Eagle River.  She has very insightful comments about culture.  She also gives wonderful examples of cultural adoption, assimilation and resistance.

Dancing Light: One Path to Learning:  Joan currently works as the Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Kuspuk School District.  She has an interesting discussion about what it means to be Alaskan.

Concluding Thoughts

I found the study of Russian America to be fascinating.  This is partly due to the fact that I lived on Kodiak Island for five years when I was growing up.  Although I knew that the Russians first established Kodiak (after the Natives) and I knew a little about the Russian Orthodox Church, I knew very little of the Russian history until reading this module.  Reading this module brought back many memories of my time spent in Kodiak, and helped me to better understand some of the experiences that I had while living there. I remember driving down Rezanov Drive (one of the major roads in Kodiak), visiting the Baranov Museum and going out to eat at the Shelikhov Inn.  In fifth grade I remember going with my class on an overnight trip to a camp on Woody Island that used to be one of the Russian Schools.  I also remember playing my flute and oboe with the Kodiak Russian balalaika players.  This unit has also caused me to realize that as educators, we need to do a better job of teaching our students the history of the place that they live in.

I do have one suggestion for this course.  It would be nice to have a list and links to all the suggested readings for each module at the beginning of each module.