Aleuts

Demographics and Culture

There were an estimated 25,000 Aleuts on the islands before Russian settlement. Aleuts encountered Russians in the 1700s, and many were converted by missionaries to the Russian Orthodox Church. Russian fur traders were the first to use the word Aleut as a demonym in reference to the people of the Aleutians. There are considered to be few to no full-blooded Aleuts left in the wake of the Russian period. Only 2,000 of those who enrolled in the Aleut Corporation, the Alaska [Page 168]Native regional corporation established in 1971 to distribute the settlement from the federal government for Alaskan lands, could establish even one-fourth Aleut ancestry.

Before Russian settlement, Aleuts lived in partially underground houses called barabaras or ulaxes, which were dug into the ground to offer protection from the high winds of the island chain. The roof was made from layers of sod on top of wooden or bone frames, with a doorway in the roof. A hole in the ceiling was used to let smoke escape, and the entranceway used an “Arctic entry” to prevent the cold wind from filling the rest of the house. Today, no barabaras are in use. Traditional Aleuts used tools and weapons made of chopped stone, in the core and flake tradition, and stored their food in special chambers in their barabaras. The Aleutian Islands provide few natural resources, and grass was used as a burning fuel and for weaving baskets. Stone and bone were used for almost everything else. Baidaras, large boats used for transporting people and goods, were made of bone and walrus skins, while the smaller baidarka was covered in seal skins and used for the fast maneuvers required during hunting.

An Aleut boy wearing overalls and fur boots in August 1938 in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. The Unangan and Unangas are seafaring peoples who have lived in the Aleutian Islands for at least 9,000 years and are known for their fur and animal skin crafts.

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