During the past years, I worked on different projects in collaboration with community members in Nanwalek as well as with the Nanwalek IRA Council. One type of research I did for collecting information on the history of the lower Kenai Peninsula region is looking at archives and archival sources. I visited some of the archives in person and I also reviewed material and finding aids online. Whenever I found something relevant such as photos, recordings, documents, microfilms, publications, etc that pertained to the history of Nanwalek, the surrounding area, community members and their ancestors, I requested permission and placed additional copies into the Nanwalek Library and the Museum for everyone for use.
These collections are available for checkout and anybody from the community can look at them and use them. Through various projects, that were generously funded by the National Science Foundation and the Alaska Humanities Forum, I also digitized all of the old audio tapes that were deteriorating. Now the digital versions are available for people to check out from the library, listen to them in MP3 formats, and download them to their computers. Most recently, first Wally Kvasnikoff and then Emilie Swenning, started to transcribe and translate some of these digitized stories, and as part of our collaboration, we also completed a small pilot-program to digitize old newspaper clippings, photos, and documents in the collection of the Nanwalek Museum.
As many of you have expressed interest in reviewing and working with these sources, I believe a list of the sources I deposited at the Nanwalek Library would be helpful. I also deposited copies of all publication I so far produced from data collected and documented as part of this collaboration, so I listed those as well.
Please keep in mind: All documents are included with permission from the holding institution or available to the public – they cannot be reproduced for profit. In general, documents can be used for personal research and educations purposes, but please contact the holding institution to ascertain reproduction and use limitations.
This collection is intended for reference purposes – please see the digital files for additional details and/or documents.
List of Documents and Digital Sources
(This is not a complete list of all the resources available at the Nanwalek Library. The following are those that I have located during my research, edited, digitized, or authored and deposited in the library.)
- A Collection of Documents Pertaining to the Sugpiaq Ethnohistory of the Lower Kenai Peninsula of Alaska – These are organized into three ring binders with archival folders and placed in a black banker type archival box.
Coal Village
Saints Sergius and Herman of Valaam Church
- Johnson, Lora L.
1996 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Restoration Project Final Report. Anchorage: Chugach Development Corporation.
Introduction – Part I pp.1-13
Nanwalek, Port Graham – Part I pp. 27-30.
- Historic American Building Survey, National Park Service, HABS No. AK-91-A. Online
– Sergius and Herman Russian Orthodox Churches, Old Church English Bay, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska
– Kenai Peninsula Borough AK Archives Cemetery – Saints Sergius and Herman of Valaam Russian Orthodox Cemetery in Nanwalek, Alaska.
Not included in this collection, but also available online:
Kenai Peninsula Borough AK Archives Cemetery – Port Graham Cemetery in Port Graham, Alaska. The Kenai Totem Tracers Genealogy Society. Online Source:
- Fall, James A. 2006 Update of the Status of Subsistence Uses in Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Area Communities, 2003. Techincal Paper No.312 – Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
- Stanek, Ronald. Chapter V: Nanwalek Pp. 83-107.
- Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church of America, Diocese of Alaska Records Manuscript Division, Library of Congress
Finding Aid is available – compiled by Antoinette Shalkop
“Collection Summary. Title: Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church of America, Diocese of Alaska Records. Span Dates: 1733-1938. ID No.: MSS38695
Creator: Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church of America. Diocese of Alaska Extent: 87,000 items; 748 containers plus 23 oversize; 326 linear feet; 402 microfilm reels.
Language: Collection material in Russian, with English, French, and Ukrainian. Repository: Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Abstract: Principally ecclesiastical records relating to the administration of the numerous parishes and chapels of the Russian Orthodox Church in Alaska.”
Included in this collection in the following order:
Selections from Microfilm reel 202 (Box D301) – IN RUSSIAN:
– Aleksandrovsk. Buildings–property. Munin, Ioann, house donation, 1898. Education–school records, 1898-1900 (entire school journal)
– English Bay. Inventories. Sts. Sergius and Herman Church, 1880.
– Gornaia Ekspeditsiia. Buildings–property. Chapel, 1860-1861. Financial reports. Cash, candles, and supplies, 1861-1865. Income and expenses, 1861-1863
- Alaska State Library Historical Collections
Michael Z. Vinokouroff papers, 1764-1984.
Finding Aid is available: Guide to the Vinokouroff Collection
Selections from collection MS081 in the following order – IN RUSSIAN and/or IN ENGLISH:
- asl_ms081_022_44
Box 22 Administrative records (instructions, records, inventories, and registers, Eastern Siberia and North America, 1764-1972)
Parish records (1810-1915 and n.d.). Alphabetical by parish.
Folder 44. Kenai Mission. Accounts. 1860-1867. Eight documents: expenditures, income, disbursements, and receipts.
- asl_ms081_022_45
Box 22 Administrative records (instructions, records, inventories, and registers, Eastern Siberia and North America, 1764-1972)
Parish records (1810-1915 and n.d.). Alphabetical by parish.
Folder 45. Kenai Mission. Hegumen Nikolai (2 documents). 1867. Certified copy of last will and testament, 13 Feb. 1867. Report serving as cover letter for testament and for writings (Box 23, Folder 20).
- asl_ms081_022_46
Box 22 Administrative records (instructions, records, inventories, and registers, Eastern Siberia and North America, 1764-1972)
Parish records (1810-1915 and n.d.). Alphabetical by parish.
Folder 46. Kenai Mission. 16 documents. 1849-1867 and n.d. Includes reports and letters from Hieromonk Nikolai to Bishop Innokentii and others. Report by subdeacon Makarii Ivanov of the Kenai Mission, 10 August 1867, on the last illness and death of Hegumen Nikolai.
- asl_ms081_023_09
Box 23 Administrative records (clergy, educational activities), clergy writings, diocesan and parish publications, and miscellaneous (Eastern Siberia and North America, 1842-1922 and n.d.)
Clergy correspondence
Folder 9. Russian Orthodox Church. Alaska Bishopric. Clergy Service Records. Kenai Church of the Dormition of the All-Holy Theotokos 1907.
- Priest Pavel Shadura
- Reader Aleksandr Demidov
- Acting Reader and School Teacher Nikolai Ivanovich Munin
- Reader and Parish School teacher Nikolai Romanovich Fomin
- Interpeter Filipovich Panfilov
- asl_ms081_023_46
Box 23 Administrative records (clergy, educational activities), clergy writings, diocesan and parish publications, and miscellaneous (Eastern Siberia and North America, 1842-1922 and n.d.)
Clergy correspondence
Folder 46. Reader Ivan I. Kvasnikov (Kenai, AK) to Hegumen Victor. 22 Dec. 1914.
- asl_ms081_023_47
Box 23 Administrative records (clergy, educational activities), clergy writings, diocesan and parish publications, and miscellaneous (Eastern Siberia and North America, 1842-1922 and n.d.)
Clergy correspondence
Folder 47. Ivan Efimovich Munin to an unnamed ecclesiastical superior. 1892. Describes founding of Chapel of St. Sergius and St. Herman following Russian withdrawal of 1867.
- asl_ms081_024_30
Box 24 Clergy correspondence, 1922-1980s. Letters received (Folders 1-44). Moonin, Nicholas E. English Bay, AK 1940
- asl_ms081_024_35
Box 24 Clergy correspondence, 1922-1980s. Letters received (Folders 1-44). Shadura, Pavel A. Kenai, AK 1940-1941 3 letters.
- asl_ms081_024_66
Box 24 Clergy correspondence, 1922-1980s
Letters received (Folders 45-71)
Shadura, Pavel A. Kenai, AK 1924
- Alaska Commercial Company Records
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Alaska and Polar Regions Collections
Elmer E. Rasmuson Library USUAF3
In English
- Alaska Commercial Company Records. Box 8, Folder 91, 92, 93, 96, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 104. Archives, Alaska and Polar Regions Collections, Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Alaska Commercial Company Records. Box 9, Folder 105, Archives, Alaska and Polar Regions Collections, Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Complete List of material pertaining to Nanwalek from ACC finding aid: English Bay
- Box 8, Folder
91 Accounts, Daily Cash Record: Day Book, May 9, 1896 – May 4, 1897
92 Accounts, Demand Payments, 1876-1896
93 Accounts, Discounted Merchandise, 1886-1897
94 Accounts, Individual & Assorted, 1873-1885
95 Accounts, Individual & Assorted, 1886-1896
96 Accounts, Individual & Station: Winter 1891, 1891
97 Accounts, Individual: E. Bay, 1891
98 Accounts, Individual: English Bay, 1891-1892
99 Accounts, Individual: English Bay, 1891-1892
100 Accounts, Individual: English Bay, 1892-1893
101 Accounts, Individual of Mess, Reductions: Mess, 1888-1891
102 Accounts, Inter-Station , 1894-1897
103 Accounts, Invoices of Merchandise Received, 1888
104 Accounts, Outstanding , 1872-1897
- Box 9, Folder
105 Accounts, Inventory of Buildings and Household Articles, 1872-1879
106 Accounts, Inventory of Merchandise, 1873-1895
107 Accounts, Inventory of Merchandise, 1893-1897
108 Accounts, Inventory of Merchandise, 1889-1897
109 Accounts, Invoices/Inventories Merchandise Received, 1889-1897
110 Accounts, Mess, 1873-1896
111 Accounts, Receipts, 1891-1896
112 Accounts, Requisitions, 1877-1897
- Box 10, Folder
113 Accounts, Statements of Affairs, 1875-1897
114 Accounts, Station Expenses, 1873-1897
115 Fur Invoices, 1873-1897
116 Letters, Incoming, 1897-1902
117 Log Book: Records English bay Station Commenced, August 1, 1876 – April 6, 1878
118 [Log Book] Commenced April 30, 1879 – May 12, 1882. Note: (Comet sighted August 19, 1881), April 30, 1879 – May 12, 1882
119 [Log Book] Begun May 13, 1882, English Bay a.t. – May 1883, May 13, 1882 – May 1883
120 [Log Book] Commenced May 15, 1883, Engl. Bay. – July 1884, May 15, 1883-July 1884
121 [Log Book] English Bay 1884 – September 1885, 1884-September 1885
122 [Log Book] English Bay Station, 1892 to Nov. 23, 1895, 1892-November 23, 1895
123 [Log Book] Record Book, English Bay Station from November 23, ’95 to October 12, 1898, November 23, 1895-October12, 1898
124 Miscellaneous: Memorandum (Possibly English Bay, no date)
- BIA Census, National Archives – at the time of collection, these documents were in the Anchorage repository, which is now disbanded. These documents are in spiral binding.
- Nanwalek Census 1937
- Nanwalek Census 1938
- Nanwalek Census 1941
- Nanwalek Census 1944
- Nanwalek Census 1946
- Nanwalek Census 1958
- Nanwalek Census 1962
- Nanwalek Census 1964
- Portlock Census 1938-1939
- Digitized Tapes. Alexandrovsk interviews 1980-1981 – The original audio tapes are in the care of the Nanwalek Library. The digital files are available in a booklet that is in a three ring binder. I attached a Flash Drive with the interviews in an MP3 format to the binder. Those tapes that were copies or commercially produced/copyrighted were not digitized., but all other tapes were. There were a total of 92 items.
Below is the Preface I included with this collection:
The Nanwalek Audio Tape Collection came about through the diligent work of the English Bay School Students attending classes in 1980 and 1981 and the generosity of Nanwalek Elders, culture bearers, and community members, who shared their knowledge of local history and stories that were passed down to them.
By 2012, these cassette tapes the interviews were recorded on were obsolete technologically and, not surprisingly, started to deteriorate. During my stay in Nanwalek as part of the Sugpiaq Ethnohistory Project, I met with Emilie Swenning, as the representative of the local library, to assess the condition of the tapes and find a good archiving approach. While it was clear that we needed to digitize the tapes before they become completely unusable, finding an effective way to do that needed some consideration.
The collection consisted of 92 tapes, and each of them had to be manually played while recording into a digital format. This process required a long term commitment and appropriate equipment. For this reason, we signed an agreement that released the tapes into my care so that I was able to transport them to Dartmouth College for digitization.
I was able to digitize approximately half of the tapes in Hanover, New Hampshire during the year of 2013. I worked on the other half during the spring of 2014 while living in Homer, Alaska. In the end, 16 tapes were not digitized. Some of these were commercially produced recordings, others were copies of tapes with the copyrights residing at various institutions, and again, others were missing or empty. Of the remaining 76 tapes, some were duplicates, and I selected the better of the two available copies to use while recording.
Now that the work is complete, I am returning the tapes back to the care of Emilie Swenning, who is taking them back to the Nanwalek Library, where it will be available for community members.
The information recorded on these tapes, the voices of Elders, some of whom had already passed on, and the stories they learned from their ancestors were once close to being lost. Now that they are available in a digital format, they can be shared with all community members, saved on many computers, burned on CDs, played in smart classrooms, and downloaded on digital music players. The more copies there are of these recordings, the more likely they will survive into the future for the education of Sugpiaq generations to come.
- Sugpiaq Ethnohistory Project Recorded Interviews 2012 – These are included on the Flash Drive with the previous interviews. The information is also in the same binder.
List of Files:
- Wally and Nina Kvasnikoff – 01-19-12
01-19-12a Wally and Nina Kvasnikoff
01-19-12b Wally and Nina Kvasnikoff
- Kathy Brewster – 02-01-12
02-01-12a Kathy Brewster
02-01-12b Kathy Brewster
02-04-12a Kathy Brewster
02-04-12b Kathy Brewster
02-04-12c Kathy Brewster
02-04-12d Kathy Brewster
02-04-12e Kathy Brewster
02-04-12f Kathy Brewster
02-04-12g Kathy Brewster
02-04-12 Kathy Brewster photos
- Kathy Brewster, Malania Kehl, and Natalie Kvasnikoff – 02-08-12
02-08-12 Kathy Brewster, Malania Kehl, and Natalie Kvasnikoff
- Natalie Kvasnikoff – 02-11-12
02-11-12a Natalie Kvasnikoff
02-11-12b Natalie Kvasnikoff
02-11-12c Natalie Kvasnikoff
02-11-12d Natalie Kvasnikoff
02-11-12 Natalie Kvasnikoff pictures
- Kathy Brewster and Malania Kehl – 02-23-12
02-23-12a Kathy Brewster and Malania Kehl
02-23-12b Kathy Brewster and Malania Kehl
- Wally and Nina Kvasnikoff – 02-23-12
02-23-12a Wally and Nina Kvasnikoff
02-23-12b Wally and Nina Kvasnikoff
- Alma and Ephim Moonin – 03-17-12
03-17-12 Alma and Ephim Moonin
- Pauline Demas – 05-08-12
05-08-12a Pauline Demas
05-08-12b Pauline Demas
- Emilie Swenning – 05-09-12
05-09-12a Emilie Swenning
05-09-12b Emilie Swenning
05-09-12c Emilie Swenning
05-09-12d Emilie Swenning
05-09-12e Emilie Swenning
- Emilie Swenning – 05-10-12
05-10-12a Emilie Swenning
05-10-12b Emilie Swenning
05-10-12c Emilie Swenning
05-10-12d Emilie Swenning
05-10-12a Rhoda Moonin
05-10-12b Rhoda Moonin
- Kathy Brewster – 05-11-12
05-11-12 Kathy Brewster
- Wally Kvasnikoff and Ephim Moonin – 07-22-12
07-22-12a Wally Kvasnikoff and Ephim Moonin
07-22-12b Wally Kvasnikoff and Ephim Moonin
07-22-12c Wally Kvasnikoff and Ephim Moonin
07-22-12d Wally Kvasnikoff and Ephim Moonin
07-22-12e Wally Kvasnikoff and Ephim Moonin
07-22-12f Wally Kvasnikoff and Ephim Moonin
07-22-12g Wally Kvasnikoff and Ephim Moonin
07-22-12h Wally Kvasnikoff and Ephim Moonin
07-22-12i Wally Kvasnikoff and Ephim Moonin
07-22-12j Wally Kvasnikoff and Ephim Moonin
07-22-12k Wally Kvasnikoff and Ephim Moonin
- Kathy Brewster – 07-22-12
07-22-12a Kathy Brewster
07-22-12b Kathy Brewster
07-22-12c Kathy Brewster
07-22-12d Kathy Brewster
07-22-12e Kathy Brewster
07-22-12f Kathy Brewster
07-22-12g Kathy Brewster
07-22-12h Kathy Brewster
07-22-12i Kathy Brewster
- Kathy Brewster and Malania Kehl – 07- 24-12
07-24-12a Kathy Brewster and Malania Kehl
07-24-12b Kathy Brewster and Malania Kehl
07-24-12c Kathy Brewster and Malania Kehl
- Alma and Ephim Moonin – 07-27-12
07-27-12 Ephim and Alma Moonin
- Publications
Csoba DeHass, Medeia
2007 Daily Negotiation of Traditions in a Russian Orthodox Sugpiaq Village in Alaska. Ethnology 46(3): pp. 205-216. 2 copies available.
2009 Sugpiaq Russian Orthodoxy – Conceptual Analogy in Religious Syncretism in Nanwalek, Alaska. Unpublished dissertation, University of Alaska Fairbanks. 3 copies available.
2011 Aleut Baseball: Cultural Creation and Innovation through a Sporting Event. Special issue on Creative Technologies. Co-authored with Andreas Droulias, University of Alaska Fairbanks. Études/Inuit/Studies 34(2): pp. 21-37. 2 copies available.
2012 What is in a Name? The Predicament of Ethnonyms in the Sugpiaq-Alutiiq Region of Alaska. Arctic Anthropology 49(1): pp. 3-17. 2 copies available.
2014 Sugpiaq Catalog. Lower Kenai Peninsula Sugpiaq Material Culture and Heritage Preservation Project. A Catalog of Artifacts and Materials From Collections at the Pratt Museum in Homer, Alaska. Pratt Museum. Also available accompanying video recording of Museum-based workshop.
DeHass, David
2014 Honda Country – Relocalization through Technology in Nanwalek, Alaska. Unpublished dissertation, University of Alaska Fairbanks. 1 copy available.
Nanwalek History 