Aniak (Central Yupik: Anyaraq) is a city in the Bethel Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska.

The local Yup'ik people had deserted the original village at Aniak by the early-19th century, when Russian explorers first arrived in the area.

20th-century prospectors believed that the early Russian traders discovered gold in a tributary to the Kuskokwim called "Yellow River" in 1832.

[10][need quotation to verify] Russian traders did discover a mercury deposit near the trading post called Kolmakov Redoubt 22 miles (35 km) east of Aniak in 1838.

[11] Placer gold was found by Russian traders in New York Creek 30 miles (48 km) east of Aniak in 1844.

[12] The Russians, however, did not engage in any significant mining activities, and it wasn't until after Washington's purchase of Alaska in 1867 that the American prospectors began seriously investigating the potential for prospecting along the Kuskokwim river.

Finding precious little gold and experiencing substantial hardship, many of these folks would return to Nome following the difficult winter of 1901, but some stayed behind to continue their search.

In 1910, a lone prospector named "Old Man" Keeler reportedly found placer gold in the Aniak River basin.

Tom L. Johnson homesteaded the site of the long-abandoned Yup'ik village in the Aniak area and opened a store and post office there to service prospectors and miners in the vicinity.

In anticipation of the Lend-Lease program to help supply Russia with war materials, construction of an airfield began in 1939.

[citation needed] With the airfield in place, Aniak became the transportation hub for villages in the area including Chuathbaluk, Anvik, Kalskag, Crooked Creek, Holy Cross and others.

In 1956 during the Cold War, construction of a White Alice Relay Station began bringing money, jobs, and communication capability to the area.