Native Village of Afognak

The Good Friday earthquake of 1964 resulted in the relocation of surviving members of the village of Ag’waneq on the island of Afognak.

The history of the Alutiiq goes back more than 7,500 years in the Kodiak Archipelago, but during the late 18th century, the Russian-American Company pressed many of the men of the islands in the area into service hunting otter.

This mistreatment and a smallpox epidemic in 1837 lead to increased protections from Russia and the imposition of a system of legislated villages, one of which was Afognak.

The tribal council of the Native Village of Afognak consists of seven elected members who sit for three year terms.

In 1998 the Bureau of Indian Affairs issued a grant to fund the collection and preservation of historic and prehistoric data from the dig and from interviews with Elders of the community.