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14,000 BCE
First Peoples Migrate from Siberia
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Period: to
1700-1799
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1741
Alexei Chirikof, with Bering's expedition, sights land on July 15 in Southeast Alaska. The Europeans had found Alaska. At this point, sea otters had been hunted to near extinction. -
1742
First scientific report on the North Pacific fur seal. -
1778
Cook reaches King Island, Norton Sound, Unalaska. -
Cpt. Cook reaches Cook Inlet
Cook Inlet, site of modern Anchorage. -
1799
Alexander Baranov established the Russian post known today as Old Sitka; Tzar Paul I granted exclusive trading rights to the Russian American Company -
Baranov establishes a citadel at Sitka Bay
Baranov encouraged marriage between European men and Native women...The settlement's need for clerks and artisans led him to require basic schooling for all children. - Harry Ritter, Alaska's History (p.38) -
Period: to
1800-1899
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1819 Civilization Fund Act
With the passage of this act, the federal government established a second legal basis for federal responsibility for schooling for all American Indian/Alaska Native children (not just those covered under treaty arrangements). - A History of Schooling for Alaska Native People -
Father Ivan Veniaminov arrives in Unalaska
Sent as a missionary to Aleutian islands, Father Ivan teaches Native apprentices woodworking, blacksmithing, and brickmaking. - Harry Ritter, Alaska History (p. 41) -
American and French ships sail from Hawaii
They were looking for right whales from which to harvest baleen and blubber. Whale oil was used often to light lamps. -
Smallpox epidemic
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Bishop House built in Sitka
The Bishop House under the care of Father Ivan was a school and chapel as well as his home. -
Yankees meet Eskimos in Arctic Waters
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The British Hudson Bay Company established a trading post
Alaska Natives soon began exchanging furs for manufactured goods of the West such as iron tools, clothing, and beads. - Alaska Trapping Association -
Russians Discover Gold in Kenai Peninsula
Small amounts of gold were uncovered but the fur trade was much more lucrative. -
Harpoon Invented
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U.S. purchases Alaska from Russia
Pop: 30,000 (<1000, non-Native Alaskan). U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward brokered agreement between Senate and Russian Tsar Alexander II for $7.2 million without anyone consulting Natives. -
Peace Policy of 1869
"In 1869, President Ulysses S. Grant initiated the “Peace Policy” with American Indians, an approach that privileged humane interactions with native peoples and allowed religious groups to run reservations across the American West." Graber, Jennifer. “‘If a War It May Be Called’: The Peace Policy with American Indians.” Religion and American Culture, vol. 24, no. 1, 2014, pp. 36–69., doi:10.1525/rac.2014.24.1.36. -
Alaska Commercial Co. Hunt Fur Seals in Pribilof
The federal government leased exclusive rights in Pribilof hunting grounds to the Alaska Commercial Company for 20 years. They had the right to slaughter up to 100,000 animals every year. -
Mission at Wrangell Established
Sheldon Jackson establishes a mission at Wrangell. Soon after, John Brady started a Native boarding school in Sitka. -
Census
According to the 1880 census, more than 33,000 people live in Alaska (but only 435 non-Natives). - An Alaska Anthology (p.xxiii) -
Thousands of Walrus hunted between 1860-1880
White and Native hunters killed 200,000 walrus. -
First Major Gold Strike in Juneau
French Canadians Joe Juneau and Richard Harris find gold in Gold Creek; modern-day Juneau. -
Organic Act of 1884
The act provided for a Governor, a federal district court judge, and various other court officials, including a General Agent of Education. - An Alaska Anthology (p.xxii) -
Dr.Sheldon Jackson Appointed First Education Agent
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Forty-Mile Gold Strike
Outside present-day Dawson, gold is found for the first time in recorded history in the Interior. -
First School on Seward Peninsula
"W. T. Lopp and H. Thornton arrive to establish school at Cape Prince of W[h]ales. This is the first school on Seward Peninsula."
Alaska Reindeer Herdsmen:
A Study of Native Management in Transition -
Circle City Gold Found
The gold find drew 1,000 men to the area and led to steamboat traffic moving up the Yukon River for the first time. -
Klondike Gold Rush
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Dawson City Founded
Placer deposits on a tributary of the Klondike River led to the founding of Dawson City. -
Gold Discovered in Nome
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Liquor Licensing System
A liquor licensing system was established after prohibition failed. -
Copper Discovered Along Chitina River
One of the world's richest copper reserves is found in a massive cliff face of green rock by prospectors. -
20,000 children in Indian Boarding Schools
Across the United States -
Period: to
1900-1999
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Felix Pedro Finds Gold in Tanana Valley
After Felix Pedro found gold in the Tanana Valley, he created a trading post and Fairbanks was born. -
Tongass National Forest Discovered by Roosevelt
President Theodore Roosevelt, an avid hunter and naturalist, issued a proclamation declaring it the Alexander Archipelago Forest Reserve. - America's Salmon Forest -
First School Opened in Fairbanks
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Nelson Act Passed
"In 1905 Congress passed the Nelson Act which established a separate system of education for Alaska Natives, giving the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) nearly exclusive control over Alaska Native education until well after Alaska Statehood."
Early Education and Effects of the Nelson Act (1905) -
Fur Seal Numbers Desimated
From over three million to a few thousand. -
"Home Rule" act of 1912
Judge Wickersham got the "Home Rule" act of 1912 passed in Congress which granted Alaska territorial status and gave women as well as men the right to vote. -
Alaska Railroad Starts Construction
Starting in Seward, the Alaska Railroad started laying track. -
Copper Production Outpaces Gold
By 1916, Alaska yielded $29 million in copper but only $19 million in gold. -
Denali National Park Established
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University of Alaska Created
Originally called the Agricultural College and School of Mines in Fairbanks -
First Flight from Seattle to Ketchikan
Roy Jones was the first pilot to fly up the Inside Passage. -
Alaska Railroad Completed
President Warren Harding drives the golden spike in the Alaska Railroad track at Nenana to mark its completion. -
Wien Airways Established
Noel Wien started Wien Airways in Fairbanks, making it the hub of Alaskan aviation. -
Native Americans Made U.S. Citizens
An act of Congress recognizes American Indians as U.S. citizens. -
60,889 children in Indian Boarding Schools
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First Polar Flight from America to Europe
Carl Ben Eielson and George Hubert Wilkins made the first polar flight from Barrow to Norway. -
Alaska Territorial Fishery Service Created
In 1949, the Territorial Legislature created the Alaska Territorial Fishery Service in an attempt to influence federal management practices that had decimated salmon populations in Alaska. The Territorial Fishery Service had no authority, but they commented on federal regulations, conducted research, and tried to influence the federal managers. - Alaska Dept. of Fish & Game -
Ketchikan Pulp Mill Opens
The U.S Forest Service awards them a 50 year contract on Tongass National Forest timber. -
Alaska Lumber & Pulp Co. Opens
The U.S. Forest Service awards this pulp mill in Sitka a 50-year lease on Tongass National Forest lumber. -
Statehood
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Department of Fish & Game Created
"Alaska Statute 16.05.020 stated the commissioner shall:...(2) manage, protect, maintain, improve, and extend the fish, game and aquatic plant resources of the state in the interests of the economy and general well-being of the state...." -
Management of Fish & Wildlife by Alaska
The federal government transferred management of Fish & Wild Game to the state. Previously, "under federal management, salmon stocks were overfished, and in some instances wiped out, predators poisoned and bounties widespread." - The Truth about Wildlife Management in Alaska Guest Editorial -
9.2M Earthquake in Anchorage
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Congress passes the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
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Congress passes the ANILCA
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act -
Forest Service Starts To Preserve Old-Growth in Tongass
The U.S. Forest Service recognizes the need to preserve old-growth trees in the Tongass National Forest and starts implementing plans for conservation. -
Roadless Rule Repealed
The U.S. Forest Service announced that it signed an agreement with the State of Alaska to roll back the Roadless Rule, opening the Tongass National Forest to new road construction that would allow for increased resource extraction in the form of old-growth timber logging. - Alaska Conservation Foundation