![]() ![]() After the US purchased Alaska, the Federal government closely controlled the islands. Most of the residents were considered Russian citizens, became Russian Orthodox followers, and had Russian last names. These islands were settled permanently during the Russian development of Alaska, when Aleuts from other islands were moved there to hunt seals. ![]() George, which lie north of the main Aleutian chain. Islands which were evacuated included the Pribilof group of St. Military viewed the buildings as a potential asset to the enemy’s advance”.įish & Wildlife Service employee’s account of the St. However, the military also wished to deprive the invaders of potential supplies and facilities (some villages were burned by the navy while the residents watched). This was supposedly for their own protection (villagers on Attu had been captured and taken to Japan). The US government immediately forced native populations in that region to evacuate, with little notice and taking only what they could carry. Japanese invasion of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands occurred in early June of 1942. Some of the original WWII logbooks (excerpted below) can be found here. There is a documentary film available here. Another article on the internment is available here. #Funter bay internment camp cemetery pdf#It is also available online in PDF form at the prior link. It came out in 2012 and is available from the National Park Service. Funter Bay was one of the sites used as an internment camp for evacuees during the war.Ĭharles Mobley has an excellent report documenting the evacuation and internment of Aleuts, and examining the architectural and archeological remains at Funter Bay. This essentially meant shuffling them out of the way and then ignoring them. Even my own people,” Bourdukofsky said.Įven though the bill is now law, Bourdukofsky thinks it will require continual education for people to understand the effects of the World War II internment on the Unangax̂ people to this day.A darker page in the history of Alaska came during WWII, when the US government “evacuated” native populations in the path of Japanese invasion. “Probably a lot of people, even my own fellow Unangax̂, much in the way that many still don’t understand what happened in World War II, that the bill is probably even a little foreign to them and what it means because people are still learning about it. To Tara Bourdukofsky, director of Aleut Corporation, the bill is educational for everyone. Tara Bourdukofsky looks at the current exhibit on display at the Juneau-Douglas City Museum about the Unangax̂ internment in Southeast Alaska during World War II. So it’s sad but it’s healing at the same time,” Bergo said. “It’s sad because it took, the last time I guess the Elders that came down - there was four, five of them - they’re no longer with us. Paul, flew down to Juneau for the signing event.įor Constance Bergo, vice president of TDX Corporation, the feeling of the bill being signed was indescribable, in a good way. In addition to lawmakers and other people already in Juneau, leaders from the Aleut Corporation and TDX Corporation, the village corporation of St. With the cemetery part of a state park, that land cannot be sold or developed, ensuring that the cemetery is protected. ![]() The bill signed Tuesday adds the cemetery to the Funter Bay Marine Park. government forced Unangax̂ people to live in an internment camp in Funter Bay on Admiralty Island 30-40 people died and are buried in a cemetery there. (Photo by Lyndsey Brollini/KTOO)ĭuring World War II, the U.S. The graphic is part of an exhibit at the museum – Echoes of War: Unangax̂ Internment During WWII – which runs through October 18, 2021. ![]() It protects it from happening, you know?” A graphic in the Juneau-Douglas City Museum showing the forced internment of Unangax̂ people from the Pribilof Islands to Southeast Alaska. “We’ve seen, so many times, all throughout our country, where our sacred grounds have been desecrated and disrespected and not cared for,” Stepetin said. Martin Stepetin has been advocating to protect the Funter Bay cemetery since 2014. Mike Dunleavy signed a bill into law protecting the Unangax̂ cemetery in Funter Bay on Tuesday at the Juneau-Douglas City Museum. (Photo by Lyndsey Brollini/KTOO)Īlaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy signed the bill into law on June 8 at the Juneau-Douglas City Museum. Martin Stepetin stands with his family holding House Bill 10. ![]()
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