Anchorage Daily News

ST. PAUL

POPULATION: 448 (2007)

LOCATION: On a narrow peninsula on the southern tip of St. Paul Island, the largest of five islands in the Pribilofs, 240 miles north of the Aleutian Islands, 300 miles west of the Alaska mainland.

DESCRIPTION: A predominantly Aleut and Eskimo community. About seven of every eight residents are Alaska Native. Although subsistence historically has not been the focus of the local culture, today halibut and seal are shared and exchanged for salmon and reindeer with relatives living in other communities. The Russian Orthodox Church plays a strong role in community cohesiveness. St. Paul is a port for the Central Bering Sea fishing fleet, and recent port and harbor improvements have fueled economic growth. There is one school, attended by about 110 students.

HISTORY: The Pribilofs were discovered in 1786 by Russian fur traders. In 1788, the Russian American Co. enslaved and relocated Aleuts from Siberia, Atka and Unalaska to the Pribilofs to hunt fur seals; their descendants live on the islands today. Beginning in 1870, the federal government awarded 20-year leases to private firms for fur-seal harvesting while providing housing, food and medical care to the Aleuts. But the seals were over-harvested, leading to poverty, and the government ended private leasing in 1910, putting the community and the fur seals under the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries. In 1979, the government paid the Pribilof Aleuts $8.5 million to compensate them for unjust treatment they received during the years from 1870 to World War II and for their forced evacuation to Southeast Alaska during the war.

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