History Of Alaska

To know Alaska is to love Alaska. While places like Antarctica, Siberia and the state of Alaska generally rank low on the tourist agenda, due to the infamous weather and unforgiving winter temperatures, there is a wealth of activities and historical artifacts to be seen. Whether you're looking for the freshest salmon, a glimpse of "Babe," the ox frozen in ice, a lumberjack song & dance, a dog sled race, a polar bear swim, towering totem poles or the playful sea otters, you won't leave disappointed. There is truly something for everyone in this breathtaking state, but before you make your journey, first consider the rich historical context of Alaska so you can fully appreciate and understand what you're seeing.

The first Alaskans were thought to have crossed the Bering Strait between 60,000 and 50,000 BC. By the mid 1700s, there were 60-80,000 Indians, Aleuts and Eskimos living in Alaska. The Indians of Alaska included the Tlingits and Haidas in the Southeast, and the Athabaskans of the Interior Passage; together, they numbered about 20,000 strong. The 15,000 Aleuts inhabited the Aleutian Islands and a Southwest portion of the Alaska Peninsula.

Lastly, 30,000 Eskimos lived along the Alaskan coast from the Arctic Ocean to Yakutat, stretching to the Kodiak Island, the Alaska Peninsula and Prince William Sound. The early inhabitants of the state of Alaska lived in a hunter-gatherer society and used every part of the beasts they hunted, making long houses, tools, igloos, weapons, clothing, blankets, jewelry, dishes and canoes.

Shamans battled for good and evil, with some providing spiritual healing, while others cast curses. Wealth was shared through ceremonies, like Tlingit potlatches, Athabaskan festivals, Eskimo messenger feasts, and Aleut theatrical performances. For thousands of years, these indigenous groups would be the only population on the Alaskan frontier, but that changed and the Alaska native became just 15% of the total population.

Vasco de Balboa claimed all North American lands under the Spanish crown as early as 1513, but Spanish explorers didn't really investigate the prospect of Alaska until the 1770s. In 1790, Spanish explorers named the towns of Cordova and Valdez after their conquistadors, and some architectural influences and Spanish nomenclature is still evident in these ice-free ports. The French also had a stake in fur trading with the Aleut people, although the unregulated deals soon turned bloody. The Russians staked their claim in Alaska when Peter the Great sent Vitus Bering to establish Sitka as their first settlement. Bering had trouble navigating the wild seas and much of his crew died from scurvy. Subsequent Russian voyagers tried to make their way to the ports to set up fur trading businesses. Of course, the local Tlingits weren't willing to relinquish their Sitka territory that easily, nor were the Aleuts willing to give up Kodiak Island lands.

From the gold boom of the 1890s to the oil boom of the 1960s, the proliferation of Alaska can be credited to profitable exploration. Despite the harsh climate and the inaccessibility, the American pioneering spirit prevailed and yielded astounding results. Roughly 80% of the state's income derives from the petroleum industry. In 2005, its per-capita GSP for 2005 was $60,079, ranking 3rd in the nation. Today, Alaska has a population of 626,932, which is still one of the least populous states, though it is the largest. Yet it is this empty space and remoteness that draws millions of tourists to Alaska each year. The preserved wilderness and wildlife, combined with the spoils of modern capitalism, is a juxtaposition one surely must witness in his or her lifetime.

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