Napaimute, Alaska
Encyclopedia
Napaimute is an unincorporated Alaska Native village located in the Bethel Census Area
of the U.S. state
of Alaska
.
28 miles east of Aniak
in the Kilbuck-Kuskokwim mountains. Napaimute is accessible by boat, or snowmobile (winter). There are several gravel bars nearby in the Kuskokwim river that are sometimes used by small aircraft as makeshift landing strips, and there is currently a feasibility study being conducted to develop an airstrip capable of providing safe year-round air-access
, and the name of the village was changed to Napaimute. In Yup'ik, the word Napaimute translates to "forest people". The first territorial school along the Kuskokwim River was built in 1920 at Napaimute. By 1930, the US census was reporting a Napaimute population of 111, however, the population then began to decline, and by 1969, the village's last permanent resident had left the village. With the passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
in 1971, a village corporation called Napaimute Limited was formed and in 1975, one of its members established permanent residency at the village. the village council was able to receive federal recognition as an Alaska Native Tribe in 1994, which enabled it to start receiving funding from the Bureau of Indian Affairs
. Current efforts to revitalize the community are evident by the set up of a sawmill in 2001, tribal operations in 2002, and an airport feasibility study launched in 2004.
Bethel Census Area, Alaska
Bethel Census Area is a census area located in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of 2000, the population is 16,006. It is part of the unorganized borough and therefore has no borough seat...
of the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
.
Geography
Georgetown is located at 61°32′N 158°40′W on the north bank of the upper Kuskokwim RiverKuskokwim River
The Kuskokwim River or Kusko River is a river, long, in Southwest Alaska in the United States. It is the ninth largest river in the United States by average discharge volume at its mouth and seventeenth largest by basin drainage area.The river provides the principal drainage for an area of the...
28 miles east of Aniak
Aniak, Alaska
Aniak is a city in the Bethel Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. At the 2000 census the population was 572.-Geography: ....
in the Kilbuck-Kuskokwim mountains. Napaimute is accessible by boat, or snowmobile (winter). There are several gravel bars nearby in the Kuskokwim river that are sometimes used by small aircraft as makeshift landing strips, and there is currently a feasibility study being conducted to develop an airstrip capable of providing safe year-round air-access
History
Englishman George Hoffman established a trading post at the location of present day Napaimute in 1906. the village that formed around the trading post was called Hoffman's. The middle Kuskokwim Valley was seeing and influx of gold prospectors at that time and Hoffman's became an important supply and trade center. George Hoffman would soon relocated to GeorgetownGeorgetown, Alaska
Georgetown is an unincorporated Alaska Native village located in the Bethel Census Area of the U.S. state of Alaska. The population as of the 2000 census was 3.- Geography :...
, and the name of the village was changed to Napaimute. In Yup'ik, the word Napaimute translates to "forest people". The first territorial school along the Kuskokwim River was built in 1920 at Napaimute. By 1930, the US census was reporting a Napaimute population of 111, however, the population then began to decline, and by 1969, the village's last permanent resident had left the village. With the passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, commonly abbreviated ANCSA, was signed into law by President Richard M. Nixon on December 23, 1971, the largest land claims settlement in United States history. ANCSA was intended to resolve the long-standing issues surrounding aboriginal land claims in...
in 1971, a village corporation called Napaimute Limited was formed and in 1975, one of its members established permanent residency at the village. the village council was able to receive federal recognition as an Alaska Native Tribe in 1994, which enabled it to start receiving funding from the Bureau of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...
. Current efforts to revitalize the community are evident by the set up of a sawmill in 2001, tribal operations in 2002, and an airport feasibility study launched in 2004.