Chirikof Island

Chirikof, known to the Alutiiq as Ukamuk, is a windswept, treeless island southwest of Kodiak. Archaeological remains show that Alutiiq and Unangan people used this remote place for thousands of years. Its waters shelter seabirds and marine mammals, while ground squirrels live on the island itself. An Alutiiq tradition tells of an Aiaktalik chief who grew wealthy by trading resources obtained here.

During the Russian period, Alutiiq and Tlingit people came to the island under Russian supervision, first seasonally and later to live at Ukamuk. Men hunted sea lions, birds and ground squirrels; women made parkas from bird and squirrel skins. Russian traders exchanged these garments with other Alutiiq people for sea otter pelts. The island's small animals thus became part of a fur trade extending well beyond its shores.