Belkofski’s story has already ended as it is an abandoned village today. Founded as a Russian Fur Trade settlement, it faded away as the fur trade faded. However, a 2013 effort to save the 850lb bell in the Russian Orthodox Church is keeping the memory alive.

Bethel’s story begins with the Yup’ik people who called the place “Mumtrekhogamute” which means “Smokehouse People.” They showed kindness towards the first missionaries who labored to work in the host culture’s language and help with desperate medical needs in the late 1800s. As it became a hub for the surrounding area, Bethel became an aviation haven for adventurers and hunters. The busy airport, cultural events, and a handful of churches are all a part of what makes Bethel, Bethel.

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Logo was created by Evan Van Kirk

Music was created by Isaac Bedingfield

Barrow is the northernmost community in North America. It's also an economic giant for the state of Alaska with the oil that comes out of the area. Ancient Native American remains, early explorers, whaling disasters, survivial stories, missionaries, the controversial name change to Utqiagvik, and aviation tragedies are all a part of the story of Barrow. There is so much information and stories about Utqiagvik it was difficult to narrow it down so my apologies for the longer episode!

Beaver, AK is a small village of just 48 people. It started as an outpost for gold seekers in 1907 traveling north to the Chandalar River, but it was some clever entrepreneurs (including a Japanese man and his Eskimo friends!) who made the village of Beaver happen. Beaver's residents are a mix of various tribal peoples from the surrounding region. The blending of native cultures in one village has made Beaver, AK a unique culture of it's own combining old, traditional ways, with the new western culture.

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TYSA Logo was created by Evan Van Kirk

Music was created by Isaac Bedingfield

Atmautluak is situated in a sea of lakes on slivers of land among the vast tundra of Alaska. The entire community is built on stilts and wooden walkways are the way to get around town. It's a relatively young village being founded in the 1960s, but still has a rich cultural flavor with the Atmautluak dancers and two churches. I enjoyed the story of Saint Herman, a Russian Orthodox monk and missionary to the Aleut peoples whose sacrificial love for the people is worth remembering as he bears his name of the church in Atmautluak.

Atqasuk is also a youthful community being originally settled during WWII because valuable coal was found there. The village was abandoned in the 1960s and re-settled in 1977 changing it's name from "Meade River" to the Inupiat name "Atqasuk" which means "The place to dig the rock that burns."

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TYSA Logo was created by Evan Van Kirk

Music was created by Isaac Bedingfield

Arctic Village was a semi-permanent spot used by the nomadic Gwich'in people until firearms were introduced and they began to permanently settle in Arctic Village in 1909. Robert McDonald, an Anglican Missionary brought literacy to the Tukudh language by translating the Bible, other religious material into the Gwich'in Tukudh language. Through the conversion of Albert E Tritt, a local Gwich'in man, the Episcopal Church in Arctic Village became a permanent part of the community. After legal battles with the US government, Arctic Village has worked to preserve their tradional ways of hunting caribou which continues to today.

Atka is the westernmost community in the United States. It's waaaay out there on the Aleutian Island Chain. Only scant archeological evidence gives us hints at the first peoples which intrigues my interests. The Russian experlors made first contact followed by fur traders. When WWII struck, the US government forced all residents to leave and burned the village down to prevent the Japenese from using it. After the war, the residents returned, but were never the same again. St. Nicholas Orthodox Church has been there through almost all of the known history of Atka making it a key element in the story of Atka, AK!

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TYSA Logo was created by Evan Van Kirk

Music was created by Isaac Bedingfield

Terry and Krystie DePue have been pastoring Eagle Bible Chapel in the small village of Eagle, AK for 27 years. Terry was a missionary kid in Bolivia and ended up in Alaska of all places. They raised their six kids in Eagle. Three of their kids were adopted. Terry shares the adoption stories and how his family is his #1 ministry. I took away from this interview that steady faithfulness will bear much fruit in a world full of brokenness and chaos. He also recalls a story when his wife rode out on a snow machine in 50 below temperatures to save a musher that passed out on the Yukon Quest race. Brrr!

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TYSA Logo was created by Evan Van Kirk

Music was created by Isaac Bedingfield

Aniak's ancient history is wrapped up mystery. When the first Russian explorers first got a peek of the area, the original inhabitants had already abandoned it. The Russians found some gold which ended up bringing in prospectors hoping for quick riches as Alaska became more and more American. Today, Aniak is home for over 500 people and still remains a mostly native community. The airport is surprisingly nice and I'm not sure why.

Anvik was first noticed in written records by a mixed race Russian/Native man setting out to find new routes and trading opportunities for the Russian Fur Company. He reported 100 people living at Anvik in 1834. Anvik was home to a missionary who left us a detailed record of his stay starting in 1888. John Wight Chapman lived there for over 40 years learning the language, teaching reading and writing, translating prayer books, laboring to record oral histories of the native people to preserve their culture, and helping many with medical care through the terrible flu epidemic of 1918-19.

The story of these two villages just scratch the surface of a rich history in this region.

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TYSA Logo was created by Evan Van Kirk

Music was created by Isaac Bedingfield

On October 26, 1882, The US Navy Steamer Ship Thomas Corwin positioned itself just offshore of Angoon, Alaska. It loaded it's weapons, and fired shells upon the village occupied by innocent men, women, and children. This event started a 142 year journey of the Tlingit people of Angoon to find reconciliation with the US Navy. Finally, on October 26, 2024, (just a month after this recording) the US Navy officially apologized for the bombardment. "We accept your apology" the Tlingit elders responded. And so begins the healing of Angoon.

View the the official apology ceremony here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uxPqjg-xlo&t=16s

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TYSA Logo was created by Evan Van Kirk

Music was created by Isaac Bedingfield

The largest city in the state of Alaska, Anchorage started with a couple of families camping out by Ship Creek and grew to contain 40% of the states population with just under 300,000 people. How did that happen? I discuss the history of the church in Anchorage, the homelessness issue, my favorite places in Anchorage, and four very unique airports within the city.

Anderson is home to the workers of the Clear Space Force Station in central Alaska. What is this place? What secrets lie within? I don't know, but I do know some very powerful equipment is operating there and no one should fly over it.

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TYSA Logo was created by Evan Van Kirk

Music was created by Isaac Bedingfield

Anaktuvuk means "the place of caribou droppings" so you can imagine this place has a history of caribou hunting, and it does! The Nunamiut people of Anaktuvuk Pass have proven themselves to be historical survivors and masterful artists with their famous Anaktuvuk masks. The first missionaries were Presbyterians who came in with float planes and starting the Chapel in the Mountains which is still there today. At a place appropriately called the "Gates of the Arctic" there is much beauty to be had.

Anchor Point gets its name from the famous 1778 expedition of Captain James Cook because he lost an anchor at this spot while looking for the Northwest Passage. This European settlement has become a place of storytelling and nostalgia about the good 'ol days of the first settlers in the 1940s.

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TYSA Logo was created by Evan Van Kirk

Music was created by Isaac Bedingfield

Ambler is one of the few villages I have been to north of the Arctic Circle. It's the site where the famous Eskimo Prophet Maniilaq made some predictions, and the famous archeological site called "Onion Portage" is nearby which is one of the sites our modern understanding of ancient Alaska native history comes from.

Amchitka Island's ancient history is wrapped up in mystery with only a single human remain found there. The island was home to Russian Fur Traders and the Aleut Uprising of 1784. Japanese castaways made there way to Amchitka in a wild story of survival. Up to 15,000 troops were stationed there during WWII, three underground nuclear tests were conducted on Amchitka, and today the island has zero inhabitants. I bet you didn't know that the activist group Greenpeace got it's name because of Amchitka!

Contact the show at [email protected]

TYSA Logo was created by Evan Van Kirk

Music was created by Isaac Bedingfield