Eklutna

Finally seeing a place that has something to do with my dissertation—St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in the Dena’ina village of Eklutna. You can see the fusion of Native American and Russian Orthodox Christian traditions in the cemetery. The spirit houses (the small structures over the graves) are from the Dena’ina tradition, with the colors and designs to indicate clan membership. The actual practice of burials (instead of cremation) and the crosses show the Christian influence. The wooden chapel is from the 1870s, built during a time when many Native Americans embraced Russian Orthodoxy as a way to maintain their own traditions. Russian missionaries were more inclusive of the aspects of Native religions that paralleled their own faith (the idea of an afterlife, for instance) and tended to ignore the religious beliefs that they disagreed with. In the face of American settlers/prospectors and uncompromising protestant missionaries, groups like the Dena’ina became Orthodox Christians.

I’m planning to go to one of the major Russian settlements, but can only afford one trip. Kodiak or Sitka?