Timeline / Defining Rights and Responsibilities / 1870: U.S. requires Alaska Commercial Company to hire Unangan (Aleut)
1870: U.S. requires Alaska Commercial Company to hire Unangan (Aleut)
The U.S. government awards the Alaska Commercial Company an exclusive lease to hunt fur seals on the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea. Located 230 miles north of the Aleutian Islands, the Pribilof Islands are home to the Unangan (Aleut). The lease stipulates that the company hire the Unangan and provide them with food, housing, and education.
- Theme
- Federal-Tribal Relations, Land and Water, Native Rights
- Region
- Arctic
Alaska Commercial Company steamer, the St. Paul
Courtesy Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks
Routes of the Alaska Commercial Company’s ocean and river steamers in Alaska and the Klondike, 1896–1913
Courtesy Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks