- Community Type: 2nd Class City
- Current Population: 595
- Borough Name: Unorganized
- Regional Native Corporation: Calista Corporation
- REAA/School District: Kuspuk Schools
- Latitude: 61° 34' N
- Longitude: 159° 31' W
- See Map of the region
- Land Area: 4.70
- Water Area: 1.40
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| Location:
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Aniak is located on the south bank of the
Kuskokwim River at the head of Aniak Slough, 59 miles southwest
of Russian Mission in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. It lies 92 air
miles northeast of Bethel and 317 miles west of Anchorage. |
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| History:
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Tom L. Johnson homesteaded and opened a general
store here in 1914, at the site of an old abandoned Yupik village.
Eskimos Willie Pete and Sam Simeon brought their families from
Ohagamuit to Aniak, which reestablished the Native community.
A Territorial school opened in 1936. Construction of an airfield
began in 1939, followed by the erection of the White Alice radar-relay
station in 1956, which closed in 1978.
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| Culture:
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Aniak's population is primarily Eskimo with
some Athabascan residents. Subsistence foods contribute largely
to villagers' diets.
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| Economy:
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The economy of Aniak is based on government,
transportation and retail services. As the largest City in the
area, Aniak provides services for surrounding villages. Subsistence
activities supplement part-time wage earnings, and some commercial
fishing occurs. 13 residents hold commercial fishing permits.
The largest private employers are the Aniak Lodge, Bush-Tell
Inc., and Aniak Power & Light. The School District, Kuskokwim
Native Assoc. and state agencies also provide employment.
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| Transportation:
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Access to Aniak is limited to air and water.
The State-owned airport is 6,000' and lighted, and equipped for
instrument approaches. Regular flights are provided by several
carriers, including charter operators. Major airport improvements
were recently completed. Fuel and supplies are brought in by
barge during the summer; other goods are delivered by air year-round.
There is no road connection to other villages, although the frozen
river is used as a road by snowmachines during winter. The community
has requested construction of a road to Chuathbaluk.
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| Climate:
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Climate is maritime in the summer and continental
in winter. Temperatures range between -55 and 87. Average yearly precipitation
is 19 inches, with snowfall of 60 inches.
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