Alaska Native Day Fort Ross

Always the 3rd Saturday in May.
Mark your calendars: May 19, 2018

On a windswept bluff high above the Pacific surf in Northern California lies Fort Ross. From 1812 to 1841, it was the southernmost bastille of Russian America. One pictures a battalion of hardworking Russians building the fort and hunting the fur of seal and sea otter for their “soft gold” for sale in China. But on closer inspection, most of the sea hunters and craftspeople weren’t Russian at all.

In the 1821 census by Fort Ross founder, Kuskov, there were only 38 Russians at the fort. The remainder were mostly Alaska Natives, collectively called “Aleut”, who came from all over coastal Alaska from the Aleutian Islands, Kodiak, the Alaskan Peninsula, Cook Inlet, and all the way down to Southeastern Tlingit and Haida peoples. Their total on the same census was 156. 156 Alaska Natives and 38 Russians working, living, surviving, building, loving, and creating at Fort Ross.

Annually, on the 3rd Saturday of May, Alaska Native people from all over come to Fort Ross to celebrate our story. We share dance, song, culture, food, history, and create an Alaska Native community right here in Northern California. Please join us on May 19, 2018, as we again come together to celebrate our history at the fort.