1784: Russian fur traders massacre Sugpiaq on Kodiak Island

Russian fur traders, led by Grigorii Shelikhov, overwhelm the Sugpiaq (Yup’ik, Alutiiq) in a bloody massacre at Refuge Rock on Kodiak Island, off Alaska’s southern coast. With his authority established by the defeat, Shelikhov enslaves Sugpiaq men, using them to hunt sea otter. He founds the first permanent Russian settlement in Alaska on Three Saints Bay on Kodiak Island.

Theme

Land and Water, Native Rights

Region

Arctic