 
Last modified: 2019-11-14 by rick wyatt
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![[Yupiit of Andreafski, Alaska flag]](../images/x/xa-ak-yoa.jpg) image located by Valentin Poposki, 7 August 2019
 
image located by Valentin Poposki, 7 August 2019See also:
Andreafski village is located on the north bank of Andreafski River, in 
Unorganized Borough, Alaska. 
History of the City of St. Mary's, Algaaciq 
Tribal Government and Yupiit of Andreafski (three separate entities)
In 
1899, Andreafsky was established as a supply depot and winter headquarters for 
the Northern Commercial Company’s riverboat fleet.
The village took its 
name from the Andrea family which settled on the River and built a Russian 
Orthodox Church. In 1903, Jesuit missionaries set up a mission 90 miles 
downriver at “Akulurak” to educate and care for the children orphaned by a flu 
epidemic in 1900-01.
Akulurak means “in between place,” aptly describing 
the village, which was on an island in a slough connecting two arms of the Yukon 
River. The mission school flourished, and by 1915, there were 70 full-time 
students.
Over the years, the slough surrounding Akulurak silted in 
severely. In 1948, the villagers decided to move to higher ground. Materials 
from an abandoned hotel built during the gold rush were used to construct the 
new mission and several village homes at the present site. In 1949, an unused 
15′ by 30′ building and other building materials from Galena Air Force Station 
were barged to Saint Mary’s by Father Spils, a Jesuit priest. These materials, 
along with a tractor borrowed from Holy Cross, were used to construct a school. 
In 1967, St. Mary’s incorporated as a city, although the residents of Andreafsky 
chose to remain a separate community. In 1980, the communities combined. In 1987 
the Catholic Church closed.
A federally recognized tribe is located in 
our village– the Algaaciq Tribal Government; Yupiit of Andreafski.
The 
photo of the Yupiit of Andreafski flag was taken from the official Facebook 
page.
Valentin Poposki, 7 August 2019
 
 
 
 
