On Saturday, around 300 Unalaskans gathered at the high school gymnasium to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Ounalashka Corporation. Chairman Vince Tutiakoff shared about the organization’s growth over the last half-century and past and present board members were recognized for their service.
OC formed in 1973 under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, as a means to provide economic and social opportunities for the local Indigenous community. The for-profit corporation is now the main landowner on the island.
At its inception, OC was made up of nearly 270 Unangan shareholders. Tutiakoff was one of the original board of directors, including the late Larry Shaishnikoff, Henry Swanson, Greg Shapsnikoff, Walter Dyakanoff, Edna P. McCurdy and Carl Moller.
Tutiakoff said their initial vision is alive and well.
“I learned a lot from those elders that were a part of the board at the first meetings that we had,” he said. “We set our goal to be a very strong village corporation in our region. I believe we’re there. We're doing it, but we’ve got to do a lot better.”
Tutiakoff said he feels especially grateful for the wisdom of Unangan Elders Nick Peterson, Henry Swanson and Anfesia Shapsnikoff. He said they made the original land selections which led to OC’s success today.
Land-leasing profits provide the majority of OC’s business and shares for today’s nearly 500 shareowners and their descendents. While the corporation has seen significant growth in the last 50 years, Tutiakoff said it’s important to encourage youth involvement.
Saturday was the first time in four years community members gathered for the annual banquet. The corporation canceled the event during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Unalaska Unangax̂ Dancers also gave their debut performance, after re-establishing their group earlier this year.
“As you saw today, there's a mixture of elders and youth in that dance group today,” said Tutiakoff. “That shows that we're instilling our language and our culture with the younger kids — just amazing, amazing to see it happen.”
Five past and present board members were recognized for serving more than 30 years. Chairman Tutiakoff, Nicholai Lekanoff, AB Rankin, Margaret Lekanoff and Okalena Patricia Lekanoff-Gregory were gifted bentwood visors made by Sugpiaq artist Tim Shangin of Akutan.
At the annual meeting, Tutiakoff announced the results of the village corporation’s recent election. Wendy Svarny-Hawthorne and Michael Tutiakoff were re-elected to the board, and 29-year-old Shayla Shaishnikoff was voted in as the newest and youngest member. Until the recent election, the average age of board directors was 65 years old.
Correction: An earlier version of this article mistakenly reported that Tim Shangin was Unangax̂. Shangin is Sugpiaq.
