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the shores of Nuchek Island, approximately twenty minutes by air
from Cordova, within the Prince William Sound, children and elders
of the Chugach people spend time together to relive their heritage.
The camp is designed to raise awareness of the origin and history
of the people in the Prince William Sound and to heighten awareness
of their history and culture. Activities include gathering and preparing
subsistence foods, language lessons, woodcarving, beading, traditional
singing and dancing. Storytelling with Elders provides important
lessons in culture, history and learning the values of the Chugach
community. Currently, Nuuciq Spirit Camp 2008 is at full capacity. We are grateful that we have so many that want to learn or continue to practice and share their traditions/culture of the Chugach Region. We
are expecting to have Nuuciq Spirit Camp 2009 applications available
in January 2009. If you have any questions regarding this, please
contact: The old village of Nuuciq is located on a 800-acre island at the entrance to Prince William Sound. In the late 1790’s, the Russians came to this area and built a fortress and trading center that served all of south central Alaska. This center was called Fort Saint Constantine and Helen. At one time, this area was claimed by many nations. The Russians claimed this area by burying a bronze plate with a double-headed eagle. The Spaniards claimed this area by erecting a large cross. The English buried a wine bottle with coins and the Americans hosted a flag. Now Nuchek is owned and controlled by the original landlords – the Chugach People. Nuuciq is once again coming alive and emerging out of the history books as a location of beauty, history, and cultural pride. For the last six years, the Nuuciq Spirit camp has brought together the young and old in celebration of our thousands of years of occupation as the original settlers of this great land. The younger generation is coming from every community within our region to learn from the past and to enjoy the new friendship they have made. In
recent years Nuuciq has grown with leaps and bounds. Our ancestors
would have been proud to see a village grow out of the ruins of
the past with such a great opportunity for the future generations.
"In Chenega Bay, the Aleut language is almost extinct. There's just a handful of elders that can speak it fluently. What I would like to see is our kids do here is learn the language." Larry Evanoff "Nuuciq
spirit camp has brought a lot of pride back to the Elders. You can
see it in their face out there, it just livens them up. Makes them
feel good to see someone wanting to participate, wanting to learn
what they know." Larry Evanoff.
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Nuchek Island is located on the south west side of Hinchinbrook Island in Prince William Sound