Venetie
Venetie
is located on the north side of the Chandalar River, 45 miles northwest
of Fort Yukon. It lies at approximately 67° 01' N Latitude, 146° 25' W
Longitude (Sec. 10, T025N, R006E, Fairbanks Meridian). The community is
located in the Fairbanks Recording District. The area encompasses 13 sq.
miles of land and 1 sq. miles of water.
Known to early explorers as Old
Robert's Village or Chandalar Village, Venetie was founded in 1895 by a
man named Old Robert who chose Venetie because of its plentiful fish and
game. In 1899, the U.S. Geological Survey noted about 50 Natives living
on the Chandalar, some in small settlements of cabins about 7 miles
above the mouth of the River, but most in the mountainous part of the
country beyond the Yukon Flats. He noted that the Natives spent only the
coldest winter months in cabins and the remainder of the year traveling
for various food sources. In 1905, Venetie was a settlement of a half a
dozen cabins and 25 or 30 residents. The gold rush to the Chandalar
region in 1906-07 brought a large number of miners. A mining camp of
nearly 40 cabins and attendant services was established at Caro upriver
from Venetie, and another store was located near the mouth of the East
Fork. By 1910, the Chandalar was largely played out and Caro almost
completely abandoned.
In 1943, the Venetie Indian Reservation
was established, due to the combined efforts of the residents of Venetie,
Arctic Village, Christian Village and Robert's Fish Camp, who worked
together to protect their land for subsistence use. At about this same
time, a school was established at Venetie, encouraging additional
families to settle in the village. Eventually an airstrip, post office
and store were built. During the 1950s and 60s, the use of seasonal
camps declined, but the advent of the snowmachine enabled Venetie
residents to renew use of areas which had traditionally been occupied
seasonally. When the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) was
passed in 1971, Venetie and Arctic Village opted for title to the 1.8
million acres of land in the former Reservation, which they own as
tenants in common through the Native Village of Venetie Tribal
Government.
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