Initial method of providing the history of our people came in the form of verbal exchange between family members or another neighboring tribe and a memory that was shared from generation to generation.

One group of pre-western people that first “met” the western culture were called the Unalit.  This group was mainly a Yupik speaking group and lived in the southern section of the Unalakleet River.  Other groups of people were the Malimiut, and Qawiaraqmiut.

Unalakleet is located on Norton Sound and is part of the Bering Sea ecosystem. It is known as the “place where the east wind blows” and means “the most southerly point” in the Inupiaq language. The community lies between three historical and ethnic territories: Inupiaq Eskimos in the north, Yupik Eskimos just south of the river, and the Athabaskan Indian to the east. Unalakleet is located between such diverse peoples and has served as a major trade center between the Athabaskan Indians and the Eskimo peoples.  (Interestingly, the Russian Siberian Yupiks in the westernly side of the Bering Sea has a place meaning “Where the Eastwind blows to.")