Alaska Historical Society

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Alaska Historical Society Official page for the Alaska Historical Society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion of Alaska history.

The Alaska Historical Society is a volunteer-based, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of Alaska history by the exchange of ideas and information, the preservation and interpretation of resources, and the education of Alaskans about their heritage. Governed by a 15-member board of directors, the Society provides a forum and a vehicle to achieve these goals. AHS is a membership organization with 480+ members. Each year the Alaska Historical Society holds its annual meeting in different cities around the state and presents a public conference on selected topics in Alaskan history. These meetings give members a chance to share the latest research into Alaska history, as well as swap stories about the old days. Papers presented at the society’s annual meeting have dealt with a wide variety of topics as they relate to Alaska, such as the church, oral history, education, transportation, women, the military, the fishing industry, maritime history, aviation and many more. The Society also publishes an award-winning semi-annual journal of historical scholarship: Alaska History, which is free to members and available for subscription or purchase. Its articles cover every facet of Alaska’s fascinating history, from mining to education, from exploration to biography. The book review and Alaskana sections keep readers apprised of publications and activities of interest. "Alaska History News" is published four times a year and is distributed free to members. This newsletter informs readers of events, new publications, local historical society activities, governmental policies affecting history programming, and provides information on new resources available for the researcher or local society.

On Friday and Saturday, the Alaska Historical Society Conference was full of presentations on topics like baseball in Al...
10/14/2026

On Friday and Saturday, the Alaska Historical Society Conference was full of presentations on topics like baseball in Alaska's history, boarding schools, scrimshaw on mastodon tusks, birthright citizenship, ANCSA, Latin cultural spaces in Anchorage, and more. Plus, we had our Annual Meeting where we voted for the Society to take on two advocacy projects, voted in board members including new board member and UAA student Zachary Dailey-Payne, and reported on Alaska History Day and the fundraising progress and leadership transition we look forward to for this school year for Alaska's students.

10/12/2026

“You’ve probably heard the saying we walk in two worlds - and I used to be in that thinking. However, it is THE world we’re walking in today. There are no other two ways about it!”

Today is Indigenous People’s Day. Sharing Indigenous histories is part of our mission to share Alaska history. This weekend, we had the honor of hearing from longtime educator and culture bearer Pausauraq Jana Harcharek about the Iñupiaq Learning Framework and how the collaborative group of people developing it integrated cultural values into North Slope Borough School District learning.

Knowledge systems are vital in maintaining cultural integrity as they encompass the frameworks through which communities understand and interpret their experiences, values and traditions. The development of the Iñupiaq Learning Framework was an act of self-determination in education that safeguards cultural integrity, nurtures a sense of community and centers Iñupiaq ideologies.

In the coming weeks, you’ll be able to listen to Pausaurek Jana Harcharek’s full talk on our website.

On Friday, Sam Mihara joined us as our first keynote. In 1942, when Sam Mihara was 9 years old, Japan attacked Pearl Har...
10/11/2026

On Friday, Sam Mihara joined us as our first keynote. In 1942, when Sam Mihara was 9 years old, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and the United States entered World War II. Shortly after, he and his family were forced from their San Francisco home by armed military guards and sent to the Heart Mountain prison camp in Wyoming. The government removed all people of Japanese ancestry and placed them into desolate prison camps under Executive Order 9066 signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Mihara’s family would live crowded into a single 20-by-20-foot room for the next three years.

Mihara discussed the racial hysteria ramped up by the media, the steps the U.S. government took to remove Japanese-Americans from their homes, legal cases brought by Japanese-American individuals against the government, interactions with people who lived adjacent to the camp, the requirement that residents sign a loyalty affidavit and serve in the military during the war, and the difficult years of reintegration into society after the war. He also made a point of challenging the audience to ensure that similar policies are never again enacted in this country.

His talk led to great discussion and meaningful questions among audience members, and the recording will be available in the coming weeks.

Thank you for an amazing first day of conference yesterday! Incredible presentations and tribute to Steve Haycox. What a...
10/10/2026

Thank you for an amazing first day of conference yesterday! Incredible presentations and tribute to Steve Haycox. What a wonderful turnout to learn about Alaska history.

Thank you to those who attended our Wednesday opening reception at the Porcupine Theater! It was a lovely evening where ...
10/09/2026

Thank you to those who attended our Wednesday opening reception at the Porcupine Theater! It was a lovely evening where we were welcomed to Homer by Representative Sarah Vance, Mayor Rachel Lord, and Director of the Kachemak Bay Campus Brian Partridge.

Thank you for the warm welcome, Homer.

10/09/2026

Phil Wight in his Festschrift presentation on “Myths and Materialism: Alaska’s Energetic Past and Fractious Future”. The Festschrift sessions all represent chapters of a book that will debut in the next few years honoring the work of Steve Haycox. The full recordings of each session will be available on our website within the month.

10/09/2026

Thank you to all those who joined us today for day 1 of the Alaska Historical Society Conference! Our session and Festschrift for Steve Haycox presenters were incredible and thought-provoking and our attendees engaged with the content and brought their own perspectives to it. A jam-packed day of historical learning.

Day 2 starts off tomorrow with a keynote about Japanese internment camps by Sam Mihara. See you at the Kenai Peninsula Campus and online!

The invasive brown rat has continuously occupied Alaskan territory for about 250 years. Like raccoons and coyotes, Rattu...
10/07/2026

The invasive brown rat has continuously occupied Alaskan territory for about 250 years. Like raccoons and coyotes, Rattus norvegicus is a synanthropic species: wherever humans go, it goes. This enterprising rodent has thus gnawed, chewed, and burrowed its way across North Pacific and Alaska history, from the Russian fur trade to the Battle of Attu to eradication campaigns by the Fish and Wildlife Service.

During the Alaska Historical Society's 2026 conference, held Oct. 7–10 in Homer and online, Christopher Setzer will trace the brown rat's footprints in Alaska from the eighteenth century to the present. Join us at the conference to learn more (virtual attendees welcome!): https://alaskahistoricalsociety.org/conference

Photos:
1) "Rat Free Island" sign on Saint Paul in the Pribilof Islands. Preventing rat infestation from incoming ships has become a critical priority for vulnerable island ecosystems like the Pribilofs. Source: US Fish and Wildlife Service.

2) Woodblock print illustrating rats feasting on a fish and a bag of grain, by the Japanese artist Isoda Koryusai (circa 1765–80). A recurring motif in eighteenth-century Japanese art depicted rats with bags of rice and other goods suggesting prosperity. Source: Harvard Art Museums.

3) Rat Harbor, Amchitka (1950), where an Air Force dump attracted a growing infestation of rats after World War II. Among the war's consequences in Alaska was the introduction of invasive brown rats to several new islands. Source: US Fish and Wildlife Service.

What are this year's stops on the Historic Bar Tour? This one feels like a giveaway! But there are two other bars we're ...
10/06/2026

What are this year's stops on the Historic Bar Tour? This one feels like a giveaway! But there are two other bars we're planning on visiting with expert Doug Vandegraft - can you guess them?

Don't miss the fun, save your energy for Friday at 9 p.m.!

Photo: AMRC. Wien Collection. Title taken from sign on building. View of Salty Dawg Saloon on Homer Spit in Homer, Alaska, with car parked in front at left and truck parked at right. Photographer: Frank Whaley. Original photograph size: 8" x 10".

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Anchorage, AK
99510

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+19076151255

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