Awa'uq Massacre facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Awa'uq Massacre |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Russian colonization of the Americas and the American Indian Wars | |||
Grigory Shelikhov's settlement is depicted in this 1802 lithograph. Three Saints was founded in 1784 just across the strait from Sitkalidak Island.
|
|||
| Date | 14 August 1784 | ||
| Location |
Sitkalidak Island, Alaska, Russian America
57°06′22″N 153°05′00″W / 57.10604°N 153.0832814°W |
||
| Parties to the civil conflict | |||
|
|||
| Lead figures | |||
|
|||
| Number | |||
|
|||
| Casualties | |||
|
|||
The Awa'uq Massacre, also known as the Refuge Rock Massacre, was a terrible attack that happened in April 1784. It took place near Kodiak Island in Alaska. Russian fur traders, led by Grigory Shelikhov, attacked the Koniag Alutiiq (Sugpiaq) people.
Some people call this event the "Wounded Knee of Alaska." It was a sad part of the Russian colonization of the Americas.
What Happened at Awa'uq
In 1775, Grigory Shelikhov started trading with Native people in the Kuril and Aleutian islands. These islands are now part of Alaska. In April 1784, Shelikhov came back to set up a new settlement. He wanted to build it on Kodiak Island and the nearby mainland.
The local people, the Alutiiq, did not want the Russians there. They tried to fight back. Many of them fled to a small, hidden island called Refuge Rock. In the Alutiiq language, this island is called Awa'uq, which means 'where one becomes numb'. This island was across from Old Harbor in the Kodiak Archipelago.
Shelikhov had 130 armed Russian men, including people who used cannons. They attacked the Alutiiq people who were hiding on Refuge Rock. The Russians used guns and cannons. They killed many men, women, and children.
Historians believe that between 200 and 500 people were killed on Refuge Rock. Some reports say the number was much higher, possibly as many as 2,000 or even 3,000 people. The Russians, however, did not lose any of their own men.
After the attack, Shelikhov said he had captured over 1,000 people. He held about 400 of them as hostages, including children. This violence and the taking of hostages made the Alutiiq people completely controlled by the Russian traders.
One of the hostages was a child named Qaspeq. He was taken from Kodiak and raised by the Russians. He learned Russian and later became an interpreter for them. He helped the Russians talk to the Alutiiq people.
Many years later, in the 1800s, an old Sugpiaq man named Arsenti Aminak shared his memories of the massacre. He told his story to Henrik Johan Holmberg. Holmberg was a Finnish naturalist and ethnographer who was collecting information for the Russian governor of Alaska.
Life After the Massacre
The years from 1784 to 1818 were very hard for the Sugpiaq people. They were treated badly by the Russians. Many also got sick from diseases that the Russians brought with them. The Sugpiaq people had no protection against these new illnesses.
In 1818, the way the Russian-American Company was run changed. This company was in charge of Russian activities in North America. In 1827, a tax called yasak (ясак), which was paid in furs, was officially stopped by Catherine the Great.
Images for kids
-
Grigory Shelikhov's settlement in 1802. Three Saints was founded in 1784.
ru:Алутиик#.D0.A0.D0.B5.D0.B7.D0.BD.D1.8F .D0.B2 .D0.90.D0.B2.D0.B0.D1.83.D0.BA.D0.B5
See also
In Spanish: Masacre de Awa'uq para niños
