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Napakiak
Napakiak is on the north bank of the
Kuskokwim River, 15 miles southwest of Bethel. It is located on a
sandbar between the Kuskokwim River and Johnson's Slough. It lies 407
miles west of Anchorage. It lies at approximately 60° 41' N Latitude,
162° 07' W Longitude (Sec. 17, T007N, R072W, Seward Meridian). The
community is located in the Bethel Recording District. The area
encompasses 7 sq. miles of land and 0 sq. miles of water.
 Yup'ik
Eskimos have lived in this region since 1,000 A.D. The village was first
reported in 1878 by E.W. Nelson, although it was downriver, at the mouth
of the Johnson River. In 1884, Moravian explorers mention Napakiak as
being close to Napaskiak, which suggests that the new village site may
have been occupied by that time. By 1910, the village had a population
of 166. In 1926, the Moravian Church had a lay worker in the village who
began constructing a chapel; funds were raised for construction by the
Ohio Moravian Association. It took three years to complete the work, and
in August 1929, people came from many villages in the area to attend the
dedication ceremony. In 1939, a BIA school began operating, and in 1946
a Native-owned village cooperative store was opened. A post office was
established in 1951. The National Guard Armory was built in 1960, and
the first airstrip was completed in 1973. The City's primary priority at
this time is to relocate all public facilities and homes to a bluff
across Johnson's Slough. The sandbar on which the City was built is
severely eroding.
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