Village Life

Welcome to the Old Village of Ninilchik (Нинильчик), an Alaska Native Village under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. The Alaska Native people of Ninilchik have Aleut and Alutiiq (Sugpiaq) descent and some Dena’ina. Many settlers of Russian ancestry moved here with their Alutiiq wives and children in 1847. Due to the community’s isolation, this Russian dialect continued much in its mid-19th century form, with some surviving speakers into the 21st century.

Before the arrival of Europeans in Alaska, Ninilchik was a Dena’ina Athabaskan lodging area used to hunt and fish. The name Ninilchik probably derives from Niqnilchint, a Deni’ana Athabaskan word meaning “lodge is built place.” The first Europeans who permanently settled in the village were Russian colonists who moved there from Kodiak Island in 1847, two decades before the Alaska Purchase in 1867 by the United States.

Their dialect of Russian as spoken in the mid-1800s (plus a few words borrowed from Alaska Native languages) became Ninilchik’s primary language. It survived in that form long past the 1867 Alaska Purchase. A few speakers of the Ninilchik Russian dialect were still alive in 2013. Russian and American linguists are documenting and cataloging this isolated dialect.

Today, The Old Russian Village in Ninilchik is an excellent gateway for fishermen and exploerers, offering recreational opportunities and natural beauty on the Kenai Peninsula. There is plenty to love here, starting with some of Alaska’s Best Salmon & Halibut fishing, stunning scenery, and old village charm of one of the Kenai Peninsula’s oldest communities.