Doc Meister - Sub-region

for Chignik Bay Community Plan

Sub-region (ID: 1303)

The Chignik Area is an extremely remote region, located on the Alaska Peninsula, consisting of three Alaska Native villages: Chignik (a.k.a. Chignik Bay), Chignik Lake, and Chignik Lagoon, with a combined year-round population of approximately 300 people, and a significant transient, non-Native population in Chignik Bay as a result of the several hundred workers that come to Chignik to work in the canneries. The area is blessed with rich and abundant natural resources, so abundant that when the tide goes out, “the grocery store is open,” as the locals say.

“The Chigniks,” are located on the southern side of the Alaska Peninsula 450 miles southwest of Anchorage and 260 miles southwest of Kodiak. They are characterized by a maritime climate with cool summers and warm, rainy winters. In the late 1700’s a village called “Kalwak” predated modern day Chignik but was destroyed during the Russian fur trade. Subsequently, Chignik was established in the late 1800’s as a fishing village and cannery. 60.8% of the village is of Alutiiq descent.