Russian Colonization of Alaska: Transformation from Siberian Shamanism to Orthodox Christianity

Christian Orthodox priest on the Russification Mission of Alaska (Images may be subject to copyright)

Through history, Alaska endured a century of colonization, forced assimilation, disease, and discrimination. However, the battle between ancient tradition and modernization took the hardest hit in the sphere of religious practices of the Yupik and Inuit tribes.

The special connection between the native Alaskan tribes with the land and wildlife around them encouraged the religious connection of Shamanism. Before outside influences merged into the indigenous lands, Shamanism shaped the traditional customs and perspectives of the native Alaskan population for thousands of years. Shamanism connected the people to an exhilarating beyond; the world was viewed through a lense of movement between physical, spiritual, and temporal dimensions. This spiritual belief system became a large part of the ancient history of the people of Alaska, energizing the language, art, and culture in a positive direction. It is believed that the strength of Shamanistic rituals was so powerful that one of the shamans predicted that white men would come across the sea and bring significant changes.

The white men across the sea were the Russian colonists that came in 1784, and the significant changes were the transformations of religious practices of the Alaskan natives. With the Russian colonization of Alaska, the primary goal was to convert the Native population to Orthodox Christianity as part of the Russification mission. The Russian priests succeeded in Christianizing the natives despite the cultural and linguistic barriers. The purpose of forcing religious pressures was in the interest of monopolizing fur trade in the Arctic lands because with a similarity of religious beliefs, it was easier to influence and exploit the populations.

The dissimilarity between the Russian and Alaskan languages was the most pervasive barrier faced in the process of Russification of Alaska. To overcome the obstacle, the Russian missionaries translated the scripts and liturgical hymns into the indigenous languages (Aleut, Alutiiq, Tlingit, and Yup’ik) in order to ease the process of assimilation.

To this day, the deeply-rooted presence of Christian Orthodoxy can be traced back to the Russian colonization of Alaska. The vast majority of the Yupik descendants continue to maintain the Orthodox religion to this day. Although Shamanism shaped the ancient traditions of the indigenous people, the prominence of Orthodox Christianity in the native society is one of the most striking effects on colonization in all of the world’s history. While Shamanism is no longer widely practiced in Alaska, it does continue to shape the worldview of many of the native Alaskan tribes.

Even though Alaska is no longer under Russian control, the Orthodox Christian faith persists despite the influences of the United States upon the historic Alaska purchase. Christian Orthodoxy is not considered a common religious branch in the American society, yet Alaska embodies the spirit of the historical phenomenon of mass Orthodox Christianization.