VILLAGE HISTORY

The Chenega fishing village, founded in the late 1700s, was the longest occupied  village in Prince William Sound at the time of the March 27, 1964 earthquake. Soon after the earthquake, a tsunami destroyed the village and killed over a third of the residents. The survivors were resettled in the villages throughout Prince William Sound.

Under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), the original residents of Chenega Bay received title to approximately 70,000 acres in western Prince William Sound, re-established the village of Chenega, and Chenega Corporation was formed.

Perhaps the most difficult period in the history of the Chenega people occurred in more recent times. The island village was destroyed by a tsunami created by the Good Friday earthquake of 1964. Centuries of history were washed away, along with the Chenega village. The loss of life was catastrophic. One third of the people perished. With the village gone, the Chenega people dispersed to other parts of Alaska and beyond.

For twenty years, the tides of Prince William Sound came and went without seeing a new home for the Chenega people. In 1984, however, a group of Villagers established the village of Chenega Bay on Evans Island.

On March 24, 1989 the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill occurred, spilling 11 million gallons of crude oil in the water of Prince William Sound. Chenega Corporation chose to participate in the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustees Council Program, where large blocks of land harmed by the spill could be sold.

In 1997, Chenega sold a portion of its land to the United States Forest Service and the State of Alaska, the “Habitat Transaction”, for $34,000,000. With this, the corporation developed its strategic plan, a part of which included business development in federal government contracting.