Nuchek (Núciq, ) is an abandoned village in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. It is located on

Hinchinbrook Island Hinchinbrook Island (or Pouandai to the Biyaygiri people) is an island in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It lies east of Cardwell, Queensland, Cardwell and north of Lucinda, Queensland, Lucinda, separated from the north-eas ...

at Port Etches bay,

Prince William Sound Prince William Sound ( Sugpiaq: ''Suungaaciq'') is a sound off the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula. Its largest port is Valdez, at the southern terminus of the ...

. It is situated approximately to the west of the mouth of

Copper River Copper River may refer to several places: *Copper River (Alaska), in the United States * Copper River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Skeena River The Skeena River is the second-longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada (afte ...

and west of Sitka.

History

The village was located by

James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...

in 1776–79 and was later used by the

Alaska Commercial Company Alaska Commercial Company (ACC) is a grocery and retail company which operates stores in rural Alaska, beginning in the early period of Alaska's ownership by the United States into the present. From 1901 to 1992, it was known as the Northern Comm ...

as a trading station. In 1928, after the death of Nuchek's last chief, the

Alutiiq The Alutiiq (pronounced in English; from Promyshlenniki Russian Алеутъ, "Aleut"; plural often "Alutiit"), also called by their ancestral name ( or ; plural often "Sugpiat"), as well as Pacific Eskimo or Pacific Yupik, are a Yupik ...

people left the village.

Demographics

Nuchek first appeared on the 1880 U.S. Census as an unincorporated village. It reported 74 residents, of which 60 were Inuit, 11 were Creole (Mixed Russian & Native) and 3 Whites. In 1890, it reported 145 residents, of which 120 were Native, 18 were Creole and 7 Whites. It last reported on the 1900 census, but provided no racial breakdown. It has not reported since.

References

Former populated places in Alaska Populated places in Chugach Census Area, Alaska {{ChugachAK-geo-stub