Quinhagak, or Kwinhagak, is a Central Yup’ik community on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta near the mouth of the Kanektok River, about 73 miles (118 km) south of Bethel and 45 miles (72 km) north of Goodnews Bay, Alaska. The name is anglicized from the Yup’ik “Kuinerraq,” meaning “new river channel.” The Kanektok rises from tributary streams in the Ahklun Mountains, with headwaters near 2,300 feet (701 m), and flows generally northwest to Kagati Lake at 1,059 feet (323 m). It then runs westward for 75 miles (121 km), draining a watershed of 481,280 acres (194,767 ha) to the eastern shore of Kuskokwim Bay at Quinhagak. The delta consists mostly of tundra covered in marshes, lakes, bogs, and streams during the warm months, and in winter it is dominated by ice and snow drifts. Permafrost lies below 10 to 35 inches (25 to 90 cm), so trees cannot grow. Bare, sometimes rocky ground supports only dwarf shrubs, sedges, grasses, mosses, and lichens. The permafrost holds large stores of methane and carbon dioxide, making the tundra a carbon sink while it stays frozen.

The archaeological record indicates that the Kanektok River mouth has been inhabited for at least 1,000 years. In 1826, Gavril Sarychev of the Imperial Russian Navy may have been the first European to contact the villagers. Later, Russian-American Company traders exploring southwestern Alaska met Yup’ik people who described internecine violence and revenge later called the Bow and Arrow Wars. Oral histories recorded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs after the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act corroborate burned homes, murdered families, and communities forced to flee. Since 2009, archaeologists at the Nunalleq archaeological site near Quinhagak have unearthed human remains and tens of thousands of artifacts, including remarkably preserved weapons, tools, and artwork, offering hard evidence of prehistoric warfare. In 1884, Moravian missionaries landed and built a mission in 1893 , a school was first taught in November 1903, and a mission store opened in 1904. In 1906, a herd of 1,600 reindeer was brought to graze over the summer, and 600 more arrived in 1909 to start a herd. In 1929, 6,000 reindeer were branded by the native-owned Kuskokwim Reindeer Company, but by 1940 most of the herds had dispersed.

Until 2016, the village supported a commercial salmon fishery, but today most households rely on subsistence hunting and gathering, supplemented by seasonal wage work. Air service provides passenger, mail, and cargo transport. The village owns and maintains a gravel airstrip, and floatplanes land on the Kanektok River. A harbor and dock receive barge deliveries of heavy goods at least twice a year. Small boats with outboard engines, all-terrain vehicles, and snowmachines serve local transportation, and winter trails to Eek and Goodnews Bay are maintained and marked. Quinhagak has lost considerable infrastructure and cultural resources to shoreline erosion, mostly from storm surges in Kuskokwim Bay. Riverbank erosion also occurs, especially during spring breakup, when ice jams cause flooding that thaws permafrost. A 2012 state report listed the sewer lagoon and multipurpose building as top priorities for replacement or repair. Erosion now threatens the airstrip, water treatment plant, and sewer system, a public health risk with an estimated replacement cost of $15 million. Read more here and here. Explore more of Quinhagak and Kanektok River here: