Kijik, human settlement in Alaska, United States of America
Kijik, or Qizhjeh in Dena'ina, is an abandoned Athabascan village on the shore of Lake Clark in the Alaska Range, within Lake Clark National Park and Preserve. A 1966 excavation exposed twelve foundations of log houses and two larger structures that appear to have been communal buildings. Many house timbers were moved to Old Nondalton when residents left.
Kijik was a Dena'ina Athabascan village on the shore of Lake Clark, recorded with 91 residents in the 1880 U.S. Census and down to about 25 by 1904. A 1909 survey expedition found it abandoned; Dena'ina elders in Nondalton later explained that residents moved to Old Nondalton in the early 20th century, probably to be nearer the trading posts and canneries of Bristol Bay. Twelve acres were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, and a wider district became a National Historic Landmark District in 1994.
Kijik reveals how the Dena'ina people organized their community and used the surrounding environment. The remains of houses, steam baths, and communal buildings show how closely their daily life was tied to fishing, hunting, and the changing seasons.
Kijik lies on the shore of Lake Clark inside Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, at about 77 m elevation, and is reached only by boat or floatplane; the park's backcountry rules apply. The 1909 survey expedition found the village already abandoned, and the log house foundations excavated in 1966 are fragile. Plan for the weather and terrain of the Alaska Range and leave the remains undisturbed.
In 1966 archaeologists excavated twelve log-house foundations and two larger communal structures at the historic village; many houses had apparently been moved to Old Nondalton when residents left. Twelve acres were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, and a wider area became a National Historic Landmark District in 1994 for its concentration of inland Dena'ina sites.
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