Editing Akutan, Alaska (section)

==History and culture==

Akutan began in 1878 as a fur storage and trading port for the Western Fur & Trading Company. The company's agent established a commercial cod fishing and processing business that quickly attracted nearby [[Unangan]] to the community. A [[Russian Orthodox]] church and a school were built in 1878, but was replaced by the [[St. Alexander Nevsky Chapel]], built in 1918.

The Pacific Whaling Company built a whale processing station across the bay from Akutan in 1912. It was the only whaling station in the Aleutians, and operated until 1939.

[[File:St. Alexander Nevsky Chapel.JPG|thumb|left|upright=1.1|[[St. Alexander Nevsky Chapel]]]]
After the Japanese attacked Unalaska in June 1942, the U.S. government evacuated Akutan residents to the Ketchikan area. In June 1942, a Japanese [[A6M Zero]] fighter piloted by Tadayoshi Koga crashed on Akutan Island. It was recovered in July by the United States Army Air Force. This plane, dubbed the [[Akutan Zero]], significantly aided American tacticians in devising [[dog fighting]] techniques to defeat the Zero, and helped change the course of the war.

The village was re-established in 1944, although many villagers chose not to return. This exposure to the outside world brought many changes to the traditional lifestyle and attitudes of the community. The city was incorporated in 1979.

A federally recognized tribe is located in the community—the [[Native Village of Akutan]]. The population of the community consists of 16.4% Alaska Native or part Native. Akutan is a fishing community, and is the site of a traditional Unangan village. Approximately 75 persons are year-round residents; the majority of the population are transient [[fish processing]] workers that live in group quarters.

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File:Whaling station showing buildings and harbor, Akutan, Alaska, ca 1915 (COBB 79).jpeg|Whaling station along the harbor at Akutan ca. 1915
File:American Pacific Sea Products Co's whaler UNIMAK, Akutan Harbor, Alaska, 1914 (COBB 46).jpeg|Whaler ''Unimak'' in Akutan Harbor, 1914. An American Pacific Sea Products Co. vessel
File:Group of men standing with dead whale, American Pacific Sea Products Co, Akutan Harbor, Alaska, 1914 (COBB 43).jpeg|Men standing by dead whale at Akutan Harbor whaling station, 1914
File:Flensing whales at a whaling station, Akutan, Alaska, ca 1915 (COBB 75).jpeg|[[Flensing]] whales at Akutan, ca. 1915
</gallery>