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3.4.8.wavThe Russians classified Alaska Natives into three classes: dependent, not wholly independent, and independent tribes. Dependent Natives were the Aleut and Alutiiq. These groups had been defeated during the initial Russian expansion and were completely under Russian control.
Dependent Natives were free of taxes and military service (two things required of Russians). However, each year, half of the dependent Native males between 18 and 50 could be required to hunt furs. Furs taken could be sold only to the Russian-American Company. When not on business for the company, dependent Natives could not leave the vicinity of their villages or traditional fishing grounds without permission from company officials.
Partially independent groups were principally peoples of the southcentral coast, such as the Dena'ina Athabaskan, Prince William Sound Alutiiq, and Eyak. Russians asserted some control over areas by maintaining forts among them. These groups had extensive contact and influence with Russians but retained some independence.
The independent tribes were groups Russians had no control over. These included peoples such as the Inupiaq and interior Athabaskans at the edge of Russian influence. These tribes occasionally engaged in trade, but there was little to no Russian presence in their area. The junction of the Tanana and Yukon rivers, near present-day Tanana, was the farthest upriver point reached by Russian fur traders.
The Tlingit were also considered independent. They had sufficient military power to limit Russian advancement beyond Sitka and maintained control over most of their territory. The Tlingit traded extensively with the Russians. In addition to furs, they also traded the one thing Russians needed even more: food.
The Russians introduced the potato, which grows well in the damp climate of the Southeast, to the Tlingits. Soon, Tligits began farming it extensively and selling hundreds of barrels of potatoes to the Russians yearly. Tlingits also provided Sitka with a variety of local fish and game, such as blacktail deer, salmon, halibut, shellfish, and wildfowl.
The Tlingit trade became an essential source of food for Sitka and a lucrative trade for the Tlingit. However, the relationship was an uneasy one, as the Tlingit never accepted the Russian incursion into their lands. They continued to threaten the Russian hold in the region, attacking Sitka numerous times.
1818 drawing of Sitka Tlingit chief
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