This week, Unalaska lost one of its most senior elders.

Nicholas Galaktionoff was called an “Unangan treasure” by Aleutian scholars, a great fisherman by his friends, and a good man by his family. He was born in Makushin village in 1925, where his grandmother cared for him. When he was about five years old, he went out on his father’s baidarki for the first time, an experience he would later describe as some of the most fun he ever had. Galaktionoff learned how to fish when he was eight, and caught plenty of halibut and salmon from Unalaska’s waters even in his old age. At age 13, when World War II hit the Aleutian Islands, Galaktionoff was evacuated from Makushin village by the Coast Guard.

The village was ultimately abandoned, but Galaktionoff kept the memory of the place alive in interviews like this one, with former Unalaska teacher Ray Hudson.

Galaktionoff: Makushin, that’s a good place for young kids. On the sand. Because Makushin face south, sunshine hit ‘em everyday. But lot of grass right in the front. Grass tall enough to play under. [AUDIO CLIP ABOVE]

After World War II, Galaktionoff resettled in Biorka village on Sedanka Island. Later in life, he served as an aide to linguist Knut Bergsland and to historian Lydia Black. Galaktionoff worked with them to preserve Unangan language, culture, and geographical knowledge. According to Black, Galaktionoff was the “sole surviving authority on ancient whaling lore” in the Aleutians, and he carried knowledge of Beaver Inlet that spanned six generations.

Moses Dirks, a resident of Atka who taught in Unalaska, knew Galaktionoff for about 30 years. He has fond memories of studying the Unangan language with Galaktionoff, and adds that Galaktionoff placed a great value on keeping up traditions he learned in Makushin, even after moving to the larger community of Unalaska.

“He also loved to eat his subsistence foods like seal and seal lion,” says Dirks. “So, whenever my brother and I went out hunting and got something, then we would share it with him.”

Dirks also describes Galaktionoff as “an absolute scholar” with a wry sense of humor, and says that he was a man whose life impacted many.

“It’s truly a big loss -- a great loss -- to the Unangan people, not only in Unalaska but in the chain area, too,” says Dirks. “Each time we lose an elder, it means more than a chapter is lost.”

Galaktionoff passed away in his home on Monday.

To learn more about Nick Galaktionoff’s early life, you can read an oral history he conducted with Moses Dirks here.