Guide to the Nikefor Alexan stories
1938, circa 1957
Collection number: HMC-0039.
Creator: Alexan, Nikefor.
Title: Nikefor Alexan stories.
Dates: 1938, circa 1957.
Volume of collection: 0.01 cubic feet.
Language of materials: Collection materials are in English.
Collection summary: Transcribed stories related by a well-known Alaska Native story teller.
Biographical note: Nikefor Alexan was born in Tyonek, Alaska in 1900. He was one of the leaders of the village and served as a lay priest in the Russian Orthodox Church. Alexan was an accomplished story teller.
Collection description:
The collection contains thirteen typed stories by Nikefor Alexan on the history and folklore of the Native peoples of the village of Tyonek and the Cook Inlet/Knik Region of Alaska. The stories contain information on marriage, relations with the Russians, child raising, Tyonek chiefs, gathering and preparation of native foods, religion, hunting, warfare, trade, and other subjects. There is also a black and white photograph of Simeon Chickalusian, Sixth Chief and Governor of Tyonek, with his wife, dated 1938.
Arrangement: Collection materials are not arranged in any discernable order.
Digitized copies: Some items in the collection have been digitized but are not available online. For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact Archives and Special Collections.
Rights note: Copyright to the materials in this collection is not held by the Archives. Rights for publication of these materials will not be provided.
Preferred citation: Nikefor Alexan stories, Archives and Special Collections, Consortium Library, University of Alaska Anchorage.
Acquisition note: The collection was transferred to the Archives from the Alaska Health Sciences Library in 1989.
Processing information: This collection was described by Carolyn Bowers in 2003. The collection guide was reformatted to current standard by Gwen Sieja in 2014.
Item list:
| Item | Description | Date |
| 1 | “History of Tyonek” | circa 1957 |
| 2 | “Russian Settlement Where Knik People Made Their First Mistake” | circa 1957 |
| 3 | “Second Tyonek Chief Story, From Hkokuz” | circa 1957 |
| 4 | “Story of Third Tyonek Chief” | circa 1957 |
| 5 | “Fourth Chief of Tyonek” | circa 1957 |
| 6 | “Fifth Chief of Tyonek, True Story” | circa 1957 |
| 7 | “Sixth Chief and Governor of Tyonek, Alaska,” | circa 1957 |
| 8 | “Story About How to Raise Children” | circa 1957 |
| 9 | “Story About Another Young Man” | circa 1957 |
| 10 | “Story of Two Sister” | circa 1957 |
| 11 | “Story About How to Be A Good Man” | circa 1957 |
| 12 | “Story of Lady Married to Animal Man” | circa 1957 |
| 13 | “Story of Food Old People Used To Eat” | circa 1957 |
| 14 | Photograph depicting Simeon Chickalusian, Sixth Chief and Governor of Tyonek, and his wife | 1938 |