Mekoryuk Covenant Church - Pastor Nathan Hanna
Brief History
Mekoryuk is at the mouth of Shoal Bay on the north shore of Nunivak Island in the Bering Sea. The Island lies 30 miles off the coast. It is 149 air miles west of Bethel and 553 miles west of Anchorage. Mekoryuk is part of the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge. It lies at approximately 60 degrees 23' N Latitude, 166 degrees 11' W Longitude (Sec. 31, T004N, R097W, Seward Mereidan). The community is located in the Cape Nome Recording District. The area encompasses 7 sq. miles of land and 0 sq. miles of water.
Nunivak Island has been inhabited for 2,000 years by the Nunjwarmiut people, or Cup'ik (Choop'ik) Eskimos. The first outside contact was in 1821 by the Russian American Company, who recorded 400 people living in 16 villages on the Island. A summer camp called "Koot" was noted at the current site of Mekoryuk in 1874. In 1891, Ivan Petroff found 702 Eskimos in 9 villages, including 117 people at "Koot". An epidemic in 1900 decimated the population, leaving only four surviving families in the village. In the 1930's the Evangelical Covenant Church was built by an Eskimo missionary, followed by a BIA school in 1939. People moved to the village from other areas of the Island to be near the school.
Reindeer were introduced for commercial purposes in 1920 by an Eskimo-Russian trader. The operation was purchased by the BIA in the 1940s and a slaughterhouse was constructed in 1945. The reindeer were crossed with caribou from Denali Park; the resulting animals are larger and harder to handle than other reindeer in the state.
In 1934, 34 musk-ox from Greenland were transferred to the Island in an effort to save the species form extincton. Today, the musk-ox herd numbers around 500, and calves from this herd have been relocated and introduced to other areas of Alaska. A post office was opened in 1940. In the 1940s the women lived in semi-subterranean sod houses and the men stayed at one or more "Kasigi", or men's community houses. At that time, traditional ceremonies and religious beliefs were still practived. The 50s and 60s brough considerable change. An airstrip was built in 1957, and the Territorial Guard was formed. Men went to Fort Richardson near Anchorage for training. By this time, Mekoryuk was the only permanent community on the Island. During this time, many families moved to Bethel to be near the high school, returning during late Spring for fishing and sea mammal hunting. A high school was constructed in 1978.
Pastor Profile
My parents are both first-generation committed Christians. I felt God's calling to ministry. After graduating from high school and after much prayer I decided to follow in my mother's and older brother's steps to Bob Jones Univeristy, a Christian liberal arts college. The school's legalism and critical, separatist philosophy were a constant burden to me, as was the "Old south" racial bigotry that still existed in the institution. My final two years I spent in a seemingly futile struggle with these attitudes that left my own faith and view of the church weakened by cynicism and doubt. I was challenged to leave my comfort and find out what God would do in my life. I completed my school year, packed my jeep and headed North for Alaska. I had met Fritz Geffe, an Inupiat pastor from Fairbanks, a year before when he lived briefly in my hometown and I dropped in on him and began participating in the Native Bible Church there in Fairbanks. I found a place to live, a job, and I enrolled in UAF in order to complete the requirements for an Aalska Teaching Certificate.
Again God's grace was revealed when I met and married Sandra King, a godly and multi-talented Chrisian woman. In breaking ties with my childhood home Godl ed me to establish my own Christian home. Through the ministry of my family God has removed the cynicism and doubt that characterized my faith and replaced it with confidence and hope. After completing my M.Ed. at UAF, Sandra and I moved to Kipnuk where we taught for 3 years. We then moved to Mekoryuk. Sandra's hometown, where we taught for 4 years. We adopted Jayne Marie Hanna in 1999. Later, while living in another village, we were also able to adopt Arthur Stanley Hanna. Finally, it seemed that the Lord opened the door for us to return to Mekoryuk, this time, to accept the call of being their pastor.
