Chuathbaluk

Chuathbaluk in Detail.

On the N bank of the Kuskokwim River, 9.5 mi E of Aniak.

Originally named for the Russian Orthodox mission, but restored to original Eskimo name in 1948 meaning "big blueberries", which used to grow in the village. The establishment of Moravian missionaries on the river in 1885 motivated the Orthodox Church to reactivate its Kuskokwim Mission. This led to the founding of the Russian Mission (sometimes referred to as Little Russian Mission to distinguish it from the Russian Mission on the Yukon River), in 1891 with Father J. Orlof as resident priest. The major centers of the Russian (Greek) Orthodox Church along the Kuskokwim River are Sleetmiut, Russian Mission, Lower Kalskat, Kwethluk, and Napaskiak (Oswalt, 1963, p. 7).