Paramount Chief Stepan Ivanovich Kriukov

Paramount Chief of the Unalaska District, Chief of Umnak and the son of Ivan Vasil'evich Kriukov, head of the powerful Krukoff Family. He served as Starosta between 1831-1842.

Chief Kriukov was the co-architect of the Russian Orthodox Church in Umnak, as well as the Manager of the Russian-American Company, there. He was in charge of the Russian-American Company’s fur business on Umnak Island (Aleutian Chain) 1826-1838, and was in charge of the sealing operations in the Pribilof Islands. He also built the first chapel in Nikolski (Umnak Island). In 1849 he was appointed Paramount Chief for the Unalaska district.

Born to an Aleut mother and a Russian (ethnic Yakut) father, Stefan's legacy can still be felt today, through the countless Aleuts of the present-day Krukoff Family, spanning many different locations in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, as well as in the Continental United States.