Unalaska student wins national naval history award for Angoon bombardment project

A 14-year-old Unalaska student's history project on an 1882 Navy attack on a Tlingit village has won national recognition, two years after the Navy formally apologized for it.

River Zaochney and teammate Wesley Gruenhagen received the Naval History Award at the National History Day national contest in Washington, D.C. The award was one of 20 special honors given among roughly 3,000 competitors, according to the Ulakaia Center. The pair first won Alaska's Junior Division Website category.

The project traced the attack's origins. A Tlingit shaman was killed aboard an American whaling ship, followed by a hostage-taking. Commander E.C. Merriman then shelled and burned Angoon in October 1882.

U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Mark Sucato apologized in 2024, acknowledging wrongful actions that inflicted intergenerational trauma. It was one of several Navy apologies sought by Alaska Native communities, including at Kake. Zaochney discussed the project and the apology with U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan.

The center's travel scholarship covered airfare and other expenses. Its spotlight also featured Candy Rose Cañete Anderson, its first Philippine scholarship recipient, who graduated cum laude in psychology.