was moved about 0.5 mile (800 m) downstream due to a change in the river sediment pattern. This settlement was also referred to as New Crow Village. Crow Village Sam (Phillips), a future leader of the area's native people, was a youngster at that time and participated in that move. By the 1950s, Crow Village Sam was firmly entrenched as the area's leader. In 1954 he decided the village had to be vacated to stem ongoing issues with epidemics, possibly from lack of knowledge that the epidemics were likely caused by increased contact with white settlers and not directly related to the village itself. He moved the inhabitants upriver 18 miles (29 km) to Chuathbaluk, a village that had been abandoned since 1929. Archeology Given the length of occupancy of Crow Village by the native population, the site has had several archaeological digs. Archaeologist Aleš Hrdlička recovered some bone material from Old Crow Village in 1930 and reportedly took some pictures. In 1953, archaeologist Wendell H. Oswalt collected tree ring samples at New Crow Village. He would return for a three-week study in 1954 with James Van Stone and again in 1963 for the entire summer. The 1963 dig was the most extensive as they researched 5 dwellings in Old Crow Village and interviewed area natives including Crow Village Sam as part of their research into the cultural history of the area. The findings can be found in the book entitled "The Ethnoarchaeology of Crow Village, Alaska". This project pioneered the use of archeology as a means to augment oral and written sources in constructing a historical ethnography of a Native people. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 resulted in Crow Village Sam receiving ownership of the land encompassing Crow Village. This claim was later inherited by his grandson, David Phillips, who re-settled Crow Village with his family in 1994. Later David's eldest son, Dakota River Phillips, found the motor of Crow Village Sam's old wind power generator. His other children, Raven Myst Phillips and Storm Hudson Phillips, found other artifacts like an old reindeer bell. External links Crow Village, Alaska References Unincorporated communities in Alaska Unincorporated communities in Bethel Census Area, Alaska Unincorporated communities in Unorganized Borough, Alaska