Service Area

Tatitlek is governed by an Indian Reorganization Act Village Council, which was formed in 1934 and is based on traditional values and beliefs. Local utilities are owned and operated by the Tatitlek Village IRA Council; including electricity, water, sewer, and solid waste disposal. The Village Council manages and administers all programs and projects in the community. 

The Native Village of Tatitlek is an unincorporated coastal village of 100 people located on the northeast shore of the Tatitlek Narrows on the Alaska mainland in Prince William Sound. Located two miles southeast of Ellamar, 25 miles southeast of Valdez, and 40 miles northwest of Cordova, the village sits on a relatively flat one-mile strip of land between Galena Bay and Boulder Bay within the Chugach National Forest. The Chugach Mountains form an impassable range to the north, and then lower into a mountain ridge, which runs parallel with the Tatitlek Narrows.

Tatitlek is mentioned in the Russian American Company records as early as 1847. This designation does not refer to the 20^th century village as it has moved several times. An 1858 census of the Kenai Parish describes Tatitlek as lying on a cape and with a population of 39. The 1880 census map shows the village at the bottom of Boulder Bay to the east of the present site. By 1990, the village was located on Tatitlek Narrows, its present location.

Tatitlek is a traditional Alutiiq coastal village, with 96% of the population being Alaska Natives, primarily Aleuts. One of the strongest elements of the Tatitlek culture is the language, which is presently spoken only by Elders, but is being revived through the local school bi-lingual program. Another very strong element of the culture is the subsistence lifestyle, which requires exceptional skill and traditional knowledge of the resources and environment.