During our spring trip to the Southeastern part of the U.S., I was made aware that there is a specific term for people who have a passionate interest in cemeteries and graveyards. They are called taphophiles, and I have to say I much prefer that term to the more common one, “tombstone tourist”. Today, we made a short stop on our 2-day road trip to McCarthy. We visited the St. Nicholas Church, in the community of Eklutna, to view a very interesting, beautiful, and touching graveyard.

The gravesites were covered in colorful miniature houses, often called spirit houses. This collection of 100 little houses represent the blending of Russian Orthodox Christianity and the Athabascan peoples’ beliefs regarding death and the afterlife.

The little houses provide shelter for the loved ones soul as it waits 40 days to move on to the afterlife. The ground under the house is covered with a blanket to make sure the spirt remains warm while it lingers. The colors on the houses are not random. They are similar to a family crest, but with colors. The size of the house is also important, the larger the house the higher the person’s social status.

As I walked through the overgrown graveyard, sprinkled with small pink Arctic roses, and crumbling miniature houses, I wondered if the sites would someday be groomed and the houses restored. I learned that Athabascan tradition states that what comes from the earth must go back to the earth. These little houses will decay until they no longer remain.

This is the second time I’ve encountered the Russian Orthodox religion in Alaska. The first, was a few years ago on the island of Kodiak. Russia laid claim to Alaska in 1741, and the U.S. paid Russia $7.2 million in 1867, which comes to $.02/acre. That’s $135 million in today’s dollars. Given that Alaska has generated over $670 billion dollars in resources extracted from the ground, I’d say William Seward did a great job in the negotiations.

But back to Russian Orthodox religion. There are over 35 historic Russian Orthodox churches in Alaska, 7 are listed as historic landmarks, and 28 are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The old St. Nicolas Church in Eklutna is on the National Register of Historic Places.