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The Kamchadals (Russian: камчадалы) inhabit Kamchatka, Russia. The name "Kamchadal" was applied to the descendants of the local Siberians and aboriginal peoples (the Itelmens, Ainu, Koryaks and Chuvans) who assimilated with the Russians. The descendants of the mixed-blood Russian settlers in 18th-19th century are called Kamchadals these days.[timeframe?] The Kamchadals speak Russian with a touch of local dialects of the aboriginal languages of Kamchatka. The Kamchadals engage in fur trading, fishing, market gardening and dairy farming, and are of the Russian Orthodox faith.[citation needed] The Kamchadal language was a Kamchatka creole with Russian and indigenous elements.
Камчадалы | |
|---|---|
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Russia
| 1,927[1] |
 Japan | 100 |
| Languages | |
| Russian, Kamchadal | |
| Religion | |
| Russian Orthodoxy | |
In 1767 and 1768, a Russian ship brought smallpox to the region for the first time, and it is believed to have killed three fourths of the native population.[2] In the journal of Captain James Cook, "The small pox . . . made its appearance in 1767 and 1768. It was brought into the country by a Russian vessel bound to the Eastern islands, for the purpose of hunting otters, foxes, and other animals. The person who had in his blood the fatal germ was a sailor from Okotsk [sic], where he had taken remedies for the disorder previous to his departure; but the recent marks of it were visible. Scarcely landed, he communicated this cruel malady to the poor Kamchadales, which carried off three-fourths of them." So, Kamchadals as an ethnic group were not numerous after this contact with fur traders.
As a result of the Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1875), the Kuril Islands were handed over to Japan, along with its Ainu subjects. A total of 83 North Kuril Ainu arrived in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky on September 18, 1877 after they decided to remain under Russian rule. They refused the offer by Russian officials to move to new reservations in the Commander Islands. Finally a deal was reached in 1881 and the Ainu decided to settle in the village of Yavin, Kamchatka. In March 1881 the group left Petropavlovsk and started the journey towards Yavin by foot. Four months later, they arrived at their new homes. Another village, Golygino was founded later. Under Soviet rule, both the villages were forced to disband and residents were moved to the Russian dominated Zaporozhye rural settlement in Ust-Bolsheretsky Raion.[3] As a result of intermarriage, the three ethnic groups assimilated to form the Kamchadal community.
According to Alexei Nakamura, Kurile Kamchadals along with Ainu living in Russia are fighting for official recognition.[4][5] Since the Ainu are not recognized in the official list of the peoples living in Russia, some of them are counted as ethnic Kamchadals.[6]
