Established in 1955, the Cook Inlet Historical Society (CIHS) is a private non-profit historical society focused on the Anchorage area.

 
 
 
 
 

Since its founding we have worked to foster discussion, research and publication of the history and ethnography of Anchorage and the Cook Inlet region, as well as of our state and its place in the Circumpolar North. The artifacts and archives collected by CIHS were the start of Collections for the Anchorage Museum in 1968.

The Society actively promotes the public understanding of local history, through:

  • Annual Lecture Programs at the Anchorage Museum focused on an annual theme and coordinated with Museum exhibits.

  • Support of local and statewide history initiatives.

  • The Community History Project

Tanana Indian Chief. Virginia Schodde Collection; Anchorage Museum, B2009.009.659

 

Our Board of Directors

The all-volunteer Board of Directors consists of up to fifteen directors elected by members of the Cook Inlet Historical Society at the annual meeting. Directors serve for three years with one-third of the Board elected each year. The four officers of the Society are President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer.

 
 

Officers

Richard Mylius, President
Dick Mylius has worked in land planning and land management in Alaska for forty years. In 2010 he retired from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources and continues to work part time doing training and occasional consulting on Alaska land issues. He holds degrees in Geography and Regional Planning. Dick is especially interested in the history of Alaskan land issues and the people who played key roles in that history.  

Ian Hartman, Vice President
Associate Professor of History, University of Alaska Anchorage. Ian holds a PhD in history and researches the American West, public policy, and politics.

Bruce Parham, Secretary
Bruce retired as Director of the National Archives at Anchorage in 2011, after twenty-two years of federal service with the National Archives and Records Administration.

Ayse Gilbert, Treasurer
Ayse is an artist, with an interest in local history and Alaskan plants, who has lived in Anchorage for over forty years.

Ex-Officio

Julie Decker, Museum Director & CEO
Anchorage Museum at Rasmusen Center

Directors

Judy Bittner, Past President
State Historic Preservation Officer, State of Alaska, Office of History and Archaeology, Department of Natural Resources, Anchorage

Jim Blasingame
Jim worked for forty-two years for the Alaska Railroad and retired as Vice President of Corporate Affairs. He has a strong interest in the history of the Alaska Railroad.

Aaron Leggett
Associate Alaska Gallery Curator, Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center

Susan LaGrande
Susan holds a PhD in clinical psychology and works in Anchorage. She is also an artist who takes inspiration from Alaska's marine landscape.

David Tarcy
​Ph.D. Educational Communications and Technology