NETSVETOV, JAMES (IAKOV)

NETSVETOV, JAMES (IAKOV), priest, missionary, St. (1804–26 July 1864). Born of an Atkan mother and Russian father on St. George Island, Alaska, he completed seminary in Irkutsk in 1826, married, and was ordained. He returned to Atka on 15 June 1829, where he began translating the New Testament and organized a school in 1833. He later worked with the Yup’ik-speaking Eskimos in the Kuskokwim-Yukon delta, learning the language and devising a writing system for them. He kept a journal during these years, which is a valuable historical resource as well as a testimony to the dedication and perseverance of the first priest of Native American background. He was a protege of St. Innocent Veniaminov (q.v.).