About

History

Mendas Cha-ag Native Corporation (MCNC) is the ANCSA village corporation for 27 shareholders originally enrolled to Healy Lake, Alaska, and their descendants. Healy Lake is the oldest recorded archaeological site found in Interior Alaska, over fourteen thousand years of human habitation. The traditional name for the original site of the Old Healy Lake Village is Teyh Ch’ets’edze.’ The village was located on a bend around Healy Lake, strategically placed near the mouth of the Healy River. The current village is located about a mile from the traditional site of Old Healy Lake Village. Its traditional name is Mendas Cha’ag, which means “body of water, with an outlet.”

MCNC received 69,120 acres of land, Healy Lake Village is located on the northeast bank of Healy Lake. The Healy River flows into the lake from the east and the tract property extends along both sides of this river for approximately 9 miles. The southern boundary of the tract intersects a portion of Lake George, (also known as George Lake). Other lakes located within the tract include Black Lake, Twelvemile Lake, and Moose Lake. The western edge of the tract is bordered by and consists of the Tanana River and the tract extends along both sides of this river in this area. South of the tract lies the Alaska Highway and the Alaska Range, which reaches elevations greater than 10,000 feet. The north and eastern edge of the tract is bordered by the Tanana hills, reaching elevations up to 6,500 feet.