Alakanuk, located in the western portion of Alaska in the Wade Hampton Census Area of the Unorganized Borough, is at the east entrance of the Alakanuk Pass, which is a major southern channel of the Yukon River, near the Bering Sea. The word "Alakanuk" means "wrong way," and was given to the city regarding the maze of waterways in the area. It was settled by a shaman and his family in 1899.