In June in 1942, Japanese army invaded and occupied Attu and Kiska islands of the Aleutian Islands. In those days 42 Unangan (Aleut) people and two white man and woman lived on Attu Island. Some islanders died in the period of the Japanese occupation. On September in 1942, Japanese Army transferred these islanders (except one white woman) to Otaru city of Hokkaido prefecture in Japan and detained them until the end of war. In Otaru, Tuberculosis was going around among islanders so many people died. After the war, survivors returned to the U.S. However, the U.S. government didn’t allow them to return to Attu Island. This is the reason why Attu Island is now an uninhabited island. This text is a report on Unangan (Aleut) people of Attu Island which was written by Karl Kaoru Kasukabe（春日部薫: 1913-1995）during WWII. He followed Japanese Army as interpreter and attended “Aleutian Islands Campaign.” During his military service, Kasukabe researched culture and language of Attu people. The original text was handwritten between 1942 and 1943 and is housed in Hokkaido University Library (Identification No. 572.9/KAS/別シ). Generally speaking, ethnographic records about Attu islanders have been very rare. This text includes detailed ethnographic information about culture, history, and language of Attu people and partly includes important description about the background of Aleutian Islands Campaign. Therefore, this text is worth publishing for future study.
