Leisnoi is a village corporation with roots beginning on Woody Island which is located in the Kodiak Island Archipelago.  It was home to an Alutiiq village and the first Baptist Mission Orphanage in Alaska, built in 1893. In the 1800’s Russians employed Woody Island native residents to hunt sea otters in the summer and cut and store ice during the winter.

Our Corporation was established in 1971 by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA).  Today we own approximately 50,000 acres of land on Kodiak Island, Woody Island and Long Island.  Leisnoi started out with 297 shareholders but now has over 422.  The Corporation’s purpose is to provide shareholder benefits while managing its land and preserving its heritage.  Today Leisnoi is doing this by selling timber from the Chiniak area.

We hope this website is informational to you.  If you are planning a trip to Kodiak, or already live there, please consider visiting the land permit page and obtaining a permit to experience Leisnoi’s land in person.

Roy H. Madsen

Roy Harding Madsen passed away on the morning of December 26, 2017 in his home. Roy was born at home in March 1923 in the village of Kanatak, Alaska. His father Charles Madsen had established a trading post there at the time, and his mother Mary (Metrokin) was a homemaker. Shortly after his birth, the Madsens moved to Mary’s hometown of Kodiak.

Roy was truly a figure larger than life. His career spanned from his early start in childhood, helping his father at the Madsen Bear Camp, as the “Head Man”. Ten-year-old Roy’s first job was to scrape the bear skulls clean for use in bear skin rugs and other trophies. It was a daunting task – using only a cauldron of boiling water heated over a wood fire and a pen-knife.

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