Alaska History & Culture

Information Courtesy of TravelAlaska.com

About 20 percent of Alaska’s 650,000 residents are Native or of Native descent, but there was a time when their cultures dominated this vast land. As the state continues to grow, Alaska’s Natives are finding it more important than ever to celebrate their heritage and educate residents and visitors about Alaska’s first peoples.

In general, there are three groups of Alaska Natives — Indian, Eskimo and Aleut. The terms “Inuit” and “Native American” are sometimes used in place of “Eskimo” and“Indian” in an effort to be politically correct, but in Alaska, Eskimo and Indian are not considered derogatory terms. In fact, Eskimos pride themselves on their heritage.

Within the three categories, Native culture is further divided into five cultures based on similarities in tradition, language and proximity.

Tlingit, Haida, Eyak and Tsimshian

The Haida (HIGH-duh) are an Indian group that immigrated from Canada and now live primarily in Southeast Alaska and Prince of Wales Island. The Tlingit (CLINK-it) population is about 11,000 strong. Tlingits are an Indian group living mostly in Southeast. Tsimshian (SHIM-shee-ann) is a small group from Metlakatla living in Alaska’s only reservation. Eyaks (EE-yaks) are Natives related to the Athabaskans but influenced greatly by the Tlingits. The Eyak language is nearly extinct with only one known living speaker.

Athabaskans

The Athabaskans are an Interior Alaska Indian group whose early territory ranged from the Brooks Range in Alaska’s Far North to Cook Inlet in Southcentral Alaska and from near Norton Sound in the west to the Canadian border and beyond. There are 11 known languages among the varying groups of Athabaskans (ath-uh-BASS-kuns), among them the Eyak language of Prince William Sound, even though the Alaska Native Heritage Center puts the Eyak Natives with Southeast Alaska groups. Athabaskans traditionally depended on rivers for their subsistence and settled near some of Alaska’s larger rivers, including the Yukon, Tanana, Susitna, Kuskokwim and Copper rivers.

Inupiaq and St. Lawrence Island Yupik Eskimos

The Inupiaq (in-NOO-pee-ak) and the St. Lawrence Island Yupik (YOO-pik) people call themselves the “Real People,” according the Native Heritage Center, and their homeland is in north and northwest Alaska. They largely subsist on what the land provides and still hunt whales, seals, walrus and other large animals and gather berries in season. They also hunt birds and fish when the conditions are right. These two groups of Native people have been put in the same category because of their similar subsistence patterns, the way they constructed their homes and the tools they used to survive. Saint Lawrence Island Yupiks speak Siberian Yupik, which is different from the languages spoken by other Yupik Eskimos.

Yup’ik and Cu’pik

People in these two groups of Eskimos live in Southwest Alaska in places like Nome, Unalakleet and Perryville. They are named for the dialects of the languages they speak. Like the Yupiks of Saint Lawrence Island and the Inupiaq of north and northwestern Alaska, they depend upon a subsistence lifestyle for their livelihood, and elders tell stories of traditional ways of life to teach younger generations about their heritage.

Aleut and Alutiiq

The two cultures are found in Southwest Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. Two Aleut (AL-ee-oot) settlements are in the Pribilof Islands, and Alutiiqs (a-LOO-ticks) are associated with Kodiak Island. The Aleuts and Alutiiq lived a maritime existence and depended upon the sea for their survival. In the 18th century, Russians came to Aleut and Alutiiq land, and the population was forever changed. Today the Russian influence on their way of life remains, and theRussian Orthodox Church plays a large part in their lives. The Aleuts and Alutiiq have two languages, Unangax and Sugcestun.

Want to Know More?

Alaska Native Heritage Center
The Alaska Native Heritage Center, which provided most of the information for this article, offers tours and interpretive displays celebrating all of Alaska’s Native people.

8800 Heritage Center Drive
Anchorage, AK 99506
(907) 330-8000 or (800) 315-6608