Alaska Native Lands and Languages

I live, work, play, and harvest on the traditional homelands of the Dena’ina people. I was born and raised in Denaʼina Ełnena, which is also known as Anchorage, and I’m grateful to be in such a beautiful place.

Below, I’ve gathered some resources to help you identify the indigenous lands and languages of Alaska’s Native peoples.

Alaska Native Lands

There are five traditional groups of Alaska Native Cultures in Alaska:

Iñupiat and St. Lawrence Island Yup’ik
Athabascan
Yup’ik and Cup’ik
Unangax̂ and Sugpiaq (Alutiiq)
Eyak, Haida, Tsimshian, and Tlingit

Whose land are you on?

Visit Native-Land.ca to identify whose land you live, work, play, and harvest on.

Who owns the land you are on?

Check out the Ahtna Land Map App to determine who owns the land you are exploring.

Alaska Native Heritage Center Map — *https://www.alaskanative.net/cultural-knowledge/*

Alaska Native Languages

Alaska is home to more than 20 distinct indigenous languages, which reflects the diverse cultural heritage of Alaska’s Native peoples.

Ahtna
Unangam Tunuu / Aleut
Alutiiq / Sugpiaq
Dena’ina
Deg Xinag
Eyak
Gwich’in
Haida
Han
Holikachuk

Inupiaq
Koyukon
Tanana
Tanacross
Tlingit
Tsimshian
Upper Kuskokwim
Upper Tanana
Central Alaskan Yup’ik
Siberian Yupik

Alaska Native Place Names

Here are some resources to learn about Indigenous place names across all of Alaska’s Native languages.

Alaska Native Place Names Project

UAF Alaska Native Place Names Archive

Indigenous Peoples and Languages of Alaska — *https://www.uaf.edu/anla/collections/map/*

Alaska Native Culture

Places to visit in Alaska to learn and explore the traditional and contemporary ways of Alaska’s Indigenous cultures.

Alaska Native Heritage Center, Anchorage, AK

Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, Anchorage, AK

Alutiiq Museum & Archaeological Repository, Kodiak, AK

Iñupiat Heritage Center, Barrow, AK

University of Alaska Museum of The North, Fairbanks, AK