You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Turkish. (March 2014)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
Total population | |
---|---|
1,427 [1] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
United States (Alaska) | |
Languages | |
Ahtna, English | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Other Athabaskan peoples Especially Denaʼina |
The Ahtna (also Ahtena, Atna, Ahtna-kohtaene, or Copper River) are an Alaska Native Athabaskan people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group. The people's homeland called Atna Nenn', is located in the Copper River area of southern Alaska, and the name Ahtna derives from the local name for the Copper River. The total population of Ahtna is estimated at around 1,427. [1]
Their neighbors are other Na-Dené-speaking and Yupik peoples: Dena'ina (west), Koyukon (a little part of northwest), Lower Tanana (north), Tanacross (north), Upper Tanana (northeast), Southern Tutchone (southeast, in Canada), Tlingit (southeast), Eyak (south), and Chugach Sugpiaq (south). [2]
The name Ahtena, also written as Ahtna and Atnatana, translates as "ice people." In some documentation the Ahtna have been called Copper Indians because of their ancestral homeland located in the basin of the Copper River and its tributaries in southeastern Alaska. The word for the Copper River in Ahtna is 'Atna' tuu" (tuu meaning water). Thus, "Ahtna" refers to the People of the 'Atna' River (i.e. The Copper River). The named Yellowknife has also been used in reference to the Ahtna's copper-colored knives; however, another tribe, the Yellowknives, are also referred to as Copper Indians. [3]
The Ahtna are an Athabaskan languages speaking tribe of the Subarctic cultural area, which classifies them as both Athabaskan and Subarctic Indians. Depending on the community's location along the Copper River, dialectal differences may occur. The Lower Ahtna (Ahtna'ht'aene) are near the river's mouth which opens into the Gulf of Alaska, the Middle Ahtna (Dan'ehwt'aene) are upriver a distance, and the Upper Ahtna (Tate'ahwt'aene) live on the upper parts of the river. The Tanaina people of the west are their closest linguistic relatives. [3] About 80 Ahtnas are believed to still speak the Ahtna language. [1] In 1990 a dictionary was published by university linguist James Kari, [1] in order to preserve the language. [4] Several years later, the Ahtna People themselves published a noun dictionary of their language (The Ahtna Noun Dictionary of Pronunciation Guide: Ahtna Heritage Foundation/Ahtna, Inc., 1998, 2011 Revised).
About 2,000 years ago the Ahtna people moved into the area of the Wrangell Mountains and the Chitina Valley. [5] Prior to that, their ancestors moved into the area of the Upper and Middle Susitna area about 7,000 years ago. [6]
In 1781 the Russians made it to the mouth of the Copper River. Over the course of years, Russians would try to go up the river only to be pushed back by the Ahtna. In 1819 the Russians built a post at the confluence of the Copper and Chitina Rivers, which was destroyed. [3]
The United States purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867. A US military expedition led by Henry Tureman Allen in 1885 explored the Copper River and surrounding area. [3]
There are four main dialect divisions and eight historic regional bands (tribal unions): [7] To take advantage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) of 1971, the Ahtna formed Ahtna, Incorporated. The organization is a for-profit entity that oversees the land obtained under ANCSA (The Native Village of Chitina (Tsedi Ná) is organized by the Chitina Native Corporation). 714,240 acres were allocated, consisting of eight villages: [8]
Chief Name | Translation + (Location) |
---|---|
Tats’abaelghi’aa Denen | Person of Where Spruce Stands in Water (chief of village opposite Canyon Creek) |
Taghael Denen | Person of Barrier in Water (chief of Taral) |
Ts’es K’e Denen | Person of on the Rock (chief of site on W bank at Mile 127) |
Hwt’aa Cae’e Denen | Person of Beneath (the mountains) Stream Mouth (chief of Fox Creek village) |
C’elax Denen | Person of Fish Run Place (chief of Long Lake/Lakina village) |
Bes Cene Ghaxen | Person of Riverbank Flat (chief of Riverstag village) |
Sdaghaay Denen | Person of End of the Point (chief of village north of mouth of Chetaslina River) |
Tsedi Kulaen Denen | Person of Copper Exists Place (chief of Copper Village, five mi. below Dadina River on east bank) |
Hwt’akughi’aa Denen | Person of Area Extends below a Place (chief of site 1 mi. below Dadina R on W bank) |
Nic’akuni’aa Denen | Person of Where Land Extends Out (chief of Stickwan's village south of Wood Camp) |
K’aay Denen | Person of Ridge (chief of Kaina Ck site on Tazlina Lake) |
Bendil Denen | Person of Where Stream Flows into Lake (chief of Mendeltna Creek site on Tazlina Lake) |
Sday’dinaesi Ghaxen | Person of Long Point (chief of point site near Glennallen) |
C’ecae’e Denen | Person of the River Mouth (chief of site near Gulkana River mouth) |
Sałtigi Ghaxen | Person of Sałtigi (chief of Tyone Lake) |
Stl’aa Caegge Ghaxen | Person of Rear River Mouth (chief of Slana village |
Mendaes Ghaxen | Person of Shallows Lake (chief of Mentasta) |
In the summertime the Ahtna used temporary rectangular dwellings made of spruce and cottonwood. These structures had bark-covered sides and skin-covered entrances to provide access. In the wintertime, families lived in large semi-underground homes. As large as 10 feet wide by 36 feet long, these dwellings were constructed from wood and covered with spruce bark. Sometimes a second room was attached to be used for sweating rituals. [3]
When traveling by water, moose-hide boats were used. In the wintertime, snowshoes and load-bearing toboggans were used. When traveling by foot and carrying goods, people, usually women, would use a tumpline. The tumpline was made of animal skin or cloth and was slung across the forehead or chest to support a heavy load on the back. [3]
Traditionally the Ahtna hunted many different types of animals such as the moose, caribou, mountain sheep, and rabbits. Salmon was a staple, being caught with nets in rivers and streams. To support healthy prey populations, the Athna would monitor and reduce predator populations such as wolves, eagles and bears. For example, they would keep track of wolf dens in traditional hunting areas and by killing cubs. A central figure in their mythology, the Ahtna might prop up killed wolves and feed ceremonial meals to them. The Ahtna also gathered berries and roots. [3]
The Ahtna were historically part of a trade network with other Athabaskans, the Alutiiq, and the Tlingit. They would barter furs, hides and copper, and eventually manufactured European goods after encounters with the Europeans. Trade meetings would take place three times a year at Nuchek on the Prince William Sound. [3]
The Ahtna operate Ahtna, Inc., an Alaska Native corporation founded in 1971. [19] [20] Ahata has provided services to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Port Isabel Detention Center since at least 2008. [19] [21] The contract will earn Ahtna Technical Services (ATS) at least $800 million. [19] [22]
Valdez–Cordova Census Area was a census area located in the state of Alaska, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 9,636. It was part of the Unorganized Borough and therefore had no borough seat. On January 2, 2019, it was abolished and replaced by the Chugach Census Area and the Copper River Census Area.
Chistochina is a census-designated place (CDP) in Copper River Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 60, down from 93 in 2010.
Chitina is a census-designated place (CDP) in Copper River Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 126, up from 123 in 2000.
Gakona is a census-designated place (CDP) in the Copper River Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. As of the 2020 census, the population of the CDP was 169, down from 218 in 2010. It is home to the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program.
Mentasta Lake is a census-designated place (CDP) in Copper River Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 112, down from 142 in 2000.
Tanacross is an endangered Athabaskan language spoken by fewer than 60 people in eastern Interior Alaska.
Athabaskan is a large family of Indigenous languages of North America, located in western North America in three areal language groups: Northern, Pacific Coast and Southern. Kari and Potter (2010:10) place the total territory of the 53 Athabaskan languages at 4,022,000 square kilometres (1,553,000 sq mi).
The Copper River or Ahtna River, Ahtna Athabascan ‘Atna’tuu, "river of the Ahtnas", Tlingit Eeḵhéeni, "river of copper", is a 290-mile (470 km) river in south-central Alaska in the United States. It drains a large region of the Wrangell Mountains and Chugach Mountains into the Gulf of Alaska. It is known for its extensive delta ecosystem, as well as for its prolific runs of wild salmon, which are among the most highly prized stocks in the world. The river is the tenth largest in the United States, as ranked by average discharge volume at its mouth.
Ahtna or Ahtena is the Na-Dené language of the Ahtna ethnic group of the Copper River area of Alaska. The language is also known as Copper River or Mednovskiy.
Ahtna, Incorporated is one of thirteen Alaska Native Regional Corporations created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA) in settlement of aboriginal land claims. Ahtna, Incorporated was incorporated in Alaska on June 23, 1972. Headquartered in Glennallen, Alaska, Ahtna is a for-profit corporation with more than 2,000 Alaska Native shareholders primarily of Ahtna Athabascan descent.
The Denaʼina, or formerly Tanaina, are an Alaska Native Athabaskan people. They are the original inhabitants of the south central Alaska region ranging from Seldovia in the south to Chickaloon in the northeast, Talkeetna in the north, Lime Village in the northwest and Pedro Bay in the southwest. The Denaʼina homeland is more than 41,000 sq mi (110,000 km2) in area. They arrived in the south-central Alaska sometime between 1,000 and 1,500 years ago. They were the only Alaskan Athabaskan group to live on the coast. The Denaʼina have a hunter-gatherer culture and a matrilineal system. The Iditarod Trail's antecedents were the native trails of the Denaʼina and Deg Hitʼan Athabaskan Native Alaskans and the Inupiaq Inuit.
Northern Athabaskan is a geographic sub-grouping of the Athabaskan language family spoken by indigenous peoples in the northern part of North America, particularly in Alaska, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories. The sprachraum of Northern Athabaskan languages spans the interior of Alaska to the Hudson Bay in Canada and from the Arctic Circle to the Canadian-US border. Languages in the group include Dane-zaa, Chipewyan, Babine-Witsuwitʼen, Carrier, and Slavey;. The Northern Athabaskan languages consist of 31 languages that can be divided into seven geographic subgroups.
The Ahtna are an Alaska Native Athabaskan people of Alaska.
James Kari is an American linguist and Professor Emeritus with the Alaska Native Language Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) specializing in the Dene of Alaska. He served on the faculty of UAF from 1973 to his retirement in 1997.
Alaska Natives are a group of indigenous people that live in the state of Alaska and trace their heritage back to the last two great migrations that occurred thousands of years ago. The Native community can be separated into six large tribes and a number of smaller tribes, including the Iñupiat, Yup'ik, Aleut, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and others. Even with just a small number of communities that make up the entire population, there were more than 300 different languages that the Natives used to communicate with one another.
The Alaskan Athabascans, Alaskan Athapascans or Dena are Alaska Native peoples of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group. They are the original inhabitants of the interior of Alaska.
The Tanana Athabaskans, Tanana Athabascans, or Tanana Athapaskans are an Alaskan Athabaskan people from the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group. They are the original inhabitants of the Tanana River drainage basin in east-central Alaska Interior, United States and a little part lived in Yukon, Canada. Tanana River Athabaskan peoples are called in Lower Tanana and Koyukon language Ten Hʉt'ænæ, in Gwich'in language Tanan Gwich'in. In Alaska, where they are the oldest, there are three or four groups identified by the languages they speak. These are the Tanana proper or Lower Tanana and/or Middle Tanana, Tanacross or Tanana Crossing, and Upper Tanana. The Tanana Athabaskan culture is a hunter-gatherer culture with a matrilineal system. Tanana Athabaskans were semi-nomadic and lived in semi-permanent settlements in the Tanana Valley lowlands. Traditional Athabaskan land use includes fall hunting of moose, caribou, Dall sheep, and small terrestrial animals, as well as trapping. The Athabaskans did not have any formal tribal organization. Tanana Athabaskans were strictly territorial and used hunting and gathering practices in their semi-nomadic way of life and dispersed habitation patterns. Each small band of 20–40 people normally had a central winter camp with several seasonal hunting and fishing camps, and they moved cyclically, depending on the season and availability of resources.
Siri Tuttle is the former director of the Alaska Native Language Center, the Alaska Native Language Archive, and a former Associate Professor of Linguistics at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. She specializes in Dene (Athabascan) languages of interior Alaska and has contributed to the fields of acoustic phonetics, phonology, and morphology. She retired in 2021.
Copper River Census Area is a census area located in the state of Alaska, United States. It is part of the Unorganized Borough and therefore has no borough seat. On January 2, 2019, it was split from the Valdez–Cordova Census Area, along with neighboring Chugach Census Area.
Katie John was an Alaska Native advocate and cultural expert. John was a plaintiff in a court case against the United States challenging the denial of Native subsistence fishing rights, known throughout Alaska as "the Katie John case." She was instrumental in developing an alphabet for the Ahtna language and preserving the culture and traditional way of life of the Ahtna Athabaskan people.
AhtnaSTS is a subsidiary of Ahtna Incorporated, one of the thirteen original Alaska Native Corporations (ANC) established by Congress in 1971 under the terms of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. We were organized as the natural business progression from the Simulations and Training Division of our sister company, Ahtna Development Corporation (ADC), who were themselves formed in 1975, and quickly began pursuit of government contracting opportunities.
Services Provided: Operation of Detention Processing Facility at the Port Isabel Detention Center