Alaska Native Culture • 2024 • First People of This Land

Indigenous people of Alaska share common threads: subsistence lifestyle, cultural values, and deep connection to place. But each of the five main cultural groups also carries their own distinctions and traditions in their respective regions.

Alaska is home to 229 federally and state recognized tribes— the largest number in the United States—making up 15% of the state’s diverse population.

In all five regions of Alaska and in communities both large and small, our culture is shaped by Alaska Native history, storytelling, ceremonies, and customs that have been passed down for thousands of years. These living cultures strongly influence our way of life today—from the names of rivers, mountain peaks, and traditional lands to their artwork, architecture, and the celebrations shared in our cities.

Dene (Athabascan) live in the Interior and Southcentral regions of Alaska, covering the largest land area of Alaska’s first people. Spanning from the Brooks Mountain Range and continuing down to the Kenai Peninsula, communities depended on abundant water supplies teeming with their main food source, salmon, as well as the availability of natural materials such as stone to craft tools and weapons for hunting moose and caribou. Communities are settled along river basins of the Yukon, Tanana, Susitna, Kuskokwim, and Copper Rivers. The Dene region today includes Alaska’s most populated communities: Anchorage and Fairbanks.

The Iñupiaq and St. Lawrence Island Yupik occupy 34 villages in North and Northwest Alaska, including Nome, Kotzebue, and Alaska’s northernmost community, Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow). Successful whale hunts continue to be integral to the Iñupiaq and Yupik way of life. People of all ages and skill levels work together for hunting expeditions, bringing the whale ashore and tirelessly harvesting the meat that will provide sustenance for entire villages. A feasting celebration ensues to honor the whale in hopes of a successful hunt the following season.

Right to Whale Hunting whales has been a sacred and life-sustaining tradition for Indigenous Peoples for thousands of years— providing food and tools for entire communities. Certain Indigenous groups have special whaling rights for a quota set by the International Whaling Commission, ensuring sustainable harvesting while protecting subsistence hunting practices.

Gleaning bounty from sea and shore, the Sugpiaq and Unangax occupy the chain of islands in Southwest Alaska, including the Aleutian, Pribilof, and Shumagin Islands. Expert boat builders, Sugpiaq and Unangax are well known for their highly crafted kayaks called, respectively, qayaq and iqyax. Also unique to this cultural group are their traditional bentwood hats. These hats were used to distinguish rank among the Unangax and Sugpiaq seafarers, from young and inexperienced to captains.

Northwest Coast Indigenous people have occupied Southeast Alaska since time immemorial. They share many similarities, including their complex social systems, dividing tribes in half by moieties (Raven and Eagle) and into several clans. Tlingit occupy villages throughout the Inside Passage north upwards to Yakutat. Eyak are a small group living mostly in Cordova. Haida reside predominantly in Kasaan and Hydaburg. Tsimshian live primarily in Alaska’s only reservation, Metlakatla. All groups share their history through elaborately carved and painted totem poles and clan houses.

Occupying Southwest Alaska, from Norton Sound in the villages of Unalakleet, St. Michael, and Bethel, down through Bristol Bay in the villages of Dillingham and Egegik, are the Yup’ik and Cup’ik people. Traditionally, their way of life revolved around a type of spiritual center—a men’s house called a qasgiq. The Yup’ik are especially known for their elaborate mask-making, grass baskets, dance fans, and regalia such as qaspeq (kuspuk), which are outer shirts that have become quite popular across Alaska.

Alaska Native Culture - 2024

First People of This Land

Issue List