Alaska Native Cultures

This map shows the indigenous language regions of Alaska. Related languages of neighboring Canada and Russia are also shown. National parks are also shown; click on a national park to explore information concerning the indigenous people traditionally calling those areas home.

Krauss, Holton, Kerr, and West. 2011. Indigenous Peoples and Languages of Alaska. Fairbanks and Anchorage: Alaska Native Language Center and UAA Institute of Social and Economic Research. Online: https://www.uaf.edu/anla/collections/map/

Alaska Native people have lived with the land long before it became a state or any national parks were established. Spanning from the temperate rainforests of Southeast, to the tundra of the Interior, the coastal regions of Southcentral and even the remote regions of the Aleutian Islands–Alaska Native people have distinct languages and traditions. Subsistence lifestyles and native customs still thrive in many parks and communities. Traditional ecological knowledge and native place names give us a deeper understanding of the science, history, and beauty of our national parks. Discover Alaska Native culture, past and present, in the articles below.