Ahtna


The Ahtna 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 500.
Their neighbors are other Na-Dené-speaking and Yupik peoples: Dena'ina, Koyukon, Lower Tanana, Tanacross, Upper Tanana, Southern Tutchone, Tlingit, Eyak, and Chugach Sugpiaq.

Synonymy

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". Thus, "Ahtna" refers to the People of the 'Atna' 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.

Language

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 are near the river's mouth which opens into the Gulf of Alaska, the Middle Ahtna are upriver a distance, and the Upper Ahtna live on the upper parts of the river. The Tanaina people of the west are their closest linguistic relatives. About 80 Ahtnas are believed to still speak the language. In 1990 a dictionary was published by university linguist James Kari, in order to preserve the language. Several years later, the Ahtna People themselves published a noun dictionary of their language.

History

Origins and early history

About 2,000 years ago the Ahtna people moved into the area of the Wrangell Mountains and the Chitina Valley.

European contact

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.

Nineteenth and twentieth centuries

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.

Historical regional bands and dialects and present day Native Villages

There are four main dialect divisions and eight historic regional bands : To take advantage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971, the Ahtna formed Ahtna, Incorporated. The organization is a for-profit entity that oversees the land obtained under ANCSA. 714,240 acres were allocated, consisting of eight villages:

Governance

Chief NameTranslation +
Tats’abaelghi’aa DenenPerson of Where Spruce Stands in Water
Taghael DenenPerson of Barrier in Water
Ts’es K’e DenenPerson of on the Rock
Hwt’aa Cae’e DenenPerson of Beneath Stream Mouth
C’elax DenenPerson of Fish Run Place
Bes Cene GhaxenPerson of Riverbank Flat
Sdaghaay DenenPerson of End of the Point
Tsedi Kulaen DenenPerson of Copper Exists Place
Hwt’akughi’aa DenenPerson of Area Extends below a Place
Nic’akuni’aa DenenPerson of Where Land Extends Out
K’aay DenenPerson of Ridge
Bendil DenenPerson of Where Stream Flows into Lake
Sday’dinaesi GhaxenPerson of Long Point
C’ecae’e DenenPerson of the River Mouth
Sałtigi GhaxenPerson of Sałtigi
Stl’aa Caegge GhaxenPerson of Rear River Mouth

Architecture

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.

Family life

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.

Subsistence

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.

Economy

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 Nuchek on the Prince William Sound.
The Ahata operate Ahtna, Inc., an Alaska Native corporation founded in 1971. Ahata has provided services to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Port Isabel Detention Center since at least 2008. The contract will earn Ahtna Technical Services at least $800 million.