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Alaska
Traditional Tribes "Tlingit, Haida, Inupiaq, Athabascan
and Eskimo" |
About 20 percent of Alaska’s 650,000 residents
are Native or have Native descent, but there was a time when
their cultures dominated this vast land. As the state continues
to grow, Alaska’s Natives are finding it more important
than ever to celebrate their heritage and educate residents
and visitors about Alaska’s first peoples.
The Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage is a great place
to visit and learn about all the different groups and their
history.
In general, there are three groups of Alaska Natives –
Indian, Eskimo and Aleut. The terms “Inuit” and
“Native American” are sometimes used in place of
“Eskimo” and “Indian” in an effort to
be politically correct, but in Alaska, Eskimo and Indian are
not considered derogatory terms. Eskimos, Indians and Aleuts
pride themselves on their heritage.
Within the three categories, Native culture is further divided
into five cultures based on similarities in tradition, language
and proximity. At the Alaska Native Heritage Center, there
are houses representing each of the five cultures, and visitors
to the Center can learn how the different Native groups lived.
View Alaska Cultural
Photography Collection |
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| Tlingit Dance. |
Raven the “trickster.”
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Raven helmet. |
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| © KnowAlaska.com Reproduction of photos prohibited by copyright
law. | Tyler Eddy - P.O. Box 3055 - Sitka, Alaska 99835 | (907) 747-3313
