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 Copper River may refer to several places:
* Copper River (Alaska), in the United States
* Copper River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Skeena River in Canada
{{place name disambiguation ...
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.
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
The Tlingit ( or ; also spelled Tlinkit) are indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their language is the Tlingit language (natively , pronounced ), (southeast),
Eyak (south), and
Chugach Sugpiaq (south).
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 Copper River may refer to several places:
* Copper River (Alaska), in the United States
* Copper River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Skeena River in Canada
{{place name disambiguation ...
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.
Language
The Ahtna are an
Athabaskan languages
Athabaskan (also spelled ''Athabascan'', ''Athapaskan'' or ''Athapascan'', and also known as Dene)