The Ahtna (also Ahtena, Atna, Ahtna-kohtaene, or Copper River) are an

Alaska Native Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the I ...

Athabaskan Athabaskan ( ; also spelled ''Athabascan'', ''Athapaskan'' or ''Athapascan'', and also known as Dene) is a large branch of the Na-Dene language family of North America, located in western North America in three areal language groups: Northern, ...

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 1,427. Their neighbors are other Na-Dené-speaking and

Yupik peoples The Yupik (; ) are a group of Indigenous or Aboriginal peoples of western, southwestern, and southcentral Alaska and the Russian Far East. They are related to the Inuit and Iñupiat. Yupik peoples include the following: * Alutiiq, or Sugp ...

: Dena'ina (west), Koyukon (a little part of northwest), Lower Tanana (north), Tanacross (north),

Upper Tanana Upper Tanana (also known as Tabesna, Nabesna or Nee'aanèegn') is an endangered language, endangered Alaskan Athabaskans, Athabaskan language spoken in eastern Interior Alaska, United States, mainly in the villages of Northway, Alaska, Northway ...

(northeast), Southern Tutchone (southeast, in Canada),

Tlingit The Tlingit or Lingít ( ) are Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. , they constitute two of the 231 federally recognized List of Alaska Native tribal entities, Tribes of Alaska. Most Tlingit are Alaska Natives; ...

(southeast),

Eyak The Eyak are an Alaska Native people historically located on the Copper River Delta and near the town of Cordova, Alaska. They are Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast. Today, Eyak people live in Cordova, Yakutat, across Alaska, and the U ...

(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 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 The Yellowknives, Yellow Knives, Copper Indians, Red Knives or T'atsaot'ine (Wíílíídeh dialect: ''Tetsǫ́t'ınę'') are indigenous peoples in Canada, indigenous peoples of Canada, one of the five main groups of the First Nations in Canada, F ...

, 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) is a large branch of the Na-Dene languages, Na-Dene language family of North America, located in western North America in three areal language ...

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 (Ahtna'ht'aene) are near the river's mouth which opens into the

Gulf of Alaska The Gulf of Alaska ( Tlingit: ''Yéil T'ooch’'') is an arm of the Pacific Ocean defined by the curve of the southern coast of Alaska, stretching from the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak Island in the west to the Alexander Archipelago in the ...

, the Middle Ahtna (Dan'ehwt'aene) are upriver a distance, and the Upper Ahtna (Tate'ahwt'aene) 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

Ahtna language Ahtna or Ahtena (, from'' ''" Copper River") is the Na-Dené language of the Ahtna ethnic group of the Copper River area of Alaska. The language is also known as Copper River or Mednovskiy. The Ahtna language consists of four different diale ...

. 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 (The Ahtna Noun Dictionary of Pronunciation Guide: Ahtna Heritage Foundation/Ahtna, Inc., 1998, 2011 Revised).

History

Origins and early history

About 2,000 years ago the Ahtna people moved into the area of the

Wrangell Mountains The Wrangell Mountains are a high mountain range of eastern Alaska in the United States. Much of the range is included in Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park and Preserve. The Wrangell Mountains are almost entirely volcanic in origin, and they i ...

and the Chitina Valley. Prior to that, their ancestors moved into the area of the Upper and Middle Susitna area about 7,000 years ago.

European contact

In 1781 the

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

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 (tribal unions): To take advantage of the

Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) was signed into law by U.S. President, President Richard Nixon on December 18, 1971, constituting what is still the largest land claims settlement in United States history. ANCSA was intended to reso ...

(ANCSA) of 1971, the Ahtna formed Ahtna, Incorporated. The organization is a for-profit entity that oversees the land obtained under ANCSA (The Native Village of Chitina (Tsedi Ná) is organized by the Chitina Native Corporation). 714,240 acres were allocated, consisting of eight villages: * Lower (Copper River) Ahtna or Atna Hwt'aene / Atnahwt'aene (″People of the Copper River, i.e. 'Atna' River″) ** Chitina (Tsedi Ná) / Taral (Taghaelden) Band - today: Native Village of Chitina (Tsedi Ná) (Athna: ″Copper River″. Population (2010 Census): 126; Current Population: 93 (Population Year: 2018)) ** Tonsina (Kentsii Cae'e or Kentsii Na‟) / Klutina (Tl‟atii Na‟) Band - today: Native Village of Kluti Kaah (Tl’aticae’e or Tl‟atii Na‟) (Athna: ″Mouth of Klutina River″ or ″Undercurrent River″, formerly the ''Native Village of Copper Center'', the village ''Tl’aticae’e (Copper Center)''. Population (2010 Census): 328; Current Population: 317 (Population Year: 2018)) * Central Ahtna or Middle Ahtna or Dan'ehwt'aene ** Gulkona (C‟ulc‟e Na‟) / Gakona (Ggax Kuna‟) Band - today: *** Nativa Village of Gulkana (C'uul C'ena') (Athna: ″tearing River″, the village ''C'uul C'ena' (Gulkana)''. Population (2010 Census): 119; Current Population: 113 (Population Year: 2018)) *** Native Village of Gakona (Ggax Kuna') (Athna: ″Rabbit River″; the village ''Ggax Kuna' (Gakona)''. Population (2010 Census): 218; Current Population: 203 (Population Year: 2018)) * Western Ahtna or Tsaay Hwt'aene / Dze Ta Hwt'aene (″People in the middle of the mountains, i.e. Nutzotin Mountains″, sometimes known as ''Hwtsaay Hwt'aene / Hwtsaay hwt'aene'' - ″Small Tree People, Small Timber People″) ** Tyone (″chief″) / Mendeltna (Bendilna) Band - today: Native Village of Tazlina (Tezdlen Na') (Athna: ″swift water″, the village ''Tezdlen Na' (Tazlina)''. Population (2010 Census): 297; Current Population: 263 (Population Year: 2018)) ** Cantwell (Yidateni Na‟) / Denali (Dghelaayce‟e) Band - today: Native Village of Cantwell (Yidateni Na') (Athna: ″Jaw Trail Creek″, English name: Jack River. Population (2010 Census): 222) * Upper (Copper River) Ahtna or Tatl'a Hwt'aene / Taa’tl’aa Denaé (″Headwater People″) ** Sanford River (HwdinndiK‟ełt‟aeni) / Chistochina (Tsiistl‟edze‟ Na‟) Band - today: Cheesh-Na Tribe (formerly the ''Native Village of Chistochina (Tsiis Tl’edze' Caegge)''; Cheesh-Na means ″blue ocher River″, the village ''Tsiis Tl’edze' Caegge (Chistochina)''. Population (2010 Census): 97; Current Population: 88 (Population Year: 2018)) ** Slana (Stl’aa Caegge) / Batzulnetas (Nataełde) Band - today: part of the ''Native Village of Mentasta (Mendaesde)'' ** Mentasta (Mendaesde) Band - today: Native Village of Mentasta (Mendaesde) (Athna: ″shallow lake″, the village ''Mendaesde (Mentasta Lake)''. Population (2010 Census): 112; Current Population: 128 (Population Year: 2018))

Culture

Governance

Architecture

In the summertime the Ahtna used temporary rectangular dwellings made of

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...

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 Perspiration, also known as sweat, is the fluid secreted by sweat glands in the skin of mammals. Two types of sweat glands can be found in humans: eccrine glands and apocrine glands. The eccrine sweat glands are distributed over much of the ...

rituals.

Family life

When traveling by water, moose-hide boats were used. In the wintertime, snowshoes and load-bearing

toboggans A toboggan is a simple sled used in snowy winter recreation. It is also a traditional form of cargo transport used by the Innu, Cree and Ojibwe of North America, sometimes part of a dog train. It is used on snow to carry one or more people (of ...

were used. When traveling by foot and carrying goods, people, usually women, would use a

tumpline A tumpline () is a strap attached at both ends to a sack, backpack, or other luggage and used to carry the object by placing the strap over the top of the head. This utilizes the spine rather than the shoulders as standard backpack straps do. ...

. 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 The moose (: 'moose'; used in North America) or elk (: 'elk' or 'elks'; used in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is the world's tallest, largest and heaviest extant species of deer and the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is also the tal ...

caribou The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only represe ...

, 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 The Alutiiq (pronounced in English; from Promyshlenniki Russian Алеутъ, "Aleut"; plural often "Alutiit"), also called by their ancestral name ( or ; plural often "Sugpiat"), as well as Pacific Eskimo or Pacific Yupik, are a Yupik ...

, and the

. 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 at Nuchek on the

Prince William Sound Prince William Sound ( Sugpiaq: ''Suungaaciq'') is a sound off the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula. Its largest port is Valdez, at the southern terminus of the ...

. The Ahtna operate Ahtna, Inc., an Alaska Native corporation founded in 1971. Ahata has provided services to

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE; ) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the Un ...

at the

Port Isabel Detention Center The Port Isabel Service Processing Center near Los Fresnos, Texas holds detainees of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), whose immigration status or citizenship has not been officially determined or who are awaiting repatriation. It ...

since at least 2008. The contract will earn Ahtna Technical Services (ATS) at least $800 million.

References

External links

Official website
for the Ahtna Heritage Foundation
Copper River Native AssociationWrangell's 1839 Comparative Word-List of Alaskan languages
(includes Copper River Ahtna) * PARADISEC archiv
collection of Ahtna recordings
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