TheAlaska Native Language Center, established in 1972 inFairbanks, Alaska, is a research center focusing on the research and documentation of the Native languages of Alaska. It publishes grammars, dictionaries, folklore collections and research materials, as well as hosting an extensive archive of written materials relating toEskimo,North Athabaskan and related languages. The Center provides training, materials and consultation for educators, researchers and others working withAlaska Native languages. The closely affiliatedAlaska Native Language Program offers degrees inCentral Yup'ik andInupiaq at theUniversity of Alaska Fairbanks, and works toward the documentation and preservation of these languages.
In 1974,Michael Krauss published a language map of Alaska, which he later updated in 1982. It has remained the standard since then. In the summer of 2011, the Alaska Native Language Center made an update to Krauss's map.[1] One of the biggest reasons for this update was that some of the names of these languages had changed over the years. While there was not a dramatic change in the updated map, the new edition is entirely digital.[2]
| Language | Population | Speakers | Percent Speakers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ahtna | 500 | 80 | %16.00 |
| Aleut | 2,200 | 300 | %13.64 |
| Alutiiq/Sugpiaq | 3,000 | 400 | %13.33 |
| Dena'ina | x | x | x |
| Deg Xinag | 275 | 40 | %14.55 |
| Eyak | 50 | 0 | %0.00 |
| Gwich'in | 1,100 | 300 | %27.27 |
| Haida | 600 | 15 | %2.50 |
| Hän | 50 | 12 | %24.00 |
| Holikachuk | 200 | 12 | %6.00 |
| Inupiat | 13,500 | 3,000 | %22.22 |
| Koyukon | 2,300 | 300 | %13.04 |
| Tanana | 380 | 30 | %7.89 |
| Tanacross | 220 | 65 | %29.55 |
| Tlingit | 10,000 | 500 | %5.00 |
| Tsimshian | 1,300 | 70 | %5.38 |
| Upper Kuskokwim | 160 | 40 | %25.00 |
| Upper Tanana | x | x | x |
| Yup'ik, Central Alaskan | 21,000 | 10,000 | %47.62 |
| Yupik, Siberian | 1,100 | 1,050 | %95.45 |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Other | |
