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Alaska Natives

Alaska Native dancer performing inFairbanks
Total population
≈106,660 (2006)[1]
Regions with significant populations
United States of America ( Alaska)
Languages
English,Alaskan Russian,Haida,Tsimshianic languages,Eskaleut languages (Inupiaq,Central Alaskan Yup'ik,Alutiiq,Aleut),Chinook Jargon,Na-Dené languages (Northern Athabaskan,Eyak,Tlingit), others
Religion
Shamanism (largely ex) Alaska Native religion, Christianity (Protestantism,Eastern Orthodoxy,Roman Catholicism)
Related ethnic groups
Alaskan Creoles,Native Americans,First Nations,Inuit

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Alaska Natives (also known asAlaskan Indians,Alaskan Natives,Native Alaskans,Indigenous Alaskans,Aboriginal Alaskans orFirst Alaskans) are theIndigenous peoples ofAlaska and includeRussian Creoles,Iñupiat,Yupik,Aleut,Eyak,Tlingit,Haida,Tsimshian, and a number ofNorthern Athabaskan cultures. They are often defined by their language groups. Many Alaska Natives are enrolled in federally recognizedAlaska Native tribal entities, who in turn belong to 13Alaska Native Regional Corporations, who administer land and financial claims.

Ancestors of Native Alaskans or Alaska Natives migrated into the area thousands of years ago, in at least two different waves. Some are descendants of the third wave of migration, in which people settled across the northern part of North America. They never migrated to southern areas. Genetic studies show they are not closely related to native peoples in South America.

Alaska Natives came from Asia. Anthropologists have stated that their journey from Asia to Alaska was made possible through theBering land bridge or by traveling across the sea.^[2] Throughout the Arctic and the circumpolar north, the ancestors of Alaska Natives established varyingindigenous, complex cultures that have succeeded each other over time. They developed sophisticated ways to deal with the challenging climate and environment.

Historical groups have been defined by their languages, which belong to several major language families. Today, Alaska Natives or Native Alaskans constitute more than 20% of the population of Alaska.^[3]

Below is a full list of the different Alaska Native or Native Alaskan peoples, who are largely defined by their historical languages (within each culture are different tribes):

The Alaska Natives Commission estimated there were about 86,000 Alaska Natives living in Alaska in 1990, with another 17,000 who lived outside Alaska.^[4] A 2013 study by theAlaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development documented more than 120,000 Alaska Native people in Alaska.^[5] While the majority of Alaska Natives live in small villages or remote regional hubs such asNome,Dillingham, andBethel, the percentage who live in urban areas has been increasing. In 2010, 44% lived in urban areas, compared to 38% in the 2000 census.^[5] As of 2018, natives constitute 15.4% of the overall Alaskan population.^[6]

The modern history of Alaska Natives begins with the first contact between Alaskan First Nations andRussians sailing fromSiberia in the eighteenth century. British and American traders, coming mostly from eastern settlements in North America, generally did not reach the area until the nineteenth century. In some cases,Christian missionaries were not active in Alaska until the twentieth century.

Vitus Bering spotted Alaska during an expedition.^[7] Native Alaskans first came into contact with Russians in the 18th century. Time of contact with Russians varied throughout each native group since the Native Alaskan groups were spread throughout Alaska.^[8] Arriving from Siberia by ship in the mid-eighteenth century, Russians began to trade with Alaska Natives in what became known as theAleutian Islands. They started new settlements around trading posts, andRussian Orthodox missionaries were part of these. The Russian missionaries were the first persons to translateChristian scripture into Native languages, such asTlingit. In the 21st century, the numerous congregations of Russian Orthodox Christians in Alaska reflect this early history, as they are generally composed mostly of Alaska Natives.

Rather than hunting and harvesting marine life themselves, the Sibero-Russianpromyshlenniki forced theAleuts to do the work for them,enserfing the Aleuts.^[9][10] As word spread of the riches in furs to be had, competition among Russian companies increased.Catherine the Great, who becameEmpress in 1763, proclaimed good will toward the Aleut and urged her subjects to treat them fairly. The growing competition between the trading companies, which merged into fewer, larger and more powerful corporations, created conflicts that aggravated the relations with theindigenous populations. Over the years, the situation became catastrophic for the Aleuts, as well as other Native Alaskan people who were impacted by Russian contact.^{[citation needed]}

As the animal populations declined, the Aleuts, already dependent on the new barter economy created by theirfur trade with the Russians, were increasingly coerced into taking greater risks in the dangerous waters of the North Pacific to hunt for more otter. As theShelikhov-Golikov Company and laterRussian-American Company developed as a monopoly, it used skirmishes and systematic violence as a tool of colonial exploitation of the indigenous people. When the Aleut revolted and won some victories, the Russians retaliated, killing many. They also destroyed the peoples' boats and hunting gear, leaving them no means of survival.^{[citation needed]}

The greatest mortality was caused by the Aleuts' encounters with new diseases: during the first two generations (1741/1759-1781/1799 AD) of Russian contact, 80 percent of the Aleut population died from Eurasianinfectious diseases. These had beenendemic among the Europeans for centuries, but the Aleut had noimmunity against the new diseases.^[11]

The Russian Tsarist government expanded into Indigenous territory in present-day Alaska for its own geopolitical reasons. It consumed natural resources of the territory during the trading years, andRussian Orthodoxy was evangelized.^[12] Their movement into these populated areas of Indigenous communities altered the demographic and natural landscape.

Historians have suggested that theRussian-American Company exploited Indigenous peoples as a source of inexpensive labor.^[12] The Russian-American Company not only used Indigenous populations for labor during the fur trade, but also held some as hostages to acquireiasak.^[12] Iasak, a form of taxation imposed by the Russians, was a tribute in the form of otter pelts.^[12] It was a taxation method the Russians had previously found useful in their early encounter with Indigenous communities ofSiberia during theSiberian fur trade.^[12] Beaver pelts were also customary to be given to fur traders upon first contact with various communities.^[13]

The Russian-American Company used military force on Indigenous families, taking them hostage until male community members produced furs for them.^[12] Otter furs onKodiak Island andAleutian Islands enticed the Russians to start these taxations.^[12] Robbery and maltreatment in the form of corporal punishment and the withholding of food was also present upon the arrival of fur traders.^[14]Catherine the Great dissolved the giving of tribute in 1799, but her government initiated mandatory conscription of Indigenous men between the ages of 18 and 50 to become seal hunters strictly for the Russian American Company.^[12] This mandatory labor gave the Russian American Company an edge in competition with American and British fur traders.^[12] But the conscription separated men from their families and villages, thus altering and breaking down communities.^[15] With able-bodied men away on the hunt, villages were left with little protection as only women, children, and the elderly remained behind.^[15]

In addition to changes that came with conscription, the spread of disease also altered the populations of Indigenous communities.^[16] Although records kept in the period were scarce, it has been said that 80% of the pre-contact population of theAleut people were gone by 1800.^[16]

Relationships between Indigenous women and fur traders increased as Indigenous men were away from villages. This resulted in marriages and children that would come to be known asCreole peoples, children who were Indigenous and Russian.^[15] To reduce hostilities with Aleutian communities, it became policy for fur traders to enter into marriage with Indigenous women. The Creole population increased in the territory controlled by the Russian American Company.^[15]

The growth of the Russian Orthodox Church was another important tactic in the colonization and conversion of Indigenous populations.^[17] Ioann Veniaminov, who later becameSaint Innocent of Alaska, was an important missionary who carried out the Orthodox Church's agenda to Christianize Indigenous populations.^[17] The church encouraged Creole children to follow Russian Orthodox Christianity, while the Russian American Company provided them with an education. Many Orthodox missionaries, likeHerman of Alaska, defended Natives from exploitation.^[17] Creole people were believed to have high levels of loyalty toward the Russian crown and Russian American Company.^[17] After completing their education, children were often sent to Russia, where they would study skills such as mapmaking, theology, and military intelligence.^[17] In the 1850s Russia lost much of its interest in Alaska.^[7]

Alaska has many natural resources, which, including its gold, caught the attention of the United States.^[7] In 1867, theUnited States purchased Alaska from Russia. It did not consider the wishes of Native Alaskans or view them as citizens.^[18] The land that belonged to Alaska Natives was considered to be "open land", which could be claimed by white settlers without redress to the Alaska Natives living there.^[18] The only schools for Alaska Natives were those founded by religiousmissionaries.^[19] Most white settlers did not understand the sophisticated cultures the Alaska Natives had developed to live in challenging environment and considered them to be inferior to European Americans, correlating withwhite supremacist beliefs.^[20]

TheKlondike Gold Rush occurred in the 1896–1898, increasing white presence in Alaska as well as discriminatory practices.^[21] Americans imposedracial segregation and discriminatory laws (similar toJim Crow laws) that limited Alaska Native opportunities and participation in culture, treating them assecond-class citizens.^[22] With the imposition of discriminatory laws, segregation amongst Alaskan Natives and Americans occurred; for example, "whites only" signs excluded natives from entering buildings. There were also segregated schools. An 1880 court case describes a child not allowed to attend a school with Americans because his stepfather was native.^{[clarification needed]} A child that was part native and part American would only be allowed to attend a school with American children if the family has abandoned their culture. At the same time, a system was put in place to disrupt Alaskan Native families. Federal records indicate^[23] that the United States viewed official disruption to the native family unit as part of Federal Indian policy to assimilate Indian children.^[24] The Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative,^[25] for example, was directly responsible for intergenerational trauma by disrupting family ties in Alaskan native villages. An important outcome of deliberate Federal disruption to the Alaskan Native family unit was the removal of children from their native villages to off-reservation Indian boarding schools alongside other Indian tribes children. The Federal Government accordingly devised artificial communities of Indian children throughout the Federal Indian boarding school system, resulting in the creation of other Indian or Alaskan Native families and extended families depending on whether a child returned to his or her own native village, or located elsewhere, after completing education in a Federal Indian boarding school.^[26] Specifically this meant that Alaskan Native children could no longer speak their native language, wear traditional native clothing, be amongst other natives, eat native foods, practice any native religion, ultimately resulting in the intergenerational trauma caused by the family separation and cultural eradication.^[27][28]

In 1912, theAlaska Native Brotherhood (ANB) was formed to help fight for citizenship rights.^[29] The Alaska Native Sisterhood (ANS) was created in 1915.^[30] Also in 1915, the Alaska Territorial legislature passed a law allowing Alaskan Natives the right to vote – but on the condition that they give up their cultural customs and traditions.^[31] TheIndian Citizenship Act, passed in 1924, gave allNative Americans United States citizenship.^[31]

ANB began to hold a great deal of political power in the 1920s.^[32] They protested the segregation of Alaska Natives in public areas and institutions, and also staged boycotts.^[33]Alberta Schenck (Inupiaq) staged a well-publicized protest against segregation in a movie theater in 1944.^[34] With the help ofElizabeth Peratrovich (Tlingit), theAlaska Equal Rights Act of 1945 was passed, ending segregation in Alaska.^[35]

In 1942, during World War II, the United States forced evacuation of around nine hundredAleuts from theAleutian Islands.^[36] The idea was to remove the Aleuts from a potential combat zone duringWorld War II for their own protection, but European Americans living in the same area were not forced to leave.^[36] The removal was handled so poorly that many Aleuts died after they were evacuated; the elderly and children had the highest mortality rates.^[37] Survivors returned to the islands to find their homes and possessions destroyed or looted.^[36] Civil rights activists such asAlberta Schenck Adams andElizabeth Peratrovich protested discriminatory laws against Native Alaskans with what were effectivelysit-ins and lobbying.^[38]

TheAlaska Equal Rights Act of 1945, the first anti-discrimination state law in the U.S., occurred as a result of these protests.^[39][40] It entitled all Alaskans to "full and equal enjoyment" of public areas and businesses,^[41] a ban on segregating signs,^[41] with discriminatory actions punishable by a $250 fine and up to 30 days in jail.^[42]

Alaska became part of the United States in 1959 upon President Dwight D. Eisenhower recognizing Alaska as the 49th state.^[7]

In 1971, with the support of Alaska Native leaders such asEmil Notti,Willie Hensley, andByron Mallott, theU.S. Congress passed theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), which settledland and financial claims for lands and resources which the Alaska Natives had lost toEuropean-Americans. It provided for the establishment of thirteen Alaska Native Regional Corporations to administer those claims. Similar to the separately defined status of theCanadianInuit andFirst Nations in Canada, which are recognized as distinct peoples, in the United States, Alaska Natives or Native Alaskans are in some respects treated separately by the government from otherNative Americans in the United States. This is in part related to their interactions with the U.S. government which occurred in a different historical period than its interactions during the period ofwestward expansion during the 19th century.

Europeans and Americans did not have sustained encounters with the Alaska Natives until the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when many were attracted to the region in gold rushes. The Alaska Natives were not allotted individual title in severalty to land under theDawes Act of 1887 but were instead treated under theAlaska Native Allotment Act of 1906.^[43]

The Allotment Act was repealed in 1971, following ANSCA, at which time reservations were ended. Another characteristic difference is that Alaska Native tribal governments do not have the power to collect taxes for business transacted on tribal land, per theUnited States Supreme Court decision inAlaska v. Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government (1998). Except for the Tsimshian, Alaska Natives no longer holdreservations but do control some lands. Under theMarine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, Alaska Natives are reserved the right to harvestwhales and othermarine mammals.

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Four indigenous tribes in Alaska, theShishmaref,Kivalina,Shaktoolik andNewtok tribes, are being considered the firstclimate refugees for America, due to sea ice melting and increased wildfires in the regions (Bronen and Brubaker). The effects of climate change on the people of Alaska are extensive and include issues such as increased vulnerability to disease, mental health issues, injury, food insecurity, and water insecurity (Brubaker). According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the loss of sea ice will increase erosion area and further displace more native communities. The melting sea ice will also affect the migration of some animals that the tribes rely on and with the ice melting there will be no place to store the food that they do obtain (EPA). Due to the permafrost melting, the infrastructure that has been around in the past will become unstable and native villages will collapse (EPA).^{[citation needed]}

The Shishmaref, Kivalina, Shaktoolik and Newtok tribes are located on the west coast of Alaska and due to sea-level rise the villages are experiencing more severe storm surges that are eroding their coastlines (Bronen). There is no land for these tribes to move to that are already in the area they live in which forces these communities to migrate and change their whole way of living (Bronen). It is predicted that a climate event will submerge the tribes completely in less than fifteen years (Bronen).^{[citation needed]}

Extreme weather conditions has increased the risk of injury, usually there are thick layers of ice all year long but due to increasing temperatures in the atmosphere and the sea the ice is becoming thinner and is increasing the number of people who fall through the ice, if a person survives falling through the ice they are faced with other health concerns (Brubaker). Increased water insecurity and failing infrastructure caused by climate change has created sanitation issues which has increased the amount of respiratory illnesses in many regions in Alaska, in 2005 pneumonia was the leading cause of hospitalizations (Brubaker). Many of the affected tribes are experiencing increased mental stress due to climate change and the problem of relocating but no policy or way to relocate (Brubaker). Stress has also increased on villages who face infrastructure damage due to melting permafrost, there are almost no regulations other than the Alaskan government recommended not building on permafrost or using extra layers of insulation that is used on foundation walls (EPA). Food insecurity has also created stress and health issues, families can not get enough food due to animals also relocating to get to a climate that is more suitable to them (Brubaker). Families also do not have a secure food system because their ways of storing food, underground ice cellar, are no longer frozen year long due to climate change, their cellars thaw in the summers leaving their food supply inedible.^[44]

Gathering of subsistence food continues to be an important economic and cultural activity for many Alaska Natives.^[45] InUtqiaġvik, Alaska, in 2005, more than 91 percent of the Iñupiat households which were interviewed still participated in the local subsistence economy, compared with the approximately 33 percent of non-Iñupiat households who used wild resources obtained from hunting, fishing, or gathering.^[46]

But, unlike many tribes in the contiguous United States, Alaska Natives or Native Alaskans do not have treaties with the United States that protect their subsistence rights,^[45] except for the right to harvest whales and other marine mammals. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act explicitly extinguished aboriginal hunting and fishing rights in the state of Alaska.^[47]

Census 2010.^[48]

According to the 2010 census this was the ethnic breakdown of Alaska Natives by region, the total is 100% for each region:

• List of Alaska Native Tribal Entities, the list of Native Villages and other "tribal entities" recognized by the USBureau of Indian Affairs.
• Prehistory of Alaska
• First Alaskans Institute
• Indigenous Amerindian genetics
• Circumpolar peoples
• Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast
• Indigenous peoples of the Subarctic
• Alaska Native Language Center

• Cole, Terrence M. (November 1992). "Jim Crow in Alaska: The Passage of the Alaska Equal Rights Act".Western Historical Quarterly.23 (4):429–449.doi:10.2307/970301.JSTOR 970301.S2CID 163528642.
• Tucker, James Thomas; Landreth, Natalie A.; Lynch, Erin Dougherty (2017)."'Why Should I Go Vote Without Understanding What I Am Going to Vote For?' The Impact of First Generation Voting Barriers on Alaska Natives".Michigan Journal of Race and Law.22 (2):327–382.doi:10.36643/mjrl.22.2.why.S2CID 149117802.

• Chythlook-Sifsof, Callan J. "Native Alaska, Under Threat." (Op-Ed)The New York Times. June 27, 2013.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toAlaska Natives.

• Alaska Federation of Natives
• Alaska Native Health Board
• Alaska Native Heritage Center
• First Alaskans Institute
• Tlingit National Anthem, Alaska Natives Online
• Arctic Studies Center

• Alaska Native
• Indigenous peoples in the United States
• Culture of the United States

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