 Pre-contact distribution of Eyak | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Alaska,United States | 428[1] |
| Languages | |
| English,Eyak (historical) | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Tlingit,Ahtna,Chugach Sugpiaq | |
TheEyak are anAlaska Native people historically located on theCopper River Delta and near the town ofCordova, Alaska. They areIndigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast. Today, Eyak people live in Cordova, Yakutat, across Alaska, and the U.S.
Many Eyak descendants do not qualify to be tribal members in theNative Village of Eyak, afederally recognizedAlaska Native tribe which was established through theAlaska Native Claims Settlement Act in 1971. This is due to the enrollment qualifications that extend tribal citizenship only to those who reside in the town of Cordova for the majority of the year.
TheirEyak name isʔi·ya·ɢdəlahɢəyu·, which translates literally to "inhabitants of Eyak Village at Mile 6"[2])
The now-common nameEyak for both the ethnic group and its language is anexonym and comes from theSugt'stun (Alutiit'stun) dialect ofChugach Sugpiaq, a group ofSugpiaq ("real people," better known asAlutiiq) for an Eyak village asIgya'aq' at the mouth of the Eyak River.[3]
The Eyak refer to themselves asDAXunhyuu ("the people") and the present-day Eyak Native Village asIiyaaGdaad' ("at Eyak Native Village") – but the now officially recognized tribe asIiyaaGdAlahGAyuu ("People from Eyak Native Village"), as the tribe consists of descendants of Chugach Sugpiaq, Eyak, and Tlingit.[4]
Historical Eyak territory reached from present-day Cordova east to theMartin River and north toMiles Glacier.
There were four main villages:
In addition to these villages the Eyak would seasonally occupy fish camps atPoint Whitshed and Mountain Slough.[5]
The Eyak initially moved out of the interior down the Copper River to the coast. There they harvested the richsalmon fishing grounds. When the Russians arrived they recognized the Eyak as a distinct culture and described their territory on their maps. They also traded with the Eyak and sent themmissionaries. Because of their small population, they were often raided and their territory boundaries were under pressure from theChugach to the west. TheTlingit on the east side, had better relations with the Eyak leading to intermarriage and the assimilation of most Eyak. The Eyak's territorial boundary was pushed further contributing to the Eyak's decline. When the Americans arrived they openedcanneries and competed with the Eyak for salmon. The integration andnovel diseases which were introduced by non-Native settlers led to the further decline of the Eyak.
As populations decreased the remaining Eyak began to congregate near the village of Orca.[6] In 1880 the population of the village of Alaganik was recorded at 117 and by 1890 it had declined to 48.[7] In 1900 total population was estimated at 60. As more settlers arrived the last village became the town of Cordova. As of 1996, there were 120 partial Eyak descendants in the town.[6] The last full-blood Eyak,Marie Smith Jones, died on January 21, 2008.[8]
The Eyak spoke a distinct language closely related to theAthabaskan languages. Pressure from neighboring ethnic groups and the spread of English resulted in a decline of the Eyak language. Marie Smith Jones (1918–2008) was the last native speaker.Michael Krauss was known first and foremost as an Eyak language specialist.
