Upper Tanana Ethnographic Overview and Assessment, Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve
Haynes TL and Simeone WE. 2007. Upper Tanana Ethnographic Overview and Assessment, Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve. Alaska Department of Fish and Game Subsistence Technical Paper. No. 325. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Wildlife Conservation. Juneau, Alaska
This overview of Alaska Native history and culture in the upper Tanana region in eastern interior Alaska focuses on the predominantly Northern Athabascan Indian villages of Dot Lake, Healy Lake, Northway, Tanacross, and Tetlin. Based on existing ethnographic and historical sources, along with some data collected during earlier periods of fieldwork, this study describes upper Tanana Athabascan culture prior to sustained western contact at the beginning of the 20th century and examines the effects of socioeconomic and cultural changes on traditional lifeways that occurred during the 20th century. In addition, the study examines the longstanding relationships of the upper Tanana Indians to the neighboring Ahtna Athabascans and to lands in and near to the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, primarily in the northern part of the Copper River Basin. This overview illustrates the resiliency of the upper Tanana people in the face of ongoing socioeconomic and cultural changes during the 20th century. Recommendations are made for historical and ethnographic research that will enhance our understanding of the upper Tanana Athabascans and further document their cultural heritage.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Haynes, Terry; Simeone, William
- Date of Issue
- 2007
- Publisher
- Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Wildlife Conservation
- Units
- WRST
- Keywords
- Alaska, Culture, Economy, Ethnography, Fisheries, History, Language, Material culture, religion and ritual, social and political organization, Subsistence, Territory, upper Tanana Athabascans, Wildlife, Wrangell-St. Elias, WRST