Cultures of Alaska

Cultures of Alaska

Alaska's Native people are divided into eleven distinct cultures, speaking eleven different languages and twenty-two different dialects. In order to tell the stories of this diverse population, the Alaska Native Heritage Center is organized based on five culture groupings, which draw upon cultural similarities or geographic proximity.

Alaska is a land of diverse Native peoples: the Athabascan of interior and southcentral Alaska, the Yup'ik and Cup'ik Eskimo of southwest Alaska, the Inupiaq and St. Lawrence Island Yupik of northwest to northern Alaska, the Aleut and Alutiiq from Prince William Sound to the end of the Aleutian Island chain, and the Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian of southeast Alaska.

Today’s indigenous Alaska Natives live in cities, towns, and villages separated by vast distances.

Today Alaska Natives represent approximately 16 percent of Alaska's residents, and are a significant segment of the population in over 200 rural villages and communities. Many Alaska Natives have retained their customs, language, hunting and fishing practices and ways of living since "the creation times."

Alaska's Native people are divided into eleven distinct cultures, speaking twenty different languages. In order to the tell the stories of this diverse population, the Alaska Native Heritage Center is organized based on five cultural groupings, which draw upon cultural similarities or geographic proximity:

Alaska Native Art Classes

Students with Ed Tiulana, Cultural Programs Coordinator