Denaʼina
The Denaʼina (/dɪˈnaɪnə/; Inland Denaʼina: [dənʌʔɪnʌ]; Upper Inlet Denaʼina: [dənʌ͡ɪnʌ]; Russian: денаʼина), or formerly Tanaina (Russian: Танаина, кенайтце), are an Alaska Native Athabaskan people. They are the original inhabitants of the south central Alaska region ranging from Seldovia in the south to Chickaloon in the northeast, Talkeetna in the north, Lime Village in the northwest and Pedro Bay in the southwest. The Denaʼina homeland (Denaʼina Ełnena) is more than 41,000 sq mi (110,000 km2) in area. They arrived in the south-central Alaska sometime between 1,000 and 1,500 years ago. They were the only Alaskan Athabaskan group to live on the coast. The Denaʼina have a hunter-gatherer culture and a matrilineal system. The Iditarod Trail's antecedents were the native trails of the Denaʼina and Deg Hitʼan Athabaskan Native Alaskans and the Inupiaq Inuit.
Denaʼina (Tanaina) language area: Iliamna, Tyonek, Susitna | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 1,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| United States (Alaska) | |
| Languages | |
| English, Denaʼina | |
| Religion | |
| Orthodox Christianity, Animism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Ahtna, Deg Hitʼan, other northern Athabaskan peoples |
| Person | Denaʼina |
|---|---|
| People | Denaʼina |
| Language | Denaʼina / Tanaina |
| Country | Dena'ina Ełnena |
Their neighbors are other Athabaskan peoples and Yupik peoples: Deg Hitʼan (northwest), Upper Kuskokwim (central north), Koyukon (northeast), Lower Tanana (a little part of northeast), Ahtna (east), Pacific Yupik (Ułchena/Ultsehaga, 'slaves'; Chugach Sugpiaq, south-southeast from Kenai Peninsula to Prince William Sound, and Koniag Alutiiq, south on Kodiak Archipelago and the Alaska Peninsula), and Central Yupik (Dudna, 'down-river people', west and southwest).