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Alaska Culture and Heritage
Home » Alaska » Alaska History and Overview » Alaska Culture and HeritagePosted by Your Guide on April 21, 2006 8:36 PM
Alaska is home to eleven distinct cultures, speaking twenty different languages, including the Athabascan, Yup'ik, Cup'ik, Inupiaq, St. Lawrence Island Yupik, Aleut, Alutiiq, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian. Today Alaska Natives represent approximately 16 percent of Alaska's residents, and are a significant part 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.
The Athabascan culture lived mostly in the interior region of Alaska. They were very nomadic and were fishers, hunters and trappers. The Yup’ik and Cup’ik cultures lived along the southwestern coasts of Alaska. They were highly mobile fishers, hunters and gatherers and traveled along with the migration of wildlife. The Inupiaq and St. Lawrence Island Yupik continue to subsist on the land and sea of north and northwest Alaska. Their lives continue to evolve around the whale, walrus, seal, polar bear, caribou and fish. The Aleut and Alutiiq cultures are south and southwest Alaska, maritime peoples. Their culture was heavily influenced by the Russians that came to their lands in the 1700’s. They make their living off of fish, and weather governs their living more than any other factor. The Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures occupied southeastern Alaska.
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