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|population = ≈106,660 (2006)<ref name="akdolpop">Alaska Department of Workforce Development (2006). [http://www.labor.state.ak.us/research/pop/estimates/TA6R06x.xls "Table 1.8 Alaska Native American Population Alone By Age And Male/Female, July 1, 2006."]{{dead link|date=October 2016|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}} Alaska Department of Labor & Workforce Development, Research & Analysis. Retrieved on 2007-05-23.</ref>
|popplace = {{flag|United States of America}} ({{flag|Alaska}})
|langs = [[American Indian English|English]], [[
|rels = [[Shamanism among Alaska Natives|Shamanism]] (largely ex)
([[Protestantism in the United States|Protestantism]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church in North America|Eastern Orthodoxy]], [[Catholic Church in the United States|Roman Catholicism]])
|related = [[Alaskan Creoles]], [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]], [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]], [[Inuit]]
}}
{{Native American topics sidebar}}
[[File:Tikhanov - Aleut in Festival Dress in Alaska (1818).png|thumb|right
'''Alaska Natives''' (also known as '''Alaskan Indians''', '''Alaskan Natives''', '''Native Alaskans''', '''Indigenous Alaskans''', '''Aboriginal Alaskans''' or '''First Alaskans''') are the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indigenous peoples]] of [[Alaska]] and include [[Alaskan Creoles]], [[Iñupiat]], [[Yupik peoples|Yupik]], [[Aleut people|Aleut]], [[Eyak people|Eyak]], [[Tlingit people|Tlingit]], [[Haida people|Haida]], [[Tsimshian]], and a number of [[Alaskan Athabaskans|Northern Athabaskan]] cultures. They are often defined by their language groups. Many Alaska Natives are enrolled in federally recognized [[Alaska Native tribal entities]], who in turn belong to 13 [[Alaska Native Regional Corporations]], who administer land and financial claims.
Ancestors of Native Alaskans or Alaska Natives migrated into the area thousands of years ago, in at least two different waves. Some are descendants of the third wave of migration, in which people settled across the northern part of North America. They never migrated to southern areas.
Alaska Natives came from Asia. Anthropologists have stated that their journey from Asia to Alaska was made possible through the [[Beringia|Bering land bridge]] or by traveling Historical groups have been defined by their languages, which belong to several major language families. Today, Alaska Natives or Native Alaskans constitute more than 20% of the population of Alaska.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/AK#viewtop|title=U.S. Census Bureau Quick Facts |work=www.census.gov |date=2017}}</ref> ==List of peoples==
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== Demographics ==
The Alaska Natives Commission estimated there were about 86,000 Alaska Natives living in Alaska in 1990, with another 17,000 who lived outside Alaska.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.alaskool.org/resources/anc/anc07.htm|title=Alaska Natives Commission|work=www.alaskool.org}}</ref> A 2013 study by the [[Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development]] documented more than 120,000 Alaska Native people in Alaska.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://kdlg.org/post/alaska-native-population-upward-trend#stream/0|title=The Alaska Native Population Is on an Upward Trend|website=KOLG Public Radio for Bristol Bay| date=May 4, 2013 }}</ref> While the majority of
==History==
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===Russian colonial period===
Rather than hunting and harvesting marine life themselves, the Sibero-Russian ''[[promyshlenniki]]'' forced the [[Aleut people|Aleuts]] to do the work for them, [[Serfdom in Russia|enserfing]] the Aleuts.<ref name="alaskananthology">{{cite book |title=An Alaska Anthology: Interpreting the Past|author=Stephen W. Haycox, Mary Childers Mangusso|publisher=University of Washington Press|year=2011|pages=27}}</ref><ref name="Colonies">Taylor, Alan (2001) ''American Colonies: The Settling of North America'' Penguin Books, New York p.452</ref> As word spread of the riches in furs to be had, competition among Russian companies increased. [[Catherine II of Russia|Catherine the Great]], who became [[emperor|Empress]] in 1763, proclaimed good will toward the Aleut and urged her subjects to treat them fairly. The growing competition between the trading companies, which merged into fewer, larger and more powerful corporations, created conflicts that aggravated the relations with the [[indigenous populations]]. Over the years, the situation became catastrophic for the Aleuts, as well as other Native Alaskan people who were impacted by Russian contact.{{citation needed|date=February 2015}}
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==== Effects of Russian colonization ====
[[File:Woman and child - Nunivak - Edward S. Curtis - restoration1.jpg|thumb|Yupik mother and child, [[Nunivak Island]], {{c.|1929}}; photographed by [[Edward S. Curtis]].]]
The Russian Tsarist government expanded into Indigenous territory in present-day Alaska for its own geopolitical reasons. It consumed natural resources of the territory during the trading years, and [[Russian Orthodoxy]] was evangelized.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Lightfoot |first=Ken G. |title=Russian Colonization: The Implications of Mercantile Colonial Practices in the North Pacific |journal=Historical Archaeology |volume=37 |issue=4 |pages=14–28 |jstor=
Historians have suggested that the [[Russian-American Company]] exploited Indigenous peoples as a source of inexpensive labor.<ref name=":1" /> The Russian-American Company not only used Indigenous populations for labor during the fur trade, but also held some as hostages to acquire [[Yasak|''iasak'']].<ref name=":1" /> Iasak, a form of taxation imposed by the Russians, was a tribute in the form of otter pelts.<ref name=":1" /> It was a taxation method the Russians had previously found useful in their early encounter with Indigenous communities of [[Siberia]] during the [[Siberian fur trade]].<ref name=":1" /> Beaver pelts were also customary to be given to fur traders upon first contact with various communities.<ref>{{Citation|title=Five Journal Reports From 1789–90 Concerning Treatments of Aleuts |work=library.alaska.gov |url=https://library.alaska.gov/hist/hist_docs/docs/asl_ms166_Folder_3.pdf}}</ref>
The Russian-American Company used military force on Indigenous families, taking them as hostage until male community members produced furs for them.<ref name=":1" /> Otter furs on [[Kodiak Island]] and [[Aleutian Islands]] enticed the Russians to start these taxations.<ref name=":1" /> Robbery and maltreatment in the form of corporal punishment and the withholding of food was also present upon the arrival of fur traders.<ref>{{Citation|title=Journal of Navigator Potap Zaikov, on Ship, "Alexander Nevski" |work=vilda.alaska.edu |url=https://vilda.alaska.edu/digital/collection/cdmg21/id/16186/}}</ref> [[Catherine the Great]] dissolved the giving of tribute in 1799, but her government initiated mandatory conscription of Indigenous men between the ages of 18 and 50 to become seal hunters strictly for the Russian American Company.<ref name=":1" /> This mandatory labor gave the Russian American Company an edge in competition with American and British fur traders.<ref name=":1" /> But the conscription separated men from their families and villages, thus altering and breaking down communities.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Reedy-Maschen |first=Katherine |date=Fall 2018 |title=Where Did All the Aleut Men Go? Aleut Men Attrition and Related Patterns in Aleutian Historical Demography and Social Organization |journal=Human Biology |volume=82 |issue=5/6 |pages=583–611 |jstor=41466705 |doi=10.3378/027.082.0506 |pmid=21417885 |s2cid=207610081}}</ref> With able-bodied men away on the hunt, villages were left with little protection as only women, children, and the elderly remained behind.<ref name=":2" />
In addition to changes that came with conscription, the spread of disease also altered the populations of Indigenous communities.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last=Veltre |first=Douglas
Relationships between Indigenous women and fur traders increased as Indigenous men were away from villages. This resulted in marriages and children that would come to be known as [[Creole peoples]], children who were Indigenous and Russian.<ref name=":2" /> To reduce hostilities with Aleutian communities, it became policy for fur traders to enter into marriage with Indigenous women. The Creole population increased in the territory controlled by the Russian American Company.<ref name=":2" />
The growth of the Russian Orthodox Church was another important tactic in the colonization and conversion of Indigenous populations.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Dehass|first=Media Csoba|date=Fall 2018|title=What is in a Name? The Predicament of Ethnonyms in the Sugpi-aq- Aluitq Region of Alaska|journal=Arctic Archaeology|volume=49|issue=1|pages=3–17|jstor=24475834}}</ref> Ioann Veniaminov, who later became [[Innocent of Alaska|Saint Innocent of Alaska]], was an important missionary who carried out the Orthodox Church's agenda to Christianize Indigenous populations.<ref name=":4" /> The church encouraged Creole children to follow Russian Orthodox Christianity, while the Russian American Company provided them with an education. Many Orthodox missionaries, like [[Herman of Alaska]], defended Natives from exploitation. <ref name=":4" /> Creole people were believed to have high levels of loyalty toward the Russian crown and Russian American Company.<ref name=":4" /> After completing their education, children were often sent to Russia, where they would study skills such as mapmaking, theology, and military intelligence.<ref name=":4" />
=== American colonialism ===
[[File:Metlakahtla_brass_band._-_NARA_-_298091.jpg|thumb|Metlakahtla brass band]]
Alaska has many natural resources, which, including its gold, caught the attention of the United States.<ref name=RSA/> In 1867, the [[United States]] purchased Alaska from Russia. It did not consider the wishes of Native Alaskans or view them as citizens.{{Sfn|Tucker|Landreth|Lynch|2017|p=329}} The land that belonged to Alaska Natives was considered to be "open land", which could be claimed by white settlers without redress to the Alaska Natives living there.{{Sfn|Tucker|Landreth|Lynch|2017|p=329}} The only schools for Alaska Natives were those founded by religious [[Missionary|missionaries]].
The [[Klondike Gold Rush]] occurred in the 1896–1898, increasing white presence in Alaska as well as discriminatory practices.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chapter 1 |url=https://www.usccr.gov/files/pubs/sac/ak0402/ch1.htm |access-date=2023-08-24 |website=www.usccr.gov}}</ref> Americans imposed [[racial segregation]] and discriminatory laws (similar to [[Jim Crow laws]]) that limited Alaska Native opportunities and participation in culture, treating them as [[second-class citizen]]s.{{Sfn|Cole|1992|p=428}} With the imposition of discriminatory laws, segregation amongst Alaskan Natives and Americans occurred; for example, "[[Racial segregation|whites only]]" signs excluded natives from entering buildings. There were also segregated schools. An 1880 court case describes a child not allowed to attend a school with Americans because his stepfather was native.{{Clarify|reason=What was the outcome of the trial? Are any notable people involved?|date=August 2023}} A child that was part native and part American would only be allowed to attend a school with American children if the family has abandoned their culture. This means that they could no longer speak their native language, wear traditional native clothing, be amongst other natives, eat native foods, or practice any native religion.{{sfn|Cole|1992|p={{pn|date=June 2024}}}}
In 1912, the [[Alaska Native Brotherhood/Sisterhood|Alaska Native Brotherhood]] (ANB) was formed to help fight for citizenship rights.{{Sfn|Cole|1992|p=432}} The Alaska Native Sisterhood (ANS) was created in 1915.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web|last=Sostaric|first=Katarina|date=2015-10-12|title=Alaska Native Sisterhood celebrates 100th anniversary in Wrangell|url=https://www.ktoo.org/2015/10/11/alaska-native-sisterhood-celebrates-100th-anniversary-wrangell/|access-date=2020-11-08|website=KTOO|language=en-US}}</ref> Also in 1915, the Alaska Territorial legislature passed a law allowing Alaskan Natives the right to vote – but on the condition that they give up their cultural customs and traditions.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=First Territorial Legislature of Alaska |url=https://www.nps.gov/people/first-territorial-legislature-of-alaska.htm|access-date=2020-11-09|website=U.S. National Park Service|language=en}}</ref> The [[Indian Citizenship Act]], passed in 1924, gave all [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] United States citizenship.<ref name=":5" />
ANB began to hold a great deal of political power in the 1920s.{{Sfn|Cole|1992|
In 1942, during World War II, the United States forced evacuation of around nine hundred [[Aleut]]s from the [[Aleutian Islands]].{{Sfn|Cole|1992|p=438}} The idea was to remove the Aleuts from a potential combat zone during [[World War II]] for their own protection, but European Americans living in the same area were not forced to leave.{{Sfn|Cole|1992|p=438}} The removal was handled so poorly that many Aleuts died after they were evacuated; the elderly and children had the highest mortality rates. {{Sfn|Cole|1992|
The [[Alaska Equal Rights Act of 1945]], the first anti-discrimination state law in the U.S., occurred as a result of these protests.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Peratrovich family papers · SOVA |url=https://sova.si.edu/record/NMAI.AC.078?s=0&n=10&t=C&q=Peratrovich+family+papers,+1929-2001&i=0 |access-date=2020-11-17 |website=sova.si.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Anti-discrimination Act of 1945 {{!}} Alaska State Archives |url=https://archives.alaska.gov/education/peratrovich.html |access-date=2020-11-17 |website=archives.alaska.gov}}</ref> It entitled all Alaskans to "full and equal enjoyment" of public areas and businesses,<ref name=":22">{{Cite news |last=Vaughan |first=Carson |date=2019-03-20 |title=Overlooked No More: Elizabeth Peratrovich, Rights Advocate for Alaska Natives |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/20/obituaries/elizabeth-peratrovich-overlooked.html |access-date=2020-11-11 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> a ban on segregating signs,<ref name=":22" /> with discriminatory actions punishable by a $250 fine and up to 30 days in jail.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Anti-discrimination Act of 1945 |url=https://archives.alaska.gov/education/peratrovich.html |access-date=2020-11-11 |website=Alaska State Archives}}</ref>
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====ANCSA and since (1971 to present)====
[[File:Will Yaska of Pueblo, Colorado, a Koyukon (an Alaska Native Athabaskan people), was among the participants at a Colorado Springs Native American Inter-Tribal Powwow and festival in that central LCCN2015633372.tif|thumb|right
In 1971, with the support of Alaska Native leaders such as [[Emil Notti]], [[Willie Hensley]], and [[Byron Mallott]], the [[United States Congress|U.S. Congress]] passed the [[Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act]] (ANCSA), which settled [[Aboriginal land claims|land and financial claims]] for lands and resources which the Alaska Natives had lost to [[European Americans|European-Americans]]. It provided for the establishment of thirteen Alaska Native Regional Corporations to administer those claims. Similar to the separately defined status of the [[Canadians|Canadian]] [[List of Canadian Inuit|Inuit]] and [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] in Canada, which are recognized as distinct peoples, in the United States, Alaska Natives or Native Alaskans are in some respects treated separately by the government from other [[Native Americans in the United States]]. This is in part related to their interactions with the U.S. government which occurred in a different historical period than its interactions during the period of [[Territorial evolution of the United States|westward expansion]] during the 19th century.
Europeans and Americans did not have sustained encounters with the Alaska Natives until the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when many were attracted to the region in gold rushes. The Alaska Natives were not allotted individual title in severalty to land under the [[Dawes Act]] of 1887 but were instead treated under the [[Alaska Native Allotment Act]] of 1906.<ref>Case, David S. and David A. Voluck. (2002). ''Alaska Natives and American Laws'', 2nd ed. Fairbanks, AK: [[University of Alaska Press]]</ref>
==Climate change==
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The Shishmaref, Kivalina, Shaktoolik and Newtok tribes are located on the west coast of Alaska and due to sea-level rise the villages are experiencing more severe storm surges that are eroding their coastlines (Bronen). There is no land for these tribes to move to that are already in the area they live in which forces these communities to migrate and change their whole way of living (Bronen). It is predicted that a climate event will submerge the tribes completely in less than fifteen years (Bronen).{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}
Extreme weather conditions has increased the risk of injury, usually there are thick layers of ice all year long but due to increasing temperatures in the atmosphere and the sea the ice
==Subsistence==
{{See also|Subsistence economy}}
Gathering of subsistence food continues to be an important economic and cultural activity for many Alaska Natives.<ref name="Ristroph">{{cite journal |author=Elizabeth Barrett Ristroph
But, unlike many tribes in the contiguous United States, Alaska Natives or Native Alaskans do not have treaties with the United States that protect their subsistence rights,<ref name="Ristroph"/> except for the right to harvest whales and other marine mammals. The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act explicitly extinguished aboriginal hunting and fishing rights in the state of Alaska.<ref>43 U.S.C. § 1603(b) (2006)</ref>
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==References==
{{Reflist}}
=== Sources ===
* {{Cite journal|last=Cole|first=Terrence M.|date=November 1992 |title=Jim Crow in Alaska: The Passage of the Alaska Equal Rights Act
* {{Cite journal|last1=Tucker|first1=James Thomas|last2=Landreth |first2=Natalie A. |last3=Lynch |first3=Erin Dougherty |date=2017 |title='Why Should I Go Vote Without Understanding What I Am Going to Vote For?' The Impact of First Generation Voting Barriers on Alaska Natives
==Further reading==
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[[Category:Alaska Native| ]]
[[Category:Indigenous peoples in the United States|*]]
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