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| Alaska continues to be home to a diverse group of aboriginal people who first called the Last Frontier their home many thousands of years prior to the miners and merchants of the Gold Rush. The three main groups – Athabascan Indians, Eskimos and Aleuts – are collectively referred to as Alaska Natives. However, separately, they represent different cultures, languages and beliefs. Today, 90,000 Native people constitute 15% of Alaska’s population, living in remote villages as well as urban cities like Fairbanks. Athabascans are predominant in Alaska’s vast Interior and are known for their decorative beadwork, birch bark baskets, and skin sewed garments. Fairbanks is the host city to the Festival of Native Arts, the Athabascan Old-Time Fiddling Festival, the Midnight Sun Intertribal Powwow and the World Eskimo Indian Olympics where visitors can experience a part of Alaska’s rich Native culture. |
- Besides English, 20 Native American languages are spoken in Alaska. Check out www.uaf.edu/anlc for the Alaska Native Language Center.
- Kuspuks are Eskimo women’s parkas made from seal, marmot, ground squirrel, rabbit or fox skins.
- An ulu is a traditional Eskimo woman’s knife designed for scraping and chopping. This fan-shaped tool can be purchased locally in gift stores.
- Willow root and birch bark baskets are made by Athabascan Indians. Native basketry varies greatly according to the region.
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 “Anyone visiting Alaska would be sorely amiss to not see Fairbanks at least once. Our residents embrace the ‘end of the road’ endurance and its rustic appeal, while enjoying the amenities of urban life. As a Koyukon Athabascan, I appreciate all of the great activities my children can enjoy through the seasons surrounded by family and friends, since Fairbanks remains the ‘hub’ of the greater Native community. I eagerly await the North American Sled Dog Championships in winter, the political meetings for the Native community each spring, and the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics in summer, where my daughter was a competitor in the Baby Regalia contest. Alaska Natives view the Tanana Valley State Fair each fall as the last big event before school, arriving for shopping and entertainment. Fairbanks is a melody of many cultures, mine is just one of them. We embrace self-sufficiency, an unpretentious lifestyle, and we celebrate the individual. If you’d like to see the ‘real’ Alaska, then find us at the end of the road!”
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Ginger Placeres, editor, and daughter Miralynn David |
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