Denaʼina

The Denaʼina People

The Denaʼina are an Alaska Native group from south central Alaska. Their home is called Denaʼina Ełnena, which is very big. It stretches 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. They have lived there for more than 1,000 years.

The Denaʼina people lived by hunting and gathering food. Their families were connected through the mother's side. The paths they used became the famous Iditarod Trail. They had many neighbors, like other Athabaskan groups and Yupik peoples.

The name "Denaʼina" means "the people." It comes from words in their language. They call Cook Inlet Tikahtnu, which means "Big Water River" or "Ocean River."

Today, the Denaʼina are part of many modern groups. A big building in Anchorage, called the Denaʼina Civic and Convention Center, is named to honor them. Some well-known Denaʼina people include Alice E. Brown, Adelheid Herrmann, and Peter Kalifornsky.