The
Alaskan Athabascans,
Alaskan Athabaskans,
Alaskan Athapaskans ( or
атапаски Аляски) are an
Alaska Native peoples of the
Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group. They are the original inhabitants of the
interior of Alaska. In Alaska, where they are the oldest, there are eleven groups identified by the languages they speak. These are the
Dena’ina or Tanaina (
Ht’ana),
Ahtna or Copper River Athabaskan (
Hwt’aene),
Deg Hit’an or Ingalik (
Hitʼan),
Holikachuk (
Hitʼan),
Koyukon (
Hut’aane),
Upper Kuskokwim or Kolchan (
Hwt’ana),
Tanana or Lower Tanana (
Kokht’ana),
Tanacross or Tanana Crossing (
Koxt’een),
Upper Tanana (
Kohtʼiin),
Gwich'in or Kutchin (
Gwich’in), and
Hän (
Hwëch’in). The Alaskan Athabascan culture is an inland creek and river fishing (also coastal fishing by only Dena'ina of
Cook Inlet) and
hunter-gatherer culture. The Alaskan Athabascans have a
matrilineal system in which children belong to the mother's clan, with the exception of the
Yupikized Athabaskans (Holikachuk and Deg Hit'an).