(Redirected from Dena\'ina)
The 'Dena’ina' (also 'Tanaina') are an
Alaska Native people, an extended tribe of
American Indian lineage. They are the original inhabitants of the southcentral
Alaska region ranging from
Seldovia in the south to
Talkeetna in the north,
Lime Village in the Northeast and
Pedro Bay in the Southwest.
The name means "The people," and is related to the preferred name for the Navajo people "Dene". The Dena'ina name for Cook Inlet is Tikahtnu meaning "Big Water River" or Nuti meaning "Saltwater." The Dena'ina are the only Athabascan group to live on saltwater and this allowed them to have the most sedentary lifestyle of all Northern Athabascans.
Language
Their traditional language,
Dena’ina, currently has about 70-75 speakers out of a total population of about 1400. Dena'ina is a subset of the larger language group of
Athabascan Indian dialects, which extends from south coastal Alaska through Northwest Canada into the eastern prairie provinces of Canada.
Convention Center
The city of
Anchorage chose to honor the Dena’ina by naming the city's new convention center the
Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center.
See also
★
Alaska Natives
★
Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center
External links
★ http://www.anchorage.net/
★ http://www.anchorageconventioncenter.com/