Category: Athabascan history and culture

History and culture of Athabascan Indians, which inhabit most of Alaska’s interior regions

Final week of “Interior Sketches III” Kickstarter campaign. Project is already fully funded – let’s keep up the momentum

  We are entering the final week of the campaign to fund the printing of my book, “Interior Sketches III, More ramblings around Interior Alaska.”  The campaign is in an excellent position – not...

“Interior Sketches III” Kickstarter campaign smashes through funding goal! Still time to pledge.

In the past two days our Kickstarter campaign has met and then greatly exceeded our funding goal! Thanks to an article in Thursday’s Fairbanks Daily News-Miner newspaper, our Kickstarter campaign went from about $850...

Kickstarter campaign for “Interior Sketches III” book reaches 50% funding. Still time to pledge.

The Kickstarter campaign to fund the printing of my new book, Interior Sketches III, More ramblings around Interior Alaska historic sites,” just reached 50% funding after only one week. The campaign runs for another three...

“Interior Sketches III” funding project is live on Kickstarter!

  The Kickstarter project to fund a first printing of my new book, Interior Sketches III, More ramblings around Interior Alaska historic sites, is now live and accepting pledges. The book features 70 historic...

The old "Chapel on the Hill" in Copper Center was built in 1943. It was moved in 2019to a site along the Old Richardson Highway near the traditional Copper Center cemetery.

Copper Center church is a reminder of early missionary efforts in Copper River Valley

The community of Copper Center is located on the Copper River’s west bank, just north of the Klutina River. It was founded in 1898 as a trading post along the trail from Valdez to...

1915 Tanana Chiefs Conference was one of the first steps toward Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act

1915 Tanana Chiefs Conference was one of the first steps toward Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act

On July 5 and 6, 1915, one of the precursors to the 1971 meeting of Alaska Native elders to discuss the pending Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act was held in Fairbanks, in the George...

Tall caches were once common in Alaska

Tall cache that used to stand at Pioneer Park in Fairbanks In modern Alaska, elevated storage caches (sometimes called fish or bear caches) typically consist of small rustic log cabins built atop four canted...

Alaska Highway ended the isolation of Scottie Creek area

Fuller Thompson cabin at Scottie Creek in 2019. Thompson was a big-game guide and he and his wife were among the first homesteaders in the Scottie Creek area. Scottie Creek crosses the Alaska Highway...

Interior Alaska’s once numerous fishwheels dwindle in number

Interior Alaska’s once numerous fishwheels dwindle in number

It may surprise people that the picturesque fishwheels that are so much a part of Interior Alaska life, and so often associated with Athabascan Indian culture, are not indigenous to Alaska or Canada. Athabascans...

Eklutna’s Orthodox church may be the oldest building in the Anchorage area

Old St. Nicholas church in Eklutna as it looked in the 1980s Eklutna, 25 miles northeast of Anchorage on the east shore of Upper Cook Inlet’s Knik Arm, is a small Dena’ina Athabascan community....