This land
“This land is an intricately woven fabric of relationships, every creature held within its community of being, its natural ecosystem, its context of home, there is & can be no separation.
-Emma Restall Orr
For thousands of years, Alaska has been home to roughly five groups of people: Iñupiat & St. Lawrence Island Yup'ik in the Arctic; Athabascan in Southcentral & Interior Alaska; Yup’ik & Cup’ik, Unangax̂ & Sugpiaq (Alutiiq) in Southwest Alaska; & Eyak, Haida, Tsimshian, & Tlingit in the Inside Passage.
Alaska Native cultures strongly influence our way of life, from names of rivers, mountains, & communities on traditional lands to art, architecture, & culture in our cities. About 16 percent of Alaska residents are Alaska Native, with 20 distinct cultures & 300 different dialects. Many Alaska Native people live in villages scattered along the coastline & rivers of Alaska, where they still practice traditional subsistence hunting & fishing lifestyles. In all five regions of our state & in communities both large & small, our culture & history are shaped by Alaska Native language, artwork, storytelling, ceremonies, & customs.
At The Arctic Bonfire, we acknowledge that we practice our religions on the ancestral lands of the Indigenous Peoples of Alaska. This acknowledgment is offered in gratitude to the Indigenous communities who have been stewards for generations & in recognition of the enduring impacts of colonialism. We offer it as a call to reflection & a commitment to actively dismantle systemic colonial practices while living sustainably on this land.
To learn more, visit these Alaska Native resources for you
