Did Alaska Native cultures have a written language before they arrived?

• A. Some Alaska Native cultures had a written language.
• B. A writing system existed for some Alaska Native cultures before arrival.
• C. Writing existed among Alaska Native cultures before arrival.
• D. None of the Alaska Native cultures had a written language before arrival.

Answer: (D)

Before contact with outsiders, Alaska Native cultures relied on spoken language and oral traditions to pass on knowledge, history, laws, and customs. There wasn’t a native writing system used to record language or long texts. While you can find petroglyphs or symbolic art, these served purposes like decoration, storytelling, or marking territory, not a script for language. Writing was introduced later through contact with missionaries and scholars, and today many Alaska Native languages use writing systems based on Latin letters. Because there was no indigenous writing prior to arrival, the statement that none had a written language before arrival is accurate.