Which Alaska Native group calls the area around Anchorage home?

• A. The Dena'ina
• B. The Yupik
• C. The Inupiat
• D. The Aleut

Answer: (A)

The area around Anchorage sits on the traditional homeland of the Dena’ina people. The Dena’ina are the southern branch of the Athabascan-speaking cultures, and their territory includes the Cook Inlet basin and the lands near modern Anchorage, with historic villages like Eklutna and Tyonek nearby. They have long relied on the coastal and river environments of this region, especially salmon and other fisheries, which ties deeply to their presence in and around Anchorage.

In contrast, the Yupik peoples live along the western and southwestern coast and the Bering Strait, the Inupiat inhabit the Arctic and sub-Arctic north, and the Aleut (Unangan) people are associated with the Aleutian Islands and the Alaska Peninsula. These locations are distinct from the Anchorage area, which is why the Dena’ina are the group most closely connected to that locale.