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They are Native Americans. Linguistically, many of the Alaskan languages are Athabaskan. That language group also includes the Apaches and Navajos of the Southwest. Those Alaskan Natives went far.
They are Native Americans. Linguistically, many of the Alaskan languages are Athabaskan. That language group also includes the Apaches and Navajos of the Southwest. Those Alaskan Natives went far.
Question for you, Fullback. IMHO, all people native to U.S. soil are Native Americans, no matter what their racial/ethnic origins.
Would you consider Aleut, Inuit/Eskimos and Native Hawaiians (kanaka maoli) also the same as Native Americans?
Question for you, Fullback. IMHO, all people native to U.S. soil are Native Americans, no matter what their racial/ethnic origins.
Would you consider Aleut, Inuit/Eskimos and Native Hawaiians (kanaka maoli) also the same as Native Americans?
You know, that's a good question and one that many times is discussed among us. I can only speak for myself and people I know. Generally, we look at our Alaskan brothers and sisters as Native Americans just like us. Same goes for our cousins in Canada and the indigenous tribes south of the border and in South America. Many times we will differentiate North American Indians, Native Alaskans, Central American Indians, and South American Indians in conversations so people will know which groups we are speaking of. I do wonder sometimes as to how much of that differentiation in the modern age has been a result of English versus Spanish. This is why, in the end, I see all of us are Native Americans and we should be aware of what is going on with Native Americans throughout the hemisphere.
It is an interesting thing as though we say "Native Americans", there is and always will be a "tribal line", if you will, that says Comanche, Kiowa, Lakota, Navajo, Pima, Modoc and so on. I'm sure the same thing exists among natives in different parts of the hemisphere.
For myself and most NA Indian people I know, we feel a kinship with the Native Hawaiians as they went through some very similar things as we did. Though different in the details, the result was the same. A couple of years ago, the wife and spent two weeks in Hawaii. While on the Big Island, in particular, I spent much time having conversations with many of the Islanders. Though of Polynesian culture, we had many commonalities that we discovered about each other. I think as dialogue continues among the American Indian Nations and the Hawaiians, we shall see more commonalities than we ever realized and a need to be more supportive of each other's causes.
As to the United States, IMO, American Indians, Native Alaskans and the Native Hawaiians are the indigenous people of this country.
Excellent topic. I have 4 cousins that are half Klinkit Alaskan Indian and Caucasian. (My Mom's brother married a Klinkit.) They were raised here in Denver, but they have gone back and forth to Alaska often to see Ketchikan and their other relatives. They always told me that the Klinkit's were not considered "Native American Indians". It's hard to explain. Here's a quote from a Facebook page (link is at the bottom) "Alaska Native villages do not have the same sovereignty rights that Indian nations in other US states do"
And IMO, I think the cute little kids in the pictures above, the second picture especially, are Inuit (Eskimo) children. They are not considered Indians at all and can be offended at being called "Eskimo" as well. I have no idea why.
alaska natives, villages and alaskan indian communities
Alaskan natives in Alaska number about 119,241 (as of the 2000 census). There are 229 federally recognized Alaskan villages and five unrecognized Tlingit alaskan indian tribes. Generally, the aboriginal people of Alaska don't mind being called Eskimos or Indians, but there are some individuals who don't like to be called native americans or eskimo. They prefer the terms alaskan natives or alaska indian communities or inuits, etc. It is important to understand the diversity of native Alaskan tribes which speak 20 different languages, belong to five geographic areas, are organized under thirteen Alaska Native Regional Corporations and have eleven different cultures. Alaskan natives make up 20% of the population of the state of Alaska.
Question for you, Fullback. IMHO, all people native to U.S. soil are Native Americans, no matter what their racial/ethnic origins.
Perhaps that's why many, myself included, prefer to use the term "American Indian". I believe indigenous Hawaiians consider themselves Polynesian rather than American Indian.
American Indians themselves are Mongoloid. The Alaskans are just more recent arrivals from Asia.
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