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A collaborative, multidisciplinary approach to collecting, preserving, and displaying traditional Alaska Dene place names. This website is designed for research use only, and not for public or commercial use/display.
Follow the links to the left to explore each language individually, or scroll down to explore all Dene languages together
For further discussion on the creation and analysis of this atlas, please see "Historical Linguistic and Ethno-Geographic Perspectives on Alaska Dene Origins: A White Paper Describing the Methodology Correlating the Linguistic and Archaeological Datasets in Alaska"
and "The Gift of the Middle Tanana: Dene Pre-Colonial History in the Alaskan Interior"
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781793654779
Because this represents work from multiple ongoing projects, the paper and map content is subject to constant review and updates
(You will need a subscription to ArcGIS Online to view the map; if you need help with access, please email Dr. Smith (contact info below)
The purpose of this study is to display an interactive webmap that brings together all the known Alaska Dene (Athabascan) place name data lists compiled principally by Dr. James Kari. Additional work by other researchers is occasionally displayed as well in order to complete the corpus. The geospatial projection here has been created and maintained by Dr. Gerad Smith.
While numerous differing language place names lists are displayed here, the research effort in each is not equal. Dr. Kari's work in Dena'ina, Ahtna, Koyukon, Upper Kuskokwim, Lower Tanana, Upper Tanana, and Middle Tanana are far more developed than other languages.
Tanacross, Gwich'in, Holikachuk, and Deg Xit'an should be considered as initial drafts and under first review. These need additional confirmation regarding name inventories, orthography, and translation.
Han, Northern Tutchone, Southern Tutchone, and Tagish are displayed for comparative purposes in order to clarify similar levels of research regarding the upper Yukon River headwaters.
Place name research and inventory is never complete; constraints include the ever-increasing loss of direct knowledge as informant's memories fade with time. Despite this, an expanding body of knowledge has been recorded and continues to be expanded upon. This website presents the current geospatial status of eleven Dene languages. Special note: These lists are under constant revision, and are updated on a regular basis. If you have information that can assist our editing process (revised locations, translation edits, or new place names), please contact us through the links below.
Please cite this page as:
Kari, James and Gerad Smith
2017 Dene Atlas. The Web Atlas of Alaska Dene Place Names, Version 1.2., published online February 1, 2017. Accessed <current date>
Methodology for developing the multilingual atlas is explained and included in:
Smith, Gerad M.
2020. Historical Linguistic and Ethno-Geographic Perspectives of the Alaska Dene. In Ethnoarchaeology of the Middle Tanana Valley, Alaska. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks.
Use limitations:
Any use of traditional place names should only occur with direct consultation and permission of descendant communities. Additionally, orthographies (conventional spellings) and locations may be updated from time to time, and consultation with language experts should occur to ensure accurate spelling and use.
Permission to use this map for non-commercial, educational purposes is granted under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Do not cite or republish without the author's written permission. The compilers request that any amendments or additions made to this list be transmitted back to the Alaska Native Language Center so the most up-to-date and complete records of Dene place names can be maintained.
Under the provisions of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act and the National Historic Preservation Act, site location information is privileged and restricted. Note that sites containing human remains are also protected under the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and AS 11.46.482 (a) (3). Cultural resource data are not to be distributed unless authorized by Alaska Office of History and Archaeology officials and/or are Registered Professional Archaeologists or Cultural Resources Professionals who meet the Secretary of Interior Standards and Guidelines for Archaeology and Historic Preservation (48 FR 44716 as amended). Data is "Restricted-Not for Public Distribution".
The authors request that if commercial, for-profit entities wish to cite or republish any place names from this database, that they donate to the Troth Yeddha' Initiative: https://www.uaf.edu/trothyeddha/. We further request that donations be made in proportion to the number of place names used. A donation of $5 per place name for larger projects to $10 per referenced feature for smaller projects is suggested. The authors request confirmation of donations and use of the Atlas in order to track usage.
We further encourage all entities wishing to reproduce place names to contact Dr. Kari for a contractual review of spellings, grammar, and translations to ensure quality reproduction.
We ask that all entities remember that this database has been produced and continues to be maintained at great personal cost to Dr. Kari and Dr. Smith. It is not maintained through any State, federal, or commercial funding, such as other similar databases. It does not generate monetary salaries for the authors as funding for other open-access databases do. While the primary texts it has been derived from have occasionally received some grant funding and produce limited royalties, interlocutors/cultural experts and Descendant Communities who provided the traditional names often do not receive ongoing recompense for their continued use.
An ethical concern arises when commercial entities treat databases such as these as free research access. Such use enhances reports, articles, etc., which help pay internal salaries, bonuses, and enhance the likelihood of gaining future project awards. Without any reciprocal benefit to either the research or to the descendant communities, it can quickly become another colonized resource. We do not yet have an easy answer to this ethical dilemma, but we encourage ongoing dialogue.
If our requested donation cannot be met, please simply direct the reader to the atlas as a place names acknowledgment.
Gerad Smith, Ph.D.
Gerad Smith received his Ph.D. through the Department of Anthropology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. His studies focused on the integration of archaeology, ethnography, and historical linguistics, highlighting late Holocene Athabascan lifeways in the Alaska Interior. In the past twelve years he has done extensive archaeological work in many places across Alaska.
James Kari, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
James Kari retired from the Alaska Native Language Center in 1997 but continues to work on several Alaska Native language projects. In the past forty-five years he has done extensive linguistic work in many Athabascan/Dene languages.
Jim's books include: editor: Koyukon Athabascan Dictionary by Jules Jetté and Eliza Jones
Author, Dena'ina Topical Dictionary; and Co-Author, Shem Pete's Alaska: The Territory of the Upper Cook Inlet Dena'ina.
In 2010, he was co-editor with Dr. Ben Potter of the Dene-Yeneseian Connection, A Special Edition of the Anthropological Papers of the University of Alaska.
STATEMENT OF COPYRIGHT
The Web Atlas of Alaska Dene Place Names, version 1.2, March. 1, 2017
by James Kari, and Gerad M. Smith
© Dena'inaq' Titaztunt
This is an experimental version of a multi-language Alaska Dene place names web atlas. This web map is accessible only to those who have been invited to access its URL. There are numerous ethical, editorial, and technical issues that are under discussion. We welcome comments and suggestions from those who have been invited to access this Version 1.2 of the web map.
Dr. James Kari is the source for 90% or more of the Dene place name spellings, literal translations, and approximate locations. Gerad Smith is responsible for data assembly, geospatial mapping, and for the unique multi-language display as a web map. While past efforts have received both grant and agency funding, the current effort represents an unfunded, volunteer effort. There has been no grant funding for the 2016-2017 versions of this web map. A previous version of this atlas, (version 1.1) was briefly hosted by Will Putman of Tanana Chiefs Conference in January of 2017.
On a worldwide basis, this display of adjacent Alaska Dene place name networks may be unprecedented. This is likely the most detailed display of multilingual place name systems for a large group of adjacent language areas of the same indigenous language family. By detailed, we refer to the editorial consistency, quality, and breadth of place name coverage and interpretation. There are numerous potential uses for different types of Alaska Dene place names web maps: as a tool to improve the accuracy of the data, scientific research, management, and public education.
As of early March 2017, Tanana Chiefs Conference (Realty and Forestry Programs) has endorsed our displays of data for TCC villages and languages (Lower Tanana, Tanacross, Upper Tanana, Upper Kuskokwim, Deg Hit'an, Holikachuk, Koyukon, and Gwich'in.), but additional confirmation of this endorsement is being sought from the TCC Administration and Executive Board. Other permissions are pending (Ahna and Dena'ina).
The status of the place names data varies considerably for these ten Dene languages. A key problem with geospatial mapping of native place names is that it has been highly difficult to consistently review and correct name and location data with multiple editors. The depth and quality of the place names data vary considerably for these ten Dene languages in this version. The most authoritative data are for Ahtna and Lower Tanana; Three languages are currently being reviewed and will have updated inventories: Koyukon, Dena'ina, and Upper Kuskokwim. Five languages display partial inventories or files that may be 10 to 20 years old: Gwich'in, Tanacross, Upper Tanana, Deg Hit'an, Holikachuk.
Introductions and citations of primary references for each language are still being developed. We are responsible for any errors in spelling and locations. At this time, we request that data on this map not be cited for purposes of publication.
Comments on this web map can be addressed to the authors:
Dr. James Kari james.kari@alaska.edu
Dr. Gerad Smith gmsmith2@alaska.edu
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