Eyak
Chugach Sugpiaq |
The Eyak (
Territory
The Eyak's territory reached from present day Cordova east to the Martin River and north to Miles Glacier.
There were four main villages:
- Alaganik, near Mile 21 of the present day Copper River Highway
- Eyak, located near Mile 5.5
- unnamed, 800 yards south of Eyak
- Orca, located within present day Cordova
In addition to these villages the Eyak would seasonally occupy fish camps at Point Whitshed and Mountain Slough.[3]
The now-common name Eyak for both the ethnic group and its language is an
The Eyak refer to themselves as DAXunhyuu ("the people") and the present-day Eyak Native Village as IiyaaGdaad' ("at Eyak Native Village") – but the now officially recognized tribe as IiyaaGdAlahGAyuu ("People from Eyak Native Village"), as the tribe consists of descendants of Chugach Sugpiaq, Eyak, and Tlingit.[5]
History
The Eyak initially moved out of the interior down the Copper River to the coast. There they harvested the rich
As populations decreased the remaining Eyak began to congregate near the village of Orca.[6] In 1880 the population of the village of Alaganik was recorded at 117 and by 1890 it had declined to 48.[7] In 1900 total population was estimated at 60. As more settlers arrived the last village became the town of Cordova. As of 1996, there were 120 partial Eyak descendants in the town.[6] The last full-blood Eyak, Marie Smith Jones, died on January 21, 2008.[8]
Language
The Eyak spoke a distinct language closely related to the Athabaskan languages. Pressure from neighboring ethnic groups and the spread of English resulted in a decline of the Eyak language. Marie Smith Jones (1918–2008) was the last native speaker. Michael Krauss was known first and foremost as an Eyak language specialist.
Shamanism
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Notable Eyak people
- Marie Smith Jones, last native speaker of traditional Eyak language
References
- ^ Eyak Corporation
- ^ Krauss, Michael E. 1970. Eyak dictionary. University of Alaska and Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1963–1970
- ^ "Eyak Native History". Cordova Historical Society. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
- ^ Michael E. Krauss 2006: A history of Eyak language documentation and study: Fredericæ de Laguna in Memoriam. Arctic Anthropology 43 (2):pages 172–217
- ^ "Eyak Dictionary". Archived from the original on 2016-11-30. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
- ^ ISSN 0361-1353.
- ^ Hodge, Frederick (1912). Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico: A-M. Government Print Office. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
- ^ Holton, Gary (1 February 2010). "Overview of the Eyak Language". University of Alaska Fairbanks. Retrieved 26 February 2010.
Further reading
- Birket-Smith, K., & De Laguna, F. (1938). The Eyak Indians of the Copper River Delta, Alaska. København: Levin & Munksgaard, E. Munksgaard.
- De Laguna, F. (1990). "Eyak." In Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 7 Northwest Coast. W. Suttles, ed. Pp. 189–96. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
- Harry, A. N., & Krauss, M. E. (1982). In honor of Eyak: The art of Anna Nelson Harry. Fairbanks, Alaska: Alaska Native Language Center, University of Alaska.
- Hund, Andrew. "Eyak." 2004. Encyclopedia of the Arctic. Taylor and Francis Publications. ISBN 1-57958-436-5
- Hund, Andrew. 2008. "’Old Man Dude’ and Eyak Shamanism" Alaska Historical Society ~ University of Alaska's Statehood Conference, Alaska Visionaries: Seekers, Leaders, and Dreamers. Anchorage, AK. Unpublished manuscript.
External links
- Eyak Preservation Council
- Eyak Revitalization Project
- Native Village of Eyak
- Eyak Corporation
- Alaska Native Heritage Center Archived 2018-01-02 at the Wayback Machine
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