Author: s360
Alaska Native Place Names Workshop draws attendees from Alaska and beyond
“You can’t lose your culture as long as you are learning place names in your native language.” – Athabascan elder Robert Charlie, at the Alaska Native Place Names Workshop, April, 2015 In late April, more…Read More
Ugrunaaluk kuukpikensis – “ancient grazer of the Colville River”
In September, the University of Alaska Fairbanks announced the discovery of a new kind of duck-billed dinosaur, a hadrosaur that lived in the arctic. Paleontologists have leeway in dinosaur naming conventions. Most are based on…Read More
Denali – “the high one”
In August, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell decreed that Mt. McKinley would be officially named Denali, a Koyukon Athabascan word meaning “the high one.” The name change was requested in 1975 and has been…Read More
Tlax_satanjín – “idle hands”
In March, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names officially recognized a peak near Juneau as Tlaxsatanjín, a decision for the record books. It’s the first geographic feature with a federally recognized name in Tlingit. University…Read More