Alaska Native Languages

About dAXunhyuuga'

The Eyak language is indigenous to the Copper River Delta and was once spoken in Yakutat and Icy Bay. The Eyak language became known around the world as the face of language extinction after the passing of Marie Smith Jones in 2008, the last full-blooded Eyak and native speaker of the language. However, in 2010, the Anchorage Daily News published a story reporting that Guillaume Leduey, a French teenager, had learned to speak Eyak through materials he obtained from the Alaska Native Language Center. The Eyak Preservation Council is working to revive the language, and the organization has produced a comprehensive learner’s website.