Alaska Native Languages

About Dinjii Zhuh K'yaa

Gwich’in is the most northern Athabascan language in Alaska, spoken in the far Northeast, and in Northwestern Canada. About 300 Gwich’in speak the language in Alaska, and another 350 speak the language in Canada.

The caribou or vadzaih is of extreme importance to Gwich’in people. Elders have been able to identify more than 150 Gwich’in names for caribou bones, organs and tissues.