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Alaska Native

Alaska Native

2 4.1
A person whose family comes from the original peoples of Alaska
  • noun
  • /əˈlæskə ˈneɪtɪv/
translation icon : nativo de Alaska
  • For Alaskan Natives, the effects of oil exploration multiplied under the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
  • Alaska Native population
  • Alaska Native subsistence
  • Alaska Native hunters

Examples

  • They are heroes to us in American Indian Alaska Native communities.

  • Descriptive outcomes indicated that among students with disabilities, American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) students were over-represented in removals to alternative education.

    Academic text (2012)
  • We implemented the model for the United States as a whole, England and Wales, and the Alaska Native population.

    Academic text (2012)
  • Median age for those who are American Indian and Alaska Native and no other race.

    Blog text (30)
  • Due to a lack of reliable data, American Indians and Alaska Natives are not included in this report.

    Academic text (2007)
  • They are also members of Alaska Native tribal corporations.

  • Rates of tobacco smoking are higher among American Indians and Alaska Natives than in white men and women (Table 2).

    Academic text (2007)
  • Water quality is also of particular concern to Alaska Native hunters in Cook Inlet (Huntington, 2000).

    Academic text (2000)
  • Nearly one-third (32.8 percent) of Native Americans and Alaska Natives lack health insurance.

    Academic text (2005)
  • Rene was born in the Alaska Native village of Gambell on an island in the Bering Sea.

Synonyms

Native American
vsAlaska Native
161 3.4

A person whose family lived in North or South America before Europeans arrived

is narrower, referring only to Alaska indigenous peoples not all Americas groups
native
vsAlaska Native
84 3.7

A person from the original people of a place, not later settlers

is the Alaska-specific indigenous designation rather than the general term
Inuit
vsAlaska Native
24 6.3

Native people who live in the Arctic regions of northern Canada, Greenland, Alaska, and eastern Siberia

is focused on Alaska indigenous identity specifically rather than Arctic-wide groups
aborigine
vsAlaska Native
4 8.6

A person from the first people living in a place before others arrived

is the Alaska-focused indigenous category rather than general original inhabitants
aboriginal
vsAlaska Native
2 7.6

A member of the first people who lived in a region

applies specifically to Alaska indigenous peoples rather than any original inhabitants
Native Alaskan
vsAlaska Native
1 4.8

A person whose family lived in Alaska before other people arrived

refers to all indigenous peoples of Alaska rather than a narrow subgroup
indigene
vsAlaska Native
1 9.4

A person native to a place where their family lived for many generations

uses the Alaska-wide indigenous sense rather than the general original inhabitant label
Amerindian
vsAlaska Native
1 7.3

A person whose family comes from the native peoples of North or South America

is narrower, focusing on Alaska's indigenous peoples rather than all Americas
Alaskan Native
vsAlaska Native
4.2

A person from the original communities who lived in Alaska or whose family comes from them

names the broad Alaska indigenous category not just this specific people
Aleut
vsAlaska Native
9.6

A person from the native people of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska

applies to all Alaska indigenous peoples rather than this localized group
Aleutian
vsAlaska Native
8.9

A person from the native people who live on the islands west of Alaska

is the broader Alaska indigenous category, not limited to these islands
Inupiat
vsAlaska Native
9.9

A person from the native people of northern Alaska

is the wider Alaska indigenous designation, not this single regional group
tribesperson
vsAlaska Native
6.5

A person who lives in a small community that shares the same customs

is the Alaska indigenous category by origin rather than membership in any tribe

Surface Forms

Alaska Native singular

Morphology

Alaska + native

This is a straightforward compositional combination of the place name 'Alaska' and 'native' (an indigenous person), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it means a person indigenous to Alaska. While the phrase can also function as a formal/legal designation for Alaska’s indigenous peoples, that specialized usage does not prevent the basic meaning from being transparently derivable from its constituents.

Etymology

Alaska Native comes from the simple idea of someone native to Alaska — the original people who lived there for many generations. So it means 'a member or descendant of the original peoples of Alaska' and is used today to talk about their culture, land, and rights.