Alaska

Alaska has 229 federally recognized tribes with 42 languages spoken ¹⁰. According to the U.S. Census, Alaska’s population of American Indian and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) was estimated to be around 147,752 in 2017 ¹¹. This number does not include individuals who identify as two or more races. In 2017, more than one third of the estimated Alaska Native/American Indian population was under the age of twenty. The estimated median age for the AI/AN population in the state was 26.4 years compared to 33.9 years for all races. ³⁹

Unlike the other Northwest states, there is only one federally-recognized reservation in the state, home to the Metlakatla Indian Community on the Annete Island Reserve. Instead, the state is organized into tribal communities that are affiliated with a village or regional native corporation, known as Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs). This is due to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971, which determined land rights for Alaska’s Native populations.

Download this map to zoom in.

Because of ANCs, tribal health care is delivered differently than in other states and uses Tribal Health Organizations (THOs). For more infomration about tribal health care in Alaska, please visit our page: Tribal Health Care

The Alaska Native Corporations follow roughly the same georgraphies as the Tribal Health Organizations (THOs), so it's important for public health professionals to know about ANCs and THOs.

Tribal Perspectives: Alaska

To hear some unique perspectives from Alaska Natives, please watch this video series, Our Fight to Survive.

Additional Resources

• The Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians
• Urban Indian Health Program, Urban Indian Health Institute