A 20-year effort to document traditional Native place names in the Koyukuk River drainage was completed this month with the publication of this full color atlas. March 2009.

KANUTI: Refuge and Service Contribute to Atlas of Native Place Names

A 20-year effort to document traditional Native place names in the Koyukuk River drainage was completed this month with publication of a 54-page full color atlas.  In the mid-1980’s Kanuti Refuge’s local Refuge Information Technician, Johnson Moses of  Allakaket, helped linguist Dr. Eliza Jones compile hundreds of traditional Native names near the villages of Hughes, Allakaket, Alatna, Bettles, and Evansville.  Dr. Jones and Moses recorded interviews with Native elders who told the stories behind the names of places within Kanuti Refuge and surrounding areas. This information was documented by University of Alaska researcher Wendy Arundale in an unpublished report where it remained for two decades.

In 2005-2006 the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) funded the Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Association to gather traditional knowledge on fishing sites and fish spawning areas in the Koyukuk drainage.  At that time, Kanuti Refuge  staff wanted to include traditional place names in their revised Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) due in 2008.  Kanuti Refuge planner Deborah Webb painstakingly entered Moses’ and Jones’ work into a computerized Geographic Information System so computer records accurately depicted the unique lettering to ensure accurate pronunciation in the Koyukon language. With a Challenge Cost Share from the Service, the Fisheries Association included Moses’ and Jones’ information in their refined and comprehensive atlas of place names.  With additional support from NOAA and the Lannan foundation, the Fisheries Association recently published “Middle Koyukuk River of Alaska- An Atlas of Fishing Places and Traditional Place names.”  Copies are available from YRDFA at 725 Christensen Drive, Suite 3B, Anchorage, Alaska 99501.