Territory: Alaska (United States), Yukon and Northwest Territories in Canada

Indigenous Peoples: Athabaskan

Indigenous Population: 45,000

Languages: 23

The AAC was established to defend the rights and further the interests internationally of American and Canadian Athabaskan members. The AAC also seeks to foster a greater understanding of the shared heritage of Athabaskan peoples of Arctic North America.

About the Athabaskan Peoples

The Athabaskan peoples have traditionally occupied a vast geographic area of approximately 3 million square kilometers. This region has been continuously occupied by Athabaskan peoples for at least 10,000 years. The ancestors of contemporary Athabaskan peoples were semi-nomadic hunters. The staples of Athabaskan life are caribou, moose, beaver, rabbits and fish. Collectively, the Arctic Athabaskan peoples share 23 distinct languages.

Peoples of Arctic Athabaskan descent represent approximately two percent of the resident population of Alaska (12,000), compared with about one-third of the Yukon Territory (10,000), the Northwest Territories and provincial norths (20,000) in Canada. Athabaskan peoples are a relatively young and growing population compared with non-Aboriginal Arctic resident groups.

Arctic Athabaskan Council in the Arctic Council

The AAC collaborates with Arctic States, Working Groups and other Permanent Participants regarding circumpolar relations with regular contributions to Chairmanship work plans. The AAC has particular interest in balancing environmental protection with economic sustainability.

Arctic Athabaskan Council Official website

Source: Arctic Council