Ahtena

noun

Ah·​te·​na

ˈä-tə-nə

variants or less commonly Ahtna

ˈät-nə

plural Ahtena or Ahtenas or Ahtna or Ahtnas

1

a

: an Athapaskan people of the Copper river valley in southeastern Alaska

The Ahtena hunted a variety of animals, including moose, caribou, mountain sheep, and rabbits.

—Carl Waldman, Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes, (1999) 2006

The Ahtna lived in extended family groups close to good salmon runs, which provided the mainstay of their diet.

—Greg Fensterman, Hiking Alaska's Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, 2008

b

: a member of such people

2

: the language of the Ahtena people

The Ahtena language is spoken by a minority of tribal members; a dictionary was published in 1990 in the hope of preserving it.

—Carl Waldman, Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes, (1999) 2006

His rebuke caused no little tension and was immediately followed by a conciliatory speech in both Ahtna and English …

—William E. Simeone, Rifles, Blankets, and Beads, 1995

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Russian Atna, borrowed from Ahtna ʔatnaʔ, name for the lower Copper River (in ʔatnaʔ Wt̓e·, literally, "lower Copper River people")

First Known Use

1877, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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