The People

Alaska's rank among the states in population moved up from 50th in 1990 to 48th in 2000. It remains one of the earth's most sparsely populated regions. The population density in 2000 was 1.1 persons per square mile (0.4 per km2).

Whites made up 69.3 per cent of the population. Of the nonwhites, most were native Indians, Eskimos, and Aleuts; blacks accounted for 3.5 per cent of the state's population; Asians, 4.0 per cent.

The principal Indian groups in Alaska are the Tsimshian, Haida, and Tlingit tribes and seven small tribes belonging to the Athabsascan language family.

Mountainous, heavily forested southeastern Alaska is the home of the Tsimshians, Haidas, and Tlingits, whose ancestors migrated from Canada in the 18th and 19th centuries. Most of the Tsimshian Indians live along the Nass and Skeena rivers. The Haidas, located on Prince of Wales Island, and the Tlingits, settled along the coast from Ketchikan to Katalla, are distantly related. Both, particularly the Haida, are noted for their totem-pole carving. Most of the southeastern Indians are fishermen or work in fish canneries. They have generally abandoned their old tribal customs.

In the wide, flat river valleys west of Fairbanks in the Alaskan interior are various Athapascan Indians, whose forebears 700 to 800 years ago separated from the main body of related tribes now in Canada. Hunting and trapping are their main occupations.

The Eskimos live along the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean coasts and the lower Yukon River and Kuskokwim River regions. Scattered over this harsh and frigid area, they hunt, fish, trap, and herd reindeer. More than any other native Alaskans, the Eskimos have preserved their ancient customs and language. Yet even their traditional way of life is changing as the Eskimo, with his remarkable mechanical ability, is in increasing demand for work in the skilled trades.

Inhabiting the Aleutian Islands and the Alaska Peninsula are the Aleuts. Although closely related to the Eskimos (both are descended from Asian migrants who came to what is now Alaska some 10,000 to 15,000 years ago), these people have their own customs, tradition, and language. They engage in sealing, fishing, and farming.