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in reply to a message by Kaye
Its hard to know what is a traditional name because after Russian, French, and American influences most Alaskan Natives have very English sounding names and they have for generations. I've yet to meet a Native Alaskan, including the elderly (90+) who go by a "traditional" name in public (though some do have names they use among their family). The best opportunity to know would would involve getting in touch with elders of the region in Alaska who speak Tanana, but I don't know that even they would know what a traditional name would be. Its sad, but a lot of culture has been lost.
My best advice would be to look up Inuit names on this site. They aren't specific to Tanana but you may get an idea of names.
If it helps you, most Natives 15+ years old that I know have very old sounding English names like Moses, Joseph, Bertha, Phyllis, etc. Some of the under 15's are finally being given names that are more "on trend" but most are still following the tradition of receiving a family name.
My best advice would be to look up Inuit names on this site. They aren't specific to Tanana but you may get an idea of names.
If it helps you, most Natives 15+ years old that I know have very old sounding English names like Moses, Joseph, Bertha, Phyllis, etc. Some of the under 15's are finally being given names that are more "on trend" but most are still following the tradition of receiving a family name.
This message was edited 6/24/2014, 12:46 AM
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