Alaska Native Languages

Denaakk'e (Koyukon)

Denaakk'e (also Koyukon) occupies the largest territory of any Alaskan Athabascan language. The name Denaakk'e [də-nae-kuh] derives from the word denaa 'people' and the suffix -kk'e 'like, similar', thus literally meaning 'like us'.

Denaakk'e is spoken in three dialects - Upper, Central, and Lower - in 11 villages along the Koyukuk and middle Yukon rivers. The total current population is about 2,300, of whom about 300 speak the language. The Jesuit Catholic missionary Jules Jette did extensive work on the language from 1899-1927. Since the early 1970s, native Koyukon speaker Eliza Jones has produced much linguistic material for use in schools and by the general public.