Wayfinding is defined as signs, maps and other graphic or audible methods used to convey location and directions to travelers.
The Telaquana Corridor is located in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve. The corridor originates at Lake Clark and terminates at Telaquana Lake, roughly 50 miles away. The Telaquana Corridor is not a defined trail, but has been used for centuries by the Dena’ina and others to access interior Alaska.
Oral stories passed down through generations of Inland Dena’ina served as cognitive map. The Inland Dena’ina tell a sukdu (traditional story) called Ch’iduchuq’a about the releasing of the animals from inside Nduk’eyux Dghil’u (Telaquana Mountain) for the people to hunt. Since the Dena’ina survived through subsistence, they continued to live off the animals “released from the mountain.”
Caribou herd in Telaquana Corridor. The abundant biological resources of the area are a primary reason that the route was used to access fish and game. Most of the prominent natural features along the Corridor have Native names and indicate way finding points or traditional hunting and camping locations (NPS Photo).
It was believed that the Dena’ina moved into the Lake Clark area around 1600 CE, but recent carbon dating suggests they were in the area around 1000 CE. The Alaska Range and surrounding area (Htsaynenq’) is the heartland of the Dena’ina people.
Their lifestyle was transient in nature, and they were known to be skilled hikers. The Dena’ina would move with the seasons following the availability of resources. Though permanent villages were not established, family units would return to the same areas year after year for the resources.
Oral stories and songs allowed the Dena’ina to find their way within the corridor and navigate between gathering places. The corridor provided accesses to salmon, large game, and served as a trade route to other Dena’ina further into the interior.
Caribou trails. Most marks on the landscape are game trails, so there is no way of knowing with certainty whether indentations were a ‘trail.’ In most areas of the unforested, tundra landscape, the options for route choice are numerous (NPS Photo).
Russians arrived in the area sometime around 1788 and 1789. The first Russians scouted the Lake Iliamana region and were more than likely lead through the Telaquana Corridor by Dena’ina. Russian influence began to have a large effect on the region when Russian priests arrived.
The next European Americans to venture into the region were gold seekers, who profited little; however, some choose to stay and live a subsistence life and trade furs. The exposure to different cultures lead the Dena’ina to live a more domestic lifestyle. Today, the corridor is used by ancestors of the original Dena’ina users, hikers, and sportsman.
Hnitsanghi’iy (Priest Rock). Inland Dena’ina incorporated place names into songs and stories, serving as guidance in the Telaquana Corridor. Euro-Americans also gave names to several distinctive natural features associated with wayfinding in the Corridor, such as Priest Rock (NPS Photo).
The practice of wayfinding allows travelers to traverse through unmarked terrain without the use of a physical map. By identifying unique natural markers along the route, one can navigate to the next marker. The Athabascan language denotes direction, distances, and location through the use of prefix and suffix attached to words.
By using this method to name places and natural features, the Inland Dena’ina were able to incorporate them into songs and stories that served as guidance in the Telaquana Corridor. Some of the native place names include Hnitsanghi’iy (Priest Rock), Veghdeq Dgilenka’a (Miller Lake), Yudun Dghil’u (downstream mountains), and Satal’iy (one that is leaning).
Discover More
Telaquana Trail - Lake Clark National Park and Preserve website
Project Jukebox - This University of Alaska Fairbanks project has recorded elders describing parts of the Corridor
This article was originally published on the National Park Service website: Wayfinding at Telaquana Corridor
Trans people/natives in facebook: anyone wanna tell me how I can change my name to my tribal name (which I am using post coming out)? Bc it won't let me use anything by my legal name but how would it know?
I saw your post recently about Native American names and how having a Native American name is appropriation. My name is Maya and there's a Maya tribe. Is there an issue with my name? Should I think about changing it? If another blogger sent you this for me sorry if you got doubles the ask wouldn't work but I fixed my browser.
No, the name Maya stems from different places across the world. So to me, that wouldn’t probably be as offensive. But I can only speak for myself. However, it could possibly be offensive to other ethnic cultures or people that are directly tied to that tribe. So for an answer to this, you technically would have to ask someone like that. But the name Maya also has ties to Greek & Roman mythology, as well as Hindu. When I talk about Native American name appropriation, I specifically mean names that completely originate & derive with the Native people/cultures/heritage/tribes of North America.
And just an fyi to people who try to look up “Native American Names” on those silly baby name websites: most of those sites have no idea what they’re talking about. Most of the time the names aren’t even Native American, & when they rarely are, the spelling of the names & their meanings are usually completely wrong. No, Chenoa does not mean “white dove” in Cherokee, and Aiyana does not mean “blossom” or “eternal bloom.” Kaya does not mean “little sister” in Hopi. Nadie does not mean “wise” in Algonquin. I honestly have no idea who these websites get their supposed “information” from… but whoever is their “fact checker” needs to be fired. It’s more likely that many of the names were invented by white authors who wrote fictional stories (especially old Westerns and romance novels) and then people took these names from those books as fact, along with their fictional meanings. And unsuspecting baby name enthusiasts have been repeating this misinformation as “fact” for the Non-Native & unsuspecting public.
are you seriously kidding? "You probably don't deserve that name." When the person didn't even choose it themselves? It's not the persons fault they had ignorant parents Jesus Christ, literally political correctness gone mad
Here we go, another anon missing the actual point, and trying to knit-pick at my words. Where in that did I say that having their name was all their fault??? Don’t put words in my mouth. READ what I write carefully. And as I already said in that message, it was hard to answer without knowing what that person’s name actually is. I answered to the best of my ability. Doesn’t mean you’re going to like what I have to say. I have already stated that our names are sacred. They are often times given to us or are earned depending on the tribal traditions of each Nation. That person said they were not Native. If they aren’t affiliated with any tribe, what could they have done to deserve a Native name? Especially when as the last anon stated, some Natives don’t even earn Native Names. When will ignorance no longer be an excuse for people to blatantly disregard, appropriate, harm, and oppress entire cultures of people? That anon asked for my opinion and I gave it. So move on.
In my culture, it is a big deal to get an "Indian name" and that name is specially picked out by the elders. It's a absolute honour to get a name. I know a lot of native people who don't have one. Had to share what Indian names mean to some cultures
Yes! Exactly. Like I said, our names are just as sacred as everything else in our cultures. Our names are often given to us for specific reasons or because of specific traditions in our cultures. Thank you for sharing that point anon. (:
To the anon with the naming issue- I have a white friend with a similarly traditional Native American name (she was named for her godmother, but that's beyond the point) but she NEVER goes by that name, instead telling everyone a nickname. I didn't even know her full name until I'd known her for years. I feel like even if they can't help what their parents named them (and lord knows it's expensive to change it legally) anon could AT THE VERY LEAST go by something that's not appropriative. :/
So if I can't name my kid Cree or Dakota why do Native people use "white" names? I bet you aren't gonna answer this lol.
Apparently you missed my whole explanation on how Native people were forced to use “European” or “white names” because of forced assimilation by white people. “bet you aren’t gonna answer this lol” - Idiot. Learn to fucking read what I write.
I feel problematic, when I was born my parents gave me a traditional Native American name, my family is no way shape or form is or has ever contained any type of native ancestry. Recently people are becoming more aware about culture appropriation, & it's to the point where people are giving me funny looks or saying extremely rude things to me when I introduce myself, I've had several people tell me that I should change my name that I don't deserve it, idk, I'd just like to hear your thoughts
This is unfortunate. And I’m going to be frank with you, most Native people probably would wish someone in your position would change your name. Hearing that people have already suggested that to you, is an even bigger indication of that.I don’t mean for this to come across as rude, but you probably don’t deserve that name. However, you didn’t state in your above comment what your name actually is, so this is kind of a hard one to answer. And I’m not really sure what you’re expecting from me or looking for in my reply to you?
The problem, as I’ve already explained, is that Non-Native people who name their children Indigenous names are usually culturally insensitive or just plain ignorant… or worse: both.
The reason it’s so offensive for Native people to hear about or meet or see Non-Native people with Native names is because just like our languages, beliefs and cultural practices, our names were also oppressed and forbidden for us to use. Many Native people were forced to change their given Native names to something “more English”, because forced assimilation made it seem that our Native Names weren’t good enough. I’ll use Pocahontas as an example, since most people are “familiar” with her. She was forced to change her name to “Rebecca” and convert her religion after she was kidnapped. Many other Native people were forced to do the same thing in order to own land. And many Native children who were forced into Indian Boarding schools also faced the same forced assimilation with their names, among many other things. Non-Native people made it seem like OUR names were somehow inferior. Our names faced the negative connotation of being “savage”. Which is why, still to this day, many Native people give their children both an “English name”, which is usually used on their birth certificates and other official documents, and a Native name, which is used mostly within their families and tribes/clans.
It’s bad enough Native people already have to deal with our cultural and tribal traditions and attire being so overly appropriated. But the fact that our Names are being appropriated as well is really one of the hardest things to deal with. Our people literally were murdered for our names and cultural identities. But Non-Native people seem to think “Nah, it’s cool, we already stole everything else from them, let’s take their names too.”
Maybe Non-Native people don’t realize it, but to this day, Native Americans still face forms of oppression and forced assimilation because of their names. On Facebook, for one example, many Native people, especially Native Activists are intentionally targeted by Non-Natives (usually racist supremacists). These people track down Indigenous people on Facebook by their Native names and then report the Native person’s account as being “fake” based on their name. So many Native people are being forced to have their Legal Native American names removed and are then being forced to use fake names because their real names are not considered “acceptable” to be used on Facebook. (Honestly this is one of the reasons I don’t have a Facebook). This is discrimination and disrespectful. Their Native names are legal and binding with certified papers, yet Facebook insists on removing them with no explanation and will not hear any arguments.
Our names are just as sacred to us as any and every other part of our cultures are. Cultural appropriation is a very real and harmful issue, no matter what form it comes in. Why should it be okay for Non-Native people to use our names when for years, and by Facebook’s standards: even today apparently, Natives aren’t allowed to use them? People need to stop romanticizing our cultures for their appropriative-benefits.
