ALASKA NATIVE LANGUAGE CENTER


Take the next steps in improving your language skills. Join the Alaska Native language revitalization movement. Identify your oral and written strengths. Reconnect with your Native language. Excel with support and advising resources to help you on your educational journey. You can do it all at the Alaska Native Language Center.

 

Our commitment to Alaska Native languages

The 四虎影院 is committed to preserving, documenting and teaching Alaska鈥檚 Indigenous languages. The Alaska Native Language Center, a critical component of the College of Indigenous Studies, was established by the Alaska Legislature in 1972 and is at the core of UAF's commitment.  As specified by statute, the ANLC mission is to:

  • study languages native to Alaska; 
  • develop literacy materials; 
  • assist in the translation of important documents;
  • provide for the development and dissemination of Alaska Native literature; and 
  • train Alaska Native language speakers to work as teachers and aides in bilingual classrooms. 

The Alaska Native Language Center is home to five full-time faculty members and three staff members, the Alaska Native Language Archive, and a publications office with a dedicated Editorial Board. The ANLC team is active in academic and community-based research and teaching.

 

 

We Are Accepting Manuscript Submissions!

The Alaska Native Language Center is now accepting manuscript submissions. If you have authored a book in or about an Alaska Native language and are looking to publish, we want to hear from you!

Explore Opportunities at the Alaska Native Language Center

Are you interested in learning or teaching Alaska Native languages? Maybe you already speak one or more of Alaska鈥檚 20+ Native languages and want to grow closer to your culture and community members?

The Alaska Native Language Center at the 四虎影院 has the resources and programs to help you build a solid foundation in Alaska Native languages, linguistics and cultural history. Opportunities include undergraduate and associate degrees, as well as professional certificates, in languages such as Yup鈥檌k Language and Iupiaq Language. We offer the only bachelor鈥檚 degree granting programs in Alaska Native languages in the world.

UAF students are as varied as the languages we teach 鈥 from high school students looking to earn dual credit to retired adults who want to develop new skills or learn more about their culture. Some take classes on campus while others join remotely from different parts of the world. At the Alaska Native Language Center, we welcome everyone to share in the joys of learning a new language and exploring rich cultures.

 

Student Services at the Alaska Native Language Center

Learning a new language is not a solitary activity, and it鈥檚 necessary to have people who care about you and your academic journey. At the Alaska Native Language Center, you鈥檒l have the support of dedicated advisors, counselors, and faculty mentors who will help you at every stage of your educational experience.

Our caring advisors will help you find the right language program, plan your courses, and apply for financial aid. As a student at the 四虎影院, you鈥檒l benefit from access to the Alaska Native Languages Archive, which houses resources on the 20+ Native languages spoken in Alaska dating back to the 1940s.

Alaska Native Language Center Courses

Learn more about a Native language while gaining a deeper understanding of culture and history that you can share with others. At UAF鈥檚 Alaska Native Language Center, you can take courses in person for a campus experience or remotely to fit your work and life schedules.

Alaska Native Language Center Resources

Learn more about the many Alaska Native languages spoken throughout the region.

Financial Aid Opportunities at the 四虎影院

Receive financial support to help pay for tuition, course fees, books and living expenses. The 四虎影院 offers financial aid advising services to ensure the Alaska Native Language Center is accessible to everyone. This includes FAFSA workshops in villages throughout Alaska.


 

Outreach and Events

Announcements
  •  

    Two new ANLC books are now available to order through our publishing partner the University Press of Colorado!

     

    Sergie and the White Seal cover image

    Sergie and the White Seal, by Garrett I臐ayux虃 Pletnikoff and Hannah Atsaq Zimmerman

    A modern Unangan retelling of Rudyard Kipling's "The White Seal," this chapter book is aimed at children ages 8-12 and features over 90 Unangam Tunuu words and phrases.

     

    Held in Memory, Shared in Story cover image

    Held in Memory, Shared in Story: Teachings of the Middle Kuskokwim, compiled by Dr. Ann Fienup-Riordan

    A compilation of stories shared by Elders of the Middle Kuskokwim, both personal and traditional, exploring language, culture, and ancestral memory.

  •  

    We are excited to announce two new publications now available at our bookstore:

     

    Yoko Kugo

    Navarpagmiut Qanemciit-llu =  Iliamna Lake People and Their Stories: Place Names and Sense of Place, compiled by Dr. Yoko Kugo

     

    Anna Berge

     

    A Grammar of Kodiak Island Alutiiq, by Dr. Anna Berge

     

  • Two Alaska native people sitting

     

    The Lower Tanana Dene Dictionary, by Dr. James Kari, is a midsized Lexware dictionary that consolidates nearly all  primary data for this language of Alaska鈥檚 middle Tanana River Valley from the years 1903 to 2023. 

    Now available in ebook, hardcover and paperback at the ANLC bookstore.

  •  

    The new is now online. Check it out and buy a book or two while you're there.

  • Honoring our Elders

     
    ANLC honors the Elders and knowledge bearers who helped promote Alaska Native languages. 
    Visit the Remembering our Elders page