Tributaries

Tidbits from the Headwaters

Making Copper Tools at Copper Archaeology Camp
Ahtna Michelle McAfee Ahtna Michelle McAfee

Making Copper Tools at Copper Archaeology Camp

On August 1-3, Kory Cooper, Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Purdue University, collaborated with Ahtna, Incorporated in hosting a Copper Archaeology Camp. Participants made objects and tools by hand from native copper nuggets using stones to shape the metal and visited the Gulkana archaeology site, where thousand-year-old artifacts were excavated in the 1970s and ‘90s.

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A Visit to the Ahtna Cultural Center
Ahtna Michelle McAfee Ahtna Michelle McAfee

A Visit to the Ahtna Cultural Center

The Ahtna Cultural Center, now closed for the season, reopened for the first time since the Covid pandemic this summer. Situated in the campus of the Wrangell St Elias National Park administrative office and visitor center, the Cultural Center offers the opportunity to learn about Ahtna language, history, and contemporary culture.

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Wood Camp
Ahtna Michelle McAfee Ahtna Michelle McAfee

Wood Camp

This photo is part of Bob Neely’s collection of historic photos. Bob says, “This is a wood camp straight across the river from Copper Center. There were a bunch of wood camps: every fifty miles…”

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The Old Gulkana River Village
Michelle McAfee Michelle McAfee

The Old Gulkana River Village

In 1943, my father heard a Caterpillar come right up to the door. They said, “Get out.” They crushed the houses down and buried them under 15 feet of gravel.

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