Tanacross, known to its speakers as Dihthâad Xt’een Iin Aanděeg’, is an Athabaskan language spoken in eastern Interior Alaska. It is the ancestral language of the Mansfield-Ketchumstuk and Healy Lake-Joseph Village bands and has traditionally been spoken in communities including Tok, Tanacross, Mansfield, Joseph Village, and Kechumstuk. For generations, the language has connected people through storytelling, cultural teachings, and daily life across the upper Tanana Valley.
Today, Tanacross is an endangered language with fewer than 100 fluent speakers remaining. Community members, Elders, educators, and language advocates are working to ensure the language continues to be learned and spoken by future generations. This course was developed through the efforts of Irene Solomon Arnold, Rose Benson, and many other contributors, with support from Doyon Foundation, 7000 Languages, Transparent Language, and Doyon, Limited. Through conversational lessons, cultural teachings, videos, and interactive activities, learners can build practical language skills while helping keep Tanacross strong for generations to come.