Ingalik

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. A group of Athabaskan-speaking Native Alaskans living along the middle Yukon River and its tributaries in interior Alaska
2. An Indigenous people of interior Alaska who speak an Athabaskan language and traditionally lived along the Yukon River
3. The name of an Athabaskan Native American community of central Alaska, closely related to neighboring Koyukon and Deg Hit'an peoples

Etymology: The name belongs to a group of Athabaskan-speaking peoples of interior Alaska, along the Yukon and Innoko rivers. Their own language calls them "Deg Xinag," meaning "people of the river" or something close to it, so "Ingalik" is an outside name. Its exact origin is uncertain. It is generally thought to come from a neighboring Yupik term, and it may describe people living inland, away from the coast, but that link is not firmly established. As a noun, it names a member of that people. As an adjective, it describes their language, culture, or territory. Many outside names for Alaskan Native groups were coined by neighbors, traders, or missionaries, and this one is typical of that pattern.