The Recent Dene History and Archaeology of Shaw Creek, Alaska

Abstract

This paper discusses the critical era of cultural contact between the Dene population and Euro‐Americans during the 18th and 19th centuries at Shaw Creek in the Middle Tanana Valley, Alaska. It also provides a regional social context for the most recent archaeological component at the Swan Point Archaeological Site. The Tanana Valley represents one of the last major subarctic regions of North America to be incorporated into colonial governance, and this paper summarizes those events and their impact on the local Alaska Native population and their traditional place names.