Description
Deg Hit'an is a group of Athabaskan peoples in Alaska. They reside in Alaska along the Anvik River in Anvik, along the Innoko River in Shageluk, and at Holy Cross along the lower Yukon River. The Deg Hit?an are members of the federally recognized Alaska Native tribes of Anvik Village, Shageluk Native Village, and Holy Cross Village. The Iditarod Trail's antecedents were the native trails of the Dena'ina and Deg Hit?an Athabaskan Indians and the Inupiaq Eskimos. Their neighbors are other Athabaskan-speaking and Yupik Eskimo peoples: Yup'ik (west and south), Holikachuk (north), Upper Kuskokwim (north and east), and Dena'ina (south). Early 21st-century population estimates indicated some 150 individuals of Deg Xinag descent.
Language
Deg Xinag is a Northern Athabaskan language spoken by the Deg Hit'an peoples of the GASH region.
Culture
Deg Hit'an traditionally subsisted—fish, fresh or dried, being central to their diet. Before colonization, Deg Xinag and Eskimo technology were somewhat similar: the Deg Hit'an wore parkas and trousers, built semisubterranean sod houses, and used harpoons, spear throwers, and other weapons like those of the Eskimo. However, in most ways the traditional Deg Hit'an were more similar to other American Subarctic peoples than to their Eskimo neighbours. Traditionally, the Deg Hit'an lived in villages; permanent winter settlements for a fairly large group were complemented by seasonal fishing and hunting camps that sheltered a few families each. The centre of village life was a large semisubterranean lodge called a kashim. The kashim served many functions, mostly for men, providing a venue for sweat baths, council meetings, entertainment, funerals, and shamanic rituals.