Honoring Local Heritage: An Indigenous Renaming Ceremony

For more than a decade, Native Village of Eklutna Chair and CEO/Dena’ina scholar/ Anchorage Museum Curator Aaron Leggett has been working to weave Dena’ina language into the fabric of Anchorage. As part of this effort, Southcentral Foundation will be joining with the Anchorage Park Foundation, Native Village of Eklutna leaders, and community partners for the Indigenous naming ceremony of Tanaina Peak near Flattop Mountain. Flattop Mountain is located just east of Anchorage and is the most climbed mountain in the state.

The ceremony is part of the Indigenous Place Names Project, which is working to recognize and honor the Dena’ina language, knowledge, and culture in Alaska. The naming ceremony will recognize Qin Cheghi, which translates to “ridge where we cry,” as the name for Tanaina Peak.

SCF is proud to participate in the ceremony, and to honor the rich history of the Alaska Native Community it serves. The ceremony will take place on June 25, during SCF’s annual Nuka System of Care Conference. Conference participants can attend the ceremony, which will take place at Flattop Mountain, and participate in an optional hike up the mountain afterward.

For more information on the renaming ceremony, or SCF’s Nuka System of Care conference, feel free to contact the SCF Learning Institute.

SCF would like to acknowledge the Rasmuson Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and the Alaska Native Heritage Center for their support of the Indigenous Place Names Project.