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Tetlin
Tetlin is located along the Tetlin River,
between Tetlin Lake and the Tanana River, 20 miles southeast of Tok. It
lies in the Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge. The village is not
connected by road to the Alaska Highway. It lies at approximately 63°
08' N Latitude, 142° 31' W Longitude (Sec. 29, T018N, R015E, Copper
River Meridian). The community is located in the Fairbanks Recording
District. The area encompasses 153 sq. miles of land and 16 sq. miles of
water.
 The
semi-nomadic Athabascan Indians have historically lived in this area,
moving with the seasons between several hunting and fishing camps. In
1885, Lt. H.T. Allen found small groups of people living in Tetlin and
Last Tetlin, to the south. The residents of Last Tetlin had made
numerous trips to trading posts on the Yukon River. In 1912, villagers
from Tetlin would trade at the Tanana Crossing Trading Post. During the
Chisana gold stampede in 1913, a trading post was established across the
river from Tetlin. When two trading posts were opened in the village
during the 1920s by John Hajdukovich and W.H. Newton, residents from
Last Tetlin relocated to Tetlin. A school was constructed in 1929, and a
post office was opened in 1932. The 786,000-acre Tetlin Indian Reserve
was established in 1930. An airstrip was constructed in 1946. When the
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) was passed in 1971, the
reserve was revoked. Tetlin opted for surface and subsurface title to
the 743,000 acres of land in the former Reserve.
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