COPPER CENTER, AK — Community members gathered recently to learn about an ongoing archaeology and cultural education project centered around the historic Gulkana site, an important Ahtna cultural site believed to date back nearly 1,000 years.
The presentation, hosted by Ahtna, Inc., highlighted years of collaborative work between local community leaders, youth, researchers, and archaeologists to better understand the site while ensuring the information remains accessible and beneficial to local communities.
The project is being led by Purdue University PhD student Emily Fletcher alongside community partners including Star Knighten from Ahtna, Inc. The work combines archaeology, Indigenous data governance, youth education, and digital technology to preserve and share knowledge connected to the site.
Located near present-day Gulkana Village, the site has long been recognized as one of the most significant archaeological locations in Interior Alaska. Archaeologists believe the area once served as a seasonal village or camp roughly 1,000 years ago. The site spans over half a mile and originally included approximately 50 semi-subterranean structures believed to have been used as homes, cache pits for storing salmon, and steam bath structures.
What makes the site especially notable is its connection to ancient copper working.
According to researchers, the Gulkana site contains the earliest dated copper objects discovered in Alaska and the Yukon and also holds the largest concentration of copper artifacts from any known site in the region. Archaeologists have recovered raw copper nuggets, partially worked pieces, finished tools, projectile points, knives, awls, and decorative items.
The findings also align with oral histories surrounding Hui Yi, a well-known Ahtna figure remembered for becoming a highly respected leader through copper working and trade.
Fletcher explained that although the site is considered extremely important archaeologically and culturally, much of the information collected during excavations from the 1970s through the 1990s remained fragmented and difficult to access.
“The site can tell us a lot about what Ahtna life was like in this region a millennium ago,” Fletcher said during the presentation. “But one of the goals of this project was to bring this information back to the community.”
Rather than conducting new excavations, the project focuses on “digital archaeology” — organizing and analyzing existing data using software and modern mapping techniques.
One major challenge involved thousands of handwritten artifact cards from past excavations. Fletcher developed software using machine learning technology to help convert the handwritten records into searchable digital data. Ahtna interns later helped validate and organize the information.
The work ultimately allowed researchers to create the first complete map of the Gulkana site.
The project also places a strong emphasis on youth engagement and education.
Since 2023, the team has partnered with the Copper River and Gateway school districts to host educational workshops and cultural learning opportunities connected to archaeology, copper working, and Ahtna history.
According to organizers, more than 100 students have participated so far.
Ahtna, Inc Glennallen Shareholder Advocate M. Starr Knighten, who helped organize the educational components of the project, said the repeated exposure to the program has helped students build stronger understanding of archaeology and traditional copper working over time.
“We realized that students are now coming in already knowing what archaeology is and what copper working is because they’ve been exposed to it before,” said Knighten.
Activities have included hands-on copper working demonstrations, cultural presentations, archaeology education, and even educational video game creation projects where students design games based on what they learned.
Organizers hope the project will eventually result in long-term educational resources for schools and community programs.
Future goals include creating curriculum materials, interactive exhibits, public educational displays, and cultural resources that can continue to be used throughout the region.
The project also focuses heavily on Indigenous data sovereignty and ethical stewardship of cultural information. Researchers emphasized that Ahtna voices, leadership, and community guidance have remained central throughout the process.
Part of the project involves developing guidelines for future researchers to ensure cultural information connected to Ahtna lands and people continues to be handled respectfully and collaboratively.
Fletcher said the work has always been intended to benefit both archaeology and the community itself.
“One of the goals was collective benefit,” she said. “We wanted local communities to benefit from this data set, not just archaeologists.”
Community members attending the event were invited to ask questions, view project materials, and participate in a copper working activity following the presentation.
Organizers say the project represents an example of how technology, cultural knowledge, and community partnerships can work together to preserve and strengthen Indigenous history for future generations.
The Native Village of Gulkana is not ready to disclose the site’s exact location to media. They confirm it is not the site of the recent village site which was traumatically destroyed by the Alaska Road Commission in 1943.
Allison Sayer visited the Gulkana site and attended a workshop in 2025- read more here
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