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Andrew Balluta

Andrew Balluta

Andrew Balluta was a Dena'ina Athabascan from Newhalen, Alaska.  He was Q'atl'anht'an (head of the lake people) clan from the Lake Clark region. He was a well respected elder in the communities of Nondalton and Newhalen. He was a major contributor to and supporter of the preservation and revitalization of the Dena'ina language and culture. For many years, he worked as a historian and Native cultural specialist for the National Park Service at Lake Clark National Park and Preserve. He provided information about traditional Native place names in the region and along the Telaquana Trail, taught about traditional skills and the Dena'ina language, and helped conduct oral history interviews with local elders. He is the author of Shtutda'ina Da'a Sheł Qudeł (My Forefathers are Still Walking with Me): VERBAL ESSAYS ON QIZHJEH AND TSAYNEN DENA'INA TRADITIONS (transcribed and edited by James Kari, and printed by Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, 2008), and co-author of Nuvendaltin Quht'ana: The People of Nondalton with Linda J. Ellanna (1991). Andrew Balluta passed away on September 1, 2011 at the age of 81.

Andrew Balluta appears in the following new Jukebox projects: