WHERE WE ARE
“Kaltag is an amazing place to live and grow up.”- Cadence
about Kaltag
The name Kaltag comes from the Yukon word, ‘Ggaa¬doh.’ ‘Ggaa¬doh’ means, ‘before the king salmon’ and was the name of a place across from Kaltag where people gathered before the king salmon run. The name was borrowed by non-Natives for Kaltag because the other Native names were too hard to pronounce.
The village also has two other names. One is ‘Le’on Kk’e Dodeelenh Denh,’ which means, ‘place where the current hits the bluff’.’ The other is ‘Tokk’atleegheetonh Denh,’ which. This means ‘place where the trail comes out to the river’ and Kaltag has this name because there is a portage there that comes over to the river toward Unalakleet on the coast. This portage was part of a trade route to Unalakleet.
People from all the villages upriver used to go to Unalakleet this way to get supplies. Because of the trade route, there is a close connection between Kaltag and Unalakleet and some of the people in the two villages are related to one another. Kaltag is 335 air miles west of Fairbanks.