Tanana is like a family. At the confluence of the Tanana and Yukon rivers, a 45-minute flight west from Fairbanks, this is a quiet place where on a clear day a spectacular view of Mount McKinley is afforded from nearby Mission Hill. Tanana is home to 300 people, majority of Athabascan ancestry. While only a few homes have running water, most have electricity, cable television and phones. A handful have Internet access.
Several residents are starkly self-sufficient, living in cabins with no amenities.
Simple wooden park benches perch along the riverbank. A massive picnic table chianed to a post in front of the Tanana Commercial Store makes a favorite summertime gathering place to watch people and the river. Winter pushes visitors inside, around the warmth of oil or woodstoves. Having afternoon tea is a favorite activity of Tanana women. Most Monday nights in winter, women stop by the log Head Start building to sew, bead, chat and share recipes.