[citation needed] Formerly they identified as a people by the word Tinneh (nowadays Dena; cf.

The Alaskan Athabascans have a matrilineal system in which children belong to the mother's clan, with the exception of the Yupikized Athabaskans (Holikachuk and Deg Hit'an).

[12] The Athabascan people hold potlatches which have religious, social and economic significance.

[8] Dogs were their only domesticated animal, but were and are an integral element in their culture for the Athabascan population in North America.

[13] Athabascans are descended from Asian hunter-gatherers, likely originally native to Mongolia, who crossed the Bering Strait and settled in North America.