Mentasta Lake (''Mendaesde'' in Ahtna Athabascan) is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

(CDP) in

Copper River Census Area, Alaska Copper River Census Area is a census area located in the state of Alaska, United States. It is part of the Unorganized Borough and therefore has no borough seat. On January 2, 2019, it was split from the Valdez–Cordova Census Area, along w ...

, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 112, down from 142 in 2000.

Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

Mentasta Lake is located at (62.923924, -143.533240). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the CDP has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it (0.66%) is water.

Demographics

Mentasta Lake first reported on the 1940 U.S. Census as "Montasta Lake", an unincorporated native village. It did not report in 1950. It next appeared in 1960 as "Mentasta." In 1970, it returned as Mentasta Lake. In 1980 it was made a census-designated place (CDP). As of the census of 2000, there were 142 people, 54 households, and 32 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 0.5 people per square mile (0.2/km²). There were 89 housing units at an average density of 0.3/sq mi (0.1/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 28.87%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 62.68% Native American, and 8.45% from two or more races. There were 54 households, out of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.9% were married couples living together, 16.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.9% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.33. In the CDP, the age distribution of the population shows 35.2% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 23.9% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 6.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 119.0 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $17,344, and the median income for a family was $24,167. Males had a median income of $20,833 versus $30,417 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the CDP was $11,275. There were 21.9% of families and 35.7% of the population living below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 40.0% of under eighteens and none of those over 64.

Education

Mentasta Lake is part of the

Alaska Gateway School District The Alaska Gateway School District is a public school district based in Tok, Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the West ...

. Mentasta Lake Katie John School, a K-12 campus, serves community students. The late subsistence hunting and fishing rights activist Katie John of Mentasta, who died at 97 on 5/31/13, helped develop an

Ahtna language Ahtna or Ahtena (, from'' ''"Copper River") is the Na-Dené language of the Ahtna ethnic group of the Copper River area of Alaska. The language is also known as Copper River or Mednovskiy. The Ahtna language consists of four different diale ...

alphabet in the 1970s, and has recorded a pronunciation guide of the Mentasta Dialect.

References

{{Authority control Ahtna Census-designated places in Alaska Census-designated places in Copper River Census Area, Alaska Census-designated places in Unorganized Borough, Alaska