Alaska is not a country as it is not an independent sovereign state. Alaska is instead the 49 th State of the United States of America. Alaska gained statehood leading to its proclamation as a sta te On July 17, 1958, . The name "Alaska" is derived from the Aleut "alaxsxaq", meaning "the mainland" or, more literally, "the object towards which the action of the sea is directed". It is also known as "Alyeska", the "great land", an Aleut word derived from the same root. A laska's indigenous people, who are jointly called Alaska Natives, can be divided into five major groupings: Aleuts, Northern Eskimos (Inupiat), Southern Eskimos (Yuit), Interior Indians (Athabascans) and Southeast Coastal Indians (Tlingit and Haida). Anthropologists believe that today's Alaska Natives originated in Asia, either crossing over the Bering land bridge from Siberia or traveling by watercraft along the shorelines. Alaska is famo...