 Minto is in the western part of traditional Tanana Athabaskan territory.During the late 1800s, some members of the nomadic Minto band traveled to Tanana, Rampart and Fort Yukon to trade furs for manufactured goods, tea and flour.After gold was discovered north of Fairbanks in 1902, steamboats began to travel on the Tanana River, bringing goods and people into the area.