Alaska Native Heritage Center
Visitors enter the Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian Village Site at the Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage, Alaska. The Alaska Native Heritage Center offers visitors a chance to learn about traditional and contemporary ways of Alaska Native cultures.
(Model Release: Shena Jones)
The Alaska Native Heritage Center is an educational and cultural institution for all visitors located in the heart of Anchorage. Alaskan knowledge, heritage, and tradition are all the focus in this facility, and the native traditions and customs of the past and present are shown through workshops, demonstrations, and guided tours of exhibits and village sites. Take a tour of the Welcome House which consists of exhibits that come together as a celebration of contemporary Alaskan cultures, or step outside for a tour of the village sites to get a glimpse at ancient tradition and hear stories of the past.
The whole facility serves as a sense of pride for native Alaskans, highlighting their contributions to the state of Alaska, the United States, and the north in general. Explore the native language of the Athabaskan and Tlingit tribes or view ancient tribal masks and artifacts to learn more about the materials they were able to gather and use in past, brutal Alaskan winters. Walking through the Alaska Native Heritage Center will allow your group to engage and interact with the local culture, the entire collection showing a span of 10,000 years of native history and culture. Through art, dance, native game demos, exhibits, dwellings, and movies, you and your group will feel like you yourselves are natives to this proud state. Visit the on-site Heritage Cafe for brunch, lunch, or maybe just a coffee or smoothie while you’re taking in all that Alaskan information!
