Meeting Time and Place
TBD
On Thursday we will have the opportunity to discover the rich cultural heritage of the many native peoples of Alaska at the Alaska Native Heritage Center, located on a 26-acre campus that includes a 26,000 square foot Welcome House and six Traditional Village Sites. The Alaska Native Heritage Center’s mission is to provide a gathering place to perpetuate, celebrate and share Alaska Native traditions through exhibits and educational programs for the cultural enrichment of all.
We will be greeted on arrival by Native Tradition Bearers, artists, and performers before we tour six historic village exhibits each built around a lake to depict the history and traditions of 11 Native peoples and regions from across the state.
After the tour we will depart for a self-guided tour of the Anchorage Museum. The main exhibition is titled “Living Our Cultures, Sharing Our Heritage: The First Peoples of Alaska. This exhibit features more than 600 objects from the Smithsonian’s collections that were selected and interpreted with help from Alaska Native advisers. Examples include an 1893 Tlingit war helmet from the southeast Alaska village of Taku and a 1935 Inupiaq feast bowl from Wales, near Nome on Alaska’s northwest coast. In addition to its gallery space, the 10,000-square-foot center encourages research about Alaska Native cultures through an archaeology laboratory and a community room where Alaska Native elders, artists and scholars can study heritage objects up close.
We will stop for lunch today at the 49th State Brewery. Perched on a hill overlooking the Port of Anchorage and Cook Inlet, there’s not a bad seat in the house! Enjoy one of 49th State Breweries award-winning beers while experiencing a menu filled with freshly sourced Alaskan foods and wild Alaskan seafood.
The day continues with a guided private tour of the city, including the history and folklore of some of Anchorage’s most famous highlights. We will have a guide to tell us all the history and folklore of some of Anchorage’s most famous highlights. Sites will include Ship Creek to see the salmon swimming upstream, Ulu Factory, Earthquake Park. where, in 1964, an entire neighborhood slid into the ocean during the last century’s most powerful earthquake., Lake Hood Seaplane base, the largest and busiest seaplane base in the world, and a final stop at Alaska Wild Berry factory for some delicious locally made sweet treats.
Returns TBD