Alaska Native Cultural Center offers artful look at indigenous life today and long ago

The Alaska Native Heritage Center is a gem of a facility, a living museum of performance, replica buildings, jewelry, pottery, weavings, furs, tools and more. It offers insight into a long ago life preserved in many ways.

STORY By CHRISTENE MEYERS

PHOTOS By BRUCE KELLER

WE HAVE visited Alaska many times, but never have we felt so awed and fascinated by the culture as we were this most recent trip.

That's because we spent an eye-opening day at the fabulous Alaska Native Heritage Center near Anchorage.

Young Alaskan men show off athletic skill in games.

What a splendid place.  It gave us a unique, memorable and moving look at Alaskan Native life in a format we'd never experienced.

Its focus is largely devoted to explaining the rich culture of indigenous people. We entered a large hall and gallery space to be directed to a large, open auditorium.

A dancer shows off elaborate hand-crafted moccasins, artfully topped with fur.

There we watched young people prepare costumes and props to dance and play games.  It was a live performance -- fascinating and beautifully executed.

We sat spellbound as we listened to stories, met carvers, and visited with artists. The setting is small and intimate and a young couple near us were so moved, they joined the dancers.

At each structure, knowledgeable volunteers explain the use of items and answer questions.

As museum and culture buffs, we have been to many facilities, admiring painting, pottery, crafts and handiwork. Never had we seen such meticulous work:  intricate moose hide boots, beautifully woven birch baskets, seal hide tunics, detailed jewelry and fishing gear.

The Carpe Diem Kids, "Cookie and Keller" pose beneath a whale bone arch as they hike the facility.

We strolled a half-mile loop to enter and admire life-sized traditional native dwellings to see the richness and diversity of Alaska's Native cultures, including a Southeast Alaska longhouse -- a large wooden constructions with no windows and only a smoke hole at the top. We learned that they were designed to weather harsh elements and housed several families. We admired four beautifully carved posts, each representing a different culture, carefully carved and painted with themes of respect -- for the individual, family, the land and sea. Each structure offered insight into indigenous life.

Flowers and perennial gardens are abundant, including on the grounds and restaurant.

Nature is part of life and much revered in the culture. It was wonderful to see love expressed in gardens, visual arts, crafts and in casual lectures offered at each structure.  The pride, precision and sincerity in dancing, games, and docent explanations was moving to us.

We bought lovely souvenirs created by Alaska Native Artists at Ch'k'iqadi Gallery and had a tasty bite -- delicious sandwiches and pastry -- at D’eshchin Café. It's a one-stop offering for a full day of exploring and expanding horizons. The Center is launching a $25 million fund-raising campaign which will be used to enhance and expand this intriguing facility.

Our hotel, lovely Anchorage Hilton, offers a shuttle to the center several times a day.

More information:

www.alaskanative.net

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