Experience Alaskan Native Culture
In downtown Juneau, tourists can see a wall sculpture of Chief Kowee, head of the Auk Tlingits tribe. In the 1800s, he guided prospectors Joe Juneau and Rihard Harris to a reservoir of gold along Alaska's southeast Gastineau Channel. Asking only for Hudson Bay blankets and small compensation, Chief Kowee was a great ally to the Europeans and later served in the Alaskan native police force. Over the coming years, the town of Juneau sprung up and thousands of gold prospectors flooded the Yukon to find their fortune. If you go on an Alaskan vacation and take a White Pass train ride, then you can still see the remnants of historic mines and evidence of optimism and the quest for the American dream. A good starting point to learn more about Alaska's indigenous people is to visit The Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage Alaska. This world renowned cultural center and museum contains information, educational materials, video presentations, artwork and displays documenting the following Alaskan native peoples: the Athabascan, the Aleut & Alutiiq, the Yup'ik & Cup'ik, the Inupiaq & St. Lawrence Island Yupik, the Eyak, the Tlingit, the Haida and the Tsimshian. Here you can view beaded artwork from the Athabascan people, learn about the spirituality of the Yup'ik and Cup'ik, who believed in good shamans for healing and bad shamans who placed curses on people, or gaze upon the festive Chilkat & raven's tail robe regalia worn at the Eyak potlach festivals.
Alaska is a "must" for anyone with a pioneering spirit, who is looking for "the last great adventure." There is something about the lonely expanse of snow that makes one question his or her existence. While you're there, you'll find yourself reflecting upon various time periods of history, from the Ice Age of woolly mammoths, and ancient Alaskan native survivalism, to the Yukon gold rush of the 1800s and European migration over the Bering Strait. Some come for big game hunting and fishing, while others come for a broader understanding of geology or archaeology and the wildlife exploration. Regardless, it is a wild Alaskan frontier that shouldn't be missed.
Google Video - Alaskan Native Alaska Native Dancing Sitka PodShow presents Alaska Native Dancing. As seen on television. More information at: www.dailymotion.com Three Major Health Issues for American Indian and Alaskan ... An address by Spero M. Manson, Ph.D. (Pembina Chippewa), a leading health researcher, delivered on January 21, 2008, as the University of Michigan ...video.google.com |
|
Holland America offers another unique way to
experience Alaskan native culture and learn more about the
indigenous people who live in the state of Alaska. This
year, they have added an expert Alaskan travel guide from
the Alaska Native Heritage Center to be onboard all of the
114 Glacier Bay-bound ships. "Our guests visiting Glacier
Bay will enjoy having an Alaska native guide on board the
full cruise to provide another perspective on the land
they're visiting," explained spokesperson Richard D.
Meadows. Guides will provide narration throughout the
trip, by touching upon history, culture, art and
flora/fauna, in addition to selling original artwork by
Alaskan natives. They will hold optional presentations on
wildlife, the gold rush, volcanoes and glaciers, early
explorers and the native people. Additionally, a Tlingit
cultural interpreter from Hoonah will stop onboard to give
a presentation explaining the origins and cultural
traditions of the Huna people.
BlinkList
Delicious
Digg
Facebook
Fark
Furl
Google Bookmarks
Livejournal
Ma.gnolia
Netvouz
Newsvine
Reddit
Spurl
Stumbleupon
Wists
Yahoo My Web
Copyright 2008 by DigitalExcellent.com, All Rights Reserved