- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Alaska Native Heritage Center
Category: Arts & Entertainment Museums Museums [Edit]
8800 Heritage Center DrAnchorage, AK 99504
(907) 330-8000
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 9 am - 5 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
9 reviews for Alaska Native Heritage Center
9 reviews in English
-
Review from andy r.
Englewood, FL
9/8/2011
This was the absolute best thing we saw in Anchorage. It was a rainy day so we headed here thinking the indoors part would be good. It was! but the outdoor exhibits were just as wonderful. Greats for kids and adults equally.
Indoors there is usually something happening on the open stage, seat yourself anytime, come and go as you want. There is a schedule posted and we saw both a story-teller and later singing and dancing. Missed one performance of something because we were outdoors.
BIG TIP: in the outdoor village featuring many different tribes GO INSIDE THE DWELLING. It doesn't look like there is anything happening because the entrances are dark but when you venture inside there is a native guide in each one waiting to tell you about that tribe. There are exhibits and artifacts you can handle. It is very low key and very one-on-one. It isn't a fake Disney experience. You can ask questions and stay as short or as long as you want to. Heated inside each one (as well as an open door allows) and lighted. Really really fascinating.
ANOTHER TIP:There is a free shuttle downtown that will take you to the Heritage Center. This is the best way to visit. We drove but the navigation thingy was confused and it took a while to get the right entrance. The high school is right next door to the Heritage Center and it wanted us to go there by mistake.
The gift shop also has very good quality native crafts but higher prices go along with higher quality. Lower prices can be found in Anchorage, just remember to look for the Silver Hand logo showing it is Native Made and not from China (lots of that for sale). -
Review from Patrick C.
WOODLAND HLS, CA
9/11/2011 1 Check-in Here
Really enjoyed out time here. The Natives selling jewelry were very friendly and seemed to appreciative of the guests coming in to learn about their cultures. The Tlingit woman we talked on our walk around the grounds was incredibly nice and informative!!! We took a dog "sled" ride while there. There was a cage with around 8 of the most adorable puppies that caught our eye first! Then we took the ride and were able to spend some time petting all the dogs that pulled us. We had been afraid we wouldn't be able to a dog sled ride and although this was on a dirt path, it was still a highlight of our trip.
-
Review from Wanugee N.
Pleasant Hill, CA
8/7/2007 4 photos
"Experience Alaska's Indigenous People" is their motto. This is an indoor/outdoor center/museum about 7 miles from downtown Anchorage. There is shuttle service from the downtown related Heritage Gifts shop at 333 West 4th Ave. Here you can learn about Alaskan Native traditions, lifestyle, crafts, and culture. The close knit families and communities that rely on each other, the land, and nature to survive since the Bering Straights were a land bridge 20,000 years ago. You also can learn about the different native groups from each area of Alaska, different in language, lifestyles, clothing, and living due to the diverse nature of Alaska.
1. The Aleut/Alutiiq surviving the harsh winds on the islands and the reliance on the sea in the Archipalego of the Aleutian Islands
2. The Evak/Tlingit/Haida/Tsimshian's wood based cultures living in the rain forests on Alaska's panhandle where Juneau is located
3. The Inupiaq/St Lawrence Island Yup'ik in the area north of the "nose" of Alaska where Nome is located
4. The Yup'ik/Cup'ik located in an area south of Nome
5. The Athabascan in the largest area in the middle of Alaska including Anchorage in the south and Fairbanks in the Yukon middle.
There is the museum center where native dancers and storytellers perform, a gift shop, and exhibits. Outside around a small lake are 5 camps corresponding to the above groups, showing recreated lifesize native dwellings, structures, boats, and other related archaelogical recreations. Each area also has markers explaining the wildflowers and other flora of the areas.
I was at a special event after hours, where we were entertained by the stories and dancing by the King Island Dancers of Anchorage. King Island is a small 1 mile by 2 mile island in the Inupiaq/Nome area. The stories, dancing and singing were simple and seemingly similar, but they were very powerful and moving and gave a great insight to the cultural and family bonds that tied this living extended family together like so many generations before them.
If you have ever been to Hawaii's Cultural Center on north Oahu, this is similar in concept but smaller in scale.Listed in: Wanugee! Nature, Art, Science, Wanugee! Alaska
-
Review from Kalpa S.
Englewood, CO
9/19/2010
The heritage center is about a 15 min drive from downtown Anchorage.
So, here's the skinny on how this works - several cruise ships that anchor for a while in Alaska bring in tourists at designated times to visit the heritage center. And during these times, you're talking a bus load of people walking in the door. If you want to avoid these tour groups and can plan ahead, call in to verify if there are tour groups arriving at the same time as you - and you'll be glad you did.
The cafe here is tiny and has very-very few options...gotto to do better than that, especially considering the entrance fees are pretty steep ~$50 for the hubby and I.
Overall, not very thrilled. The staff are friendly and nice, but the pluses for this place end there. -
Review from Alexis D.
Silver Spring, MD
6/27/2010
I would HIGHLY recommend a visit to the Alaska Native Heritage Center. Our trip had us on the road from glaciers to beaches to hiking trails, and we weren't planning any time in Anchorage.
However, we made it a point to check this place out and were VERY glad we did. We walked in while a very knowledgable woman was making a presentation on the linguistic/ethnic groups of Alaskan first people's. Her presentation gave way to AMAZING young people who demonstrated traditional games and sports - incredible athletic displays like jumping and kicking 7 feet in the air, 1-handed balancing manuevers, and knuckle-push-up-sprints.... (I later saw one of the presenters featured in a commercial advertising the upcoming Eskimo-Indian Olympics!)
We then went to tour the village and dwelling replicas - and these kids were some of the curators! We heard from a really cool old man from Barrow, Alaska who explained why his people's homes were built with two entrance/exits - to have an escape hatch if polar bear found his way in.
Some of the athletes also described their peoples' housing styles, hunting practices, and daily life.
I can't say enough good things about this place - check it out, learn something, and support an organization and individuals who are doing worthy, important work. -
Review from Michelle C.
Miami, FL
12/9/2008
Very interactive and engaging.
You learn about the different native tribes that are found in and around Alaska. Emphasis on the differences between them.
What's cool? Outside, they have several different huts/tents/houses (don't know correct term) set up around a pretty pond with artifacts inside. Really makes it easier for you to see the difference in culture instead of thinking "they're all the same."
Of course your guide tells you neat stuff too.
Inside you can see live performances, watch crafts people make things (and you can buy them), and view/read/listen to other informational exhibits.
Definitely worth a few hours.Listed in: Alaskan Adventure
-
Review from SandyEgg O.
San Diego, CA
8/4/2011
We spent a rainy morning here earlier this week and had a fabulous time. We enjoyed seeing teenagers and young adults demonstrate native athletic events and different dances. The main indoor exhibit was very well put together -- both informative and fun. Native artists were set-up alongside the exhibit and were happy to chit-chat as they worked. I enjoyed speaking with one woman artist/vendor and learning that she loaned two traditional dresses to some of the young women dancing. One was her wedding dress (soft white buckskin with fur trim) and the other one was just as beautiful and more ornate made out of various types of fur with red trim.
Walking around the lake outside the center and seeing replica homes from the various different native cultures was really cool. Seeing the different homes, their furnishings, and hearing from the docents (all young adults and members of the various native cultures), really brought the diversity of the different cultures to life. I especially enjoyed listening to Junior talk about the Tlingit culture and his own perspective about relearning his culture and taking an active role among his people. It was really fun to hear him field some super-crazy (and very personal) questions. He discussed the resurgence of piercing and tattoos among young Tlingits and his own decision not to tattoo his face. While discussing how Tlingit art had changed over time, he ripped out pages from his own sketchbook and passed them around. Junior even shared his perspective on dating within and outside the Tlingit people. -
Review from Junglist S.
San Francisco, CA
8/7/2010
This really deserves 2 stars but I would feel too guilty so it gets 3. As much as I would love to love this place and want to support it, it was extremely disappointing. You can get a free shuttle there downtown, but you're better off spending more time at the fantastic Anchorage Museum.
-
Review from Ria J.
Oakland, CA
9/28/2010
One of a kind! This is not so much a museum as a place to explore other lifestyles and to talk to people from native cultures. They have all these mini-village sites outside with reconstructions of different kinds of native house. They have a craft center where kids can make things and learn how native crafts are made. And every half an hour there is a different performance or presentation in the demonstration space. I liked the storytelling, the dance, and the Native Games the best. Aside from that there are also some arts and crafts on display. Although the Anchorage Museum has a better collection of arts and crafts, this place is much more fun to explore. The more time you take to engage with the people doing the demonstrations, the more you will get out of it. I love that they make an effort to hire native youth to give them a chance to interpret their culture, just be aware some of them are a little shy and are teenagers! :-)
