Alaska Native Heritage Center visit, Part 2

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Yesterday, I shared from the demonstrations we saw at the Alaska Native Heritage Center.  Today, I want to share from the outdoor trail that we took to see the traditional structures of the Alaskan Native groups.   The mini-long home up on stilts outside the main structure below would be a food cache.  It’s height helps to minimize food raids by wildlife.  Some in the bush still do this to help protect their food stores.  The structures are typical of the Athabascans.   The younger boys come out from visiting the inside of a structure partially buried under ground from the Yup’ik & Cup’ik cultures.   This past year’s winner of the Iditarod was John Baker, an Alaskan native.  He maintains a presence on site here, including sled dogs they are raising.  J was really taken by the puppies, although he kept his distance.  What was interesting to observe is that those inside the cage were sleepy and ignoring the boys until their brothers and sisters came back from a walk.  Then they were ALL moving around!   Here’s P holds J alongside a traditional archway from whale outside of a structure indicative of the Inupaiq and St. Lawerence Island Yupik.    Along the small lake area, you can observe the skeleton of a whale laid out.   Hubby reads a plaque about transportation utilized by natives in Southeastern Alaska.   A nice example of a totem pole stands outside the area representing SE Alaskan tribes like the Tlingit.   The difference in available resources is evident with the large, sturdy log structures.   J stands in the opening to the communal structure.  It was intentionally made to force anyone entering to bend down and preventing an attack without warning.   If you missed reading my post yesterday, take some time to visit and see some photos from the demonstrations we saw that day, too. And, you can find a short video of things we saw in Alaska Native Heritage Center Visit, Part 3.