Today it rained on and off. We visited the Alaska Native Heritage Center, the Alaska Zoo, and the Alaska Aviation Museum. It was a full day of activities! The Alaska Native Heritage Center featured five Alaska native groups. Representatives from these groups were on hand to teach us about their ancestors culture. They showed us how to sew, fish, dance, build kayaks, make knives, use animal to make clothing, shoes, and bags.
Here are some examples writings from the Athabascan elders:
Anthabascan words from elders.
Anthabascan elder words 2.
Anthabascan elder words of wisdom.
Here we see a description of the Yup’ik culture and a map of where they lived.
Description of Yup'ik culture at Alaska Native Heritage Center
Map of Yup'ik historical territory at Alaska Native Heritage Museum
Shoshanna Johnson, Tlingit/Siberian Yup’ik, shows Robin an authentic lodge. She explains that in the winter when it is dark and cold outside, children would kick a ball suspended by a rope from the ceiling and would raise it higher and higher which made it harder and harder. This gave them a good workout to stay in shape indoors.
Shoshanna Johnson meets Robin at the Alaska Native Heritage Center
Robin kicking the ball.*
Native Alaska Dancing
Native Alaska Kayak
Totem pole at Alaskan Native Heritage Center
Robin and I visited the zoo to see some of the native Alaskan animals. We saw:
Brown Bear
Black Bear
Caribou
Musk Ox
Dall’s sheep, beaver, wild turkey, wolves, and red fox, to name a few. Did you know there is a difference between horns and antlers? Antlers are shed each year and must be regrown.
Antlers of a variet of Alaska mammals.
Description of the characteristics of antlers.*
Our last stop for the day was the Aviation Museum. Robin was attracted to the beautiful green and gold plane. Go Vikings!!
**Peggy and Robin at Air Museum
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Alaska, being cold and icy much of the year, is hazardous for travel by land. Air travel allowed people to travel north when roads were impassible. My expedition team will rely on float planes to take us to our lakes. Otherwise, without roads we would have some very steep rock climbing to do to get to our destinations.
Float plane at air museum.
Here are a couple of other planes we saw.
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