Indigenous Culture
RSSIndigenous Culture in Alaska is the languages, arts, ceremonies and traditions of Alaska Native peoples. It also covers language revitalization, repatriation of ancestors and artifacts, elder knowledge, dance groups, and traditional arts, known as Alaska Native culture or Native culture.
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June 2026
First Peoples Fund fellowship open to Alaska Native artists through July 15
Alaska Native artists can apply through July 15 for a First Peoples Fund fellowship that provides grant money, business training, and mentoring to help independent artists build sustainable livelihoods.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
St. Paul Island artists retell Kipling's 'White Seal' from Unangan perspective
Kipling wrote "The White Seal" about the Pribilof without Unangan voices. St. Paul artists are fixing that.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Anchorage clinic offers kuspuk, beading, and talking circle classes
Southcentral Foundation's Traditional Healing Clinic in Anchorage offers Alaska Native cultural classes like kuspuk sewing, beadwork, and talking circles as part of its health care model that blends traditional healing with modern medicine.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
BSNC placed 16 interns across its operations — building homegrown management
Bering Straits Native Corporation placed 16 interns across its operations this summer, including returning participants pursuing business degrees, to build management talent from shareholders and descendants in the region.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Angoon youth dancers perform at Celebration following Navy apology
Angoon youth dancers performed at Celebration 2026 days after the U.S. Navy formally apologized for the 1882 bombardment that killed children and destroyed the Tlingit community's winter food stores, an apology the community had sought for decades.
by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 5mo ago2 min read
Traditional Healing Clinic hosts Alaska Native cultural classes this week
Southcentral Foundation's Traditional Healing Clinic hosts Alaska Native cultural classes this week in Anchorage, including porcupine quillwork, Ahtna language, beadwork, and food preservation. • Classes meet at 4 PM at 4320 Diplomacy Drive and require online registration through the clinic's portal.
by Alaska Newsadded 5mo ago1 min read
Navy SEAL returns to Southeast Alaska after 28 years
Retired Navy SEAL Command Master Chief Nathan Mitchell returned to Southeast Alaska after 28 years, completing a canoe journey with his son to Celebration 2026. • Mitchell spoke about Alaska Native military service, noting the demographic serves at five times the national average. • He addressed veteran mental health, urging those struggling with PTSD to seek support from fellow veterans.
by Melinda Communities.News5mo ago2 min read
Cook Inlet Tribal Council opens four-week communication workshop
Cook Inlet Tribal Council starts a four-week communication workshop Monday at its Anchorage office, blending Western communication theory with Alaska Native cultural values and focusing on active listening and intentional speech.
by Alaska News5mo ago1 min read
More from Indigenous Culture
Kodiak Alutiiq Dancers honor late elder at Celebration 2026 performances
Kodiak Alutiiq Dancers honored late elder Margaret Roberts at Celebration 2026, performing traditional and newly written pieces that document ancestral knowledge and cultural revival across Alaska and Hawaii.
by Lucas Brownadded 5mo ago2 min read
Celebration 2026 opens in Juneau with canoe arrivals, cultural speeches
Sealaska Heritage Institute opened Celebration 2026 in Juneau on Wednesday with traditional canoe arrivals from eight Southeast Alaska communities and speeches centered on cultural resilience and overcoming external and internal challenges.
by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 5mo ago2 min read
House passes Alaska Native walrus-ivory protection bill
House passed legislation allowing Alaska Native artists to sell walrus-ivory handicrafts nationwide, overriding state bans that had criminalized traditional art protected under federal marine-mammal law.
by Alaska Newsadded 5mo ago2 min read
Southcentral Foundation offers cultural education classes in June
Southcentral Foundation's Traditional Healing Clinic offers Alaska Native cultural classes in late May and early June, including Ahtna language, traditional food prep, and craft skills like kuspuk sewing in Anchorage.
by Alaska News5mo ago1 min read
Tanana Chiefs Conference sets June family events in Fairbanks
Tanana Chiefs Conference hosts a resource fair June 5 in Fairbanks and a cultural activity night June 29 with crafts, drumming, and family workshops.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 5mo ago1 min read
Haida fashion designer Dorothy Grant to sign career monograph at Alaska State Museum Friday
Haida fashion designer Dorothy Grant signs her career monograph at Alaska State Museum Friday from 4 to 5 pm during First Friday, with free museum admission from 4 to 7 pm.
by Melinda Communities.News5mo ago1 min read
Alaska Native Heritage Center collects traditional foods for typhoon relief
The Alaska Native Heritage Center is collecting traditional Native food donations for about 1,600 people displaced by Typhoon Halong in Western Alaska, with drop-off instructions available at its Anchorage campus.
by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 5mo ago1 min read
May 2026
Sealaska Heritage Institute names seaweed contest winner at Celebration
Christina Weber won Sealaska Heritage Institute's seaweed contest at Celebration 2026 in Juneau, judged on freshness, color, taste, and texture as part of a traditional Native food competition.
by Maggie AlaskaNews5mo ago2 min read
Coming up
Steve Langdon Lecture on Tlingit Offshore Resource Rights
Shuká Hít (clan house), Walter Soboleff Building, downtown Juneau, AK, and livestreamed on SHI's YouTube channel
Class
Elder Tea
Community event
Third Thursday at the Ch'k'iqadi Gallery
Exhibition
Howard Rock & Ted Stevens Smokehouse Gala
Community event
Sewing Circle Sundays at KCC
Class
About Indigenous Culture
Indigenous culture in Alaska takes in the languages, arts, ceremonies and traditions of Alaska Native peoples, among them Tlingit, Haida, Yup'ik, Alutiiq, Dena'ina and Iñupiaq cultures. It includes carving, ivory work, beading, weaving, regalia, totem poles, dance and the knowledge held by Elders.
Repatriation is a recurring thread, as museums and federal agencies return ancestors, funerary objects and clan belongings to tribes under federal processes. Language revitalization, the use of feathers and walrus ivory in Native handicrafts under federal wildlife law, and cultural education for Native students also recur.
Institutions such as Sealaska Heritage Institute, the Central Council of Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes and the Alaska Native Heritage Center carry much of this work, along with tribes, schools and health organizations. The subject sits beside tribal government, Alaska Native corporations and subsistence rights.
More from Indigenous Culture
TCLL graduates first 8th grade class after years of Tlingit immersion
Juneau's Tlingit immersion program graduated 8th graders who delivered speeches in Tlingit after years of fluency growth. • Students moved from reluctant speakers to confident communicators in the language. • Program is free for all students and partners with Sealaska Heritage Institute. • Graduates received traditional headbands and advance to high school.
by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 5mo ago3 min read
Inupiaq craftsman revives nearly lost qayaq-building tradition
Inupiaq craftsman Lou Logan spent 18 months building a traditional qayaq at the Alaska State Museum, reviving nearly lost construction techniques. He presents his work Saturday, May 16, at 1 p.m.
by Alaska News6mo ago3 min readKodiak artists face Sunday deadline for 26th Crab Fest Art Show
Kodiak artists have until Sunday, May 17 to submit original work for the 26th annual Crab Fest Art Show, running May 22-24 at Fisherman's Hall.
by Alaska News6mo ago1 min readNew Forensic Methods May Help Alaska Museums Identify Ancestors
Alaska museums host a May 19 virtual meeting on new genetic methods to identify ancestral remains and connect them to tribes for repatriation.
by Alaska News6mo ago2 min readDouglas man to share journey building traditional Inupiaq qayaq
Douglas resident Lou Logan presents his year-long project building a traditional Inupiaq qayaq at the Alaska State Museum on Saturday, May 16, at 1 p.m., free admission.
by Alaska News6mo ago2 min readApril 2026
Tlingit & Haida building two education campuses on Prince of Wales
Tlingit & Haida is building two early education campuses on Prince of Wales Island, opening summer 2026, to expand Head Start and childcare access with Tlingit and Haida language immersion.
by Alaska Newsadded 6mo ago2 min read
Alaska Tribes Removed 1.5M Pounds Marine Debris Despite Funding Barriers
Alaska tribes removed 1.5 million pounds of marine debris last summer but face barriers like grant complexity and equipment costs that threaten their ability to protect subsistence resources.
by Alaska Newsadded 7mo ago3 min read
