Yaghelidu! Duch’duldihini! LETS LEARN!

Plan your classroom visit to the Alaska Native Heritage Center. Students explore the past and present of Alaska's eleven indigenous cultures in a traditional setting under the guidance of Alaska Native instructors.

Grades K-12

Tuesday - Friday
October 4, 2010 - April 22, 2011
10:00 a.m. - 12:15p.m. or 11:00 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.
Students may bring sack lunches.  Please help clean up after your students.

Choose one of the 30-minute programs described below:

Program 1: Native Dance and Drumming

Students learn the importance of dance and are introduced to the meaning of the motions and words of the song. They will learn about drums and drumming and participate in a dance using traditional Native regalia and props.

Program 2: Native Games

Students participate in games that traditionally prepared youth for the rigors of life in the North. They learn the history and importance of these games, what part of the body each game was meant to condition, and how the games relate to traditional and contemporary culture.

Program 3: Native Stories and String Stories

Students listen to ancient oral traditions and string stories. They use props and artifacts to bring the story to life. They learn and practice telling string stories under the tutelage of Yup’ik and Inupiaq teachers.

Program 4: Whales and Whaling

Students learn about the bowhead whale hunt which is still undertaken by the Inupiat and St. Lawrence Island Yupiit. They learn the importance of the whale to all Alaska Native cultures. Weather permitting, students examine the gray whale exhibit outside.

Each standard visit to the Center, October through April, consists of the following components in addition to the program choice.

  • Introduction to Alaska Native Cultures

  • Film (20 minutes)

Watch one of ten films, depending on student interest and age:
Film titles include:
Alaska’s Three Bears                                                                                (K-3)
Raven Tales                                                                                              (K-4)
The Box of Wisdom Totem Pole                                                               (1-12)
Stories Given, Stories Shared                                                                    (1-12)
Games of the North                                                                                  (3-12)
Living Dena’ina: Ye Uh Qa Ts’daltsiyi (We Live Upon the Outdoors)        (3-12)
Living from the Land and Sea                                                                    (3-12)
Qayaqs and Canoes                                                                                  (3-12)
Asveq, the Walrus Hunt                                                                             (4-12)
 

  • Village Site Tour (30-45 minutes)

Students take a quarter-mile walk around the five recreated village sites that illustrate the traditional structures in a typical village before or shortly after contact with non-Native cultures. Knowledgeable cultural representatives share the history and traditions of each site. Dress warmly for this outdoor tour!

  • Art Project (30 minutes)

Students will participate in age/grade level appropiate cultural art activities.

Extend you vist by downloading these packets for the classroom:

 

Alaska Native Art Classes

Students with Ed Tiulana, Cultural Programs Coordinator