Alaska's indigenous people are not just Eskimos. In fact we have 5 distinct regions with 11 different cultural groups. The best place to learn about the culture is at the Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage. Once you have an understanding of the differences you can better appreciate what you see in the communities you visit.

Haines is home of the Chilkat Indians whose mother village is Klukwan, located 22 miles north of Haines. Klukwan is recognized as the earliest of the Chilkat villages and contains many reminders of its rich past.

Ketchikan has Saxman Village, a totem park boasting the single largest collection of totems including the famed Abraham Lincoln pole and the Seward “shame” pole.

In a beautiful cove eight miles north of Ketchikan is Totem Bight State Park, where an historic collection of totems and a native community house can be visited.

Ketchikan’s Totem Heritage Center displays a large collection of original poles retrieved from abandoned village sites and hosts classes teaching traditional art forms like weaving and regalia making.

In Barrow you can meet the Inupiat Eskimo people while enjoying a cultural program featuring ceremonial song and dance, traditional games, and demonstration of local crafts.

Visit the village of Anaktuvuk Pass and learn of the local Nunamiut Eskimo culture. Get a firsthand glimpse at village lifestyle as it exists today in rural Alaska.

A breath-taking one hour flight takes you above the Arctic Circle to the village of Fort Yukon. Experience how the Gwich'in Athabascan Natives live in "Bush" Alaska.

Sitka's Totem Park has a fine collection of Haida & Tlingit totem poles which were moved there from the Louisiana Exposition in St. Louis in 1904, and in April, 1996, a locally carved totem was raised in traditional ceremonial style. The museum contains an exhibit of Tlingit and Russian artifacts. The Southeast Alaska Indian Cultural Center provides an artist studio for local Sitka Tlingit, Haida and Tsimpsian teaching and creating long-practiced cultural arts.