Reviews of Alaska Native Heritage Center (Museum)

Swapnil Gawde

Great experience. Definitely take their free (included in the entry fees) guided tour of the native village sites. I don't think I would've enjoyed the experience without it. Their presentation on native games was great too. The overall experience was very informative

Charles Graham

This place was great, very detailed exhibits and great presenters. There was much more to it than I expected.

Debra Pederson

Excellent games demonstration and cultural sharing. We wish our tour could have spent more time than we were allowed.

Leila Zaremba

This is an amazing place. Not only its it beautiful and informative, but it's keeping young people connected to their culture and past, and teaching them leadership skills. Loved it!

Israel Siria

Very instructive about the native American traditions and heritage to the new generations. Good to see a very young staff teaching us about their culture. The videos shown in the auditorium need to be updated to HD or 4K quality

Nancy Henderson

We didn't plan well and came at the end of the day...big mistake! come early to see all of the live events

Osman GÜLDEMİR

Impressive. Very nice.

Gerald Posanka

A bit of Alaska Living History

Gerald Reeves

It really deals with Alaskan people and things are being taught to young people. It was a very good place to meet different groups of Alaska and most are young people. It was great.

Tiffiny Tyler

I really like coming here! It's so fun learning about the native culture. They have a museum area with artifacts and information. They have a stage where they will do dance performances as well as talking about different things from their cultures. On the outside they have replicas of each tribes homes that you can walk into and learn about how they lived. Truly an amazing place!

Greg Pedler

Very interesting place. Learnt a lot about the Alaskan natives

Chuttie Senn

Amazing place...want to go back

Joel Johnson

Nice exhibits. Brilliant native dancing.

Cayla Armatti

Fantastic showcase for native history. Display if various house styles used by native peoples in as garden area in the back. Often local dancers and other performances.

DD H

Very interesting to see all the various examples of native tribes' houses. The young interns there are very friendly and knowledgeable! The museum held beautiful and interesting artifacts.

-Taida -

First hand stories from those who lived or had ancestors in a northern tribe, opportunity to learn a lot about culture, households, building design, to touch skins of various animals including a polar bear! and so on. If you stay at the museum long enough it feels like you were adopted by a family. Cozy and warm place, great staff.

Matthew Bigman

Informative and educational, this hidden gem is worth seeing by in Alaska. Try to catch the guided tour when possible.

Steven Beddow

A great place to learn about Alaska

Felix Korhel

We really enjoyed our visit. Everyone was welcoming and so informative! We learned from everyone.

Susan Hollinger

Such a wonderful place! Local teenagers explain exhibits and demonstrate traditional dances and crafts. Films, performances, and displays are educational and beautifully done.

Michael Hall

Definitely worth a visit. Lots to see, watch and listen to. Very educational

Kurt Leichtle

Great experience. Senior admission is a good deal. About half your time will be outside moving between buildings,better not in the rain but will work. Excellent programming.

Marie Campbell

Enjoyed this place and learning more about Alaska and the native people.

Melissa Taylor

Learned neat Alaskan culture

Bruce Morrill

Excellent tribute to cultures, informative displays. Native youth led many of the talks and demonstrations.

Jarek Halat

Great for large parties or events in the back patio

Kay Bretreger

Wonderful insights into native culture including dance. Most of the people near the exhibits for different cultures are the local school students who are genuinely passionate about their culture.

Dustin Moses

This is a good place to learn when you know nothing about Alaska and the Native Alaskans and how they lived and were successful. I love it here nice place.

Danae Schilt

We had a wonderful visit to the heritage center and I was very impressed with the level of knowledge from our guides. It was much more in-depth than most tours and we left feeling like we'd gained a much better appreciation for native Alaskan culture.

Jeff Hamilton

Wow, what a great place to visit! My only regret was not arriving earlier that day, as we were there for 4 hours up until the time they closed at 5pm, but could have easily spent more time there. The dwellings on the property were a lot of fun to walk through, and I loved all of the tools and animal pelts that you could touch inside of them. I also loved all of the storytelling, music, and dancing in The Gathering Place. I will definitely come back here again the next time I'm in Anchorage!

S R Hayes

Like the cultural knowledge from visiting here!

Frances LeLava

Nice place to go as a family, locals have a different entrance fee which I did not know. Very nice staff, clean and a great outdoor sitting area to hang out.

cinereal

Beautiful location! All of the employees are very knowledgeable about Alaska native history and want you to ask them questions. Everyone was very welcoming.

Randy Rienth

Very good, the shows are awesome, the villages and artifacts are very interesting. There are some folks selling handmade local items. Worth a visit

Janell Crookston

Fantastic overview of indigenous tribe life and early Alaskan history. Take a guided tour! Dusty was fantastic. He is a descendent of well respected native family. Great information and education.

Rebecca Mckee

Visiting here was a wonderful experience. Leave time to see all the live shows (like the one on the Native Games and Native dance) and also the discussion of Native culture.

Cody Patton

Always a wonderful experience. Great information to be had, and a great place to talk to Native Alaskan's about themselves and there culture. And absolute must, if you are visiting Anchorage.

kimberly allen

Halloween event here was a huge draw for costumed kids and adults alike. And also had natives at work and jewelry for sale which was very lovely.

James Goggin

We enjoyed our visit immensely! Educational and entertaining! Displays, presentations,and artist booths were all top notch.

Katy Marie

Wanna learn some native stuff? Heck even just watch the dancers and drummers? Please do come here. The best staff, the best interns, the best of everyone! You'll learn the best things of Alaska life here :)!!!

Travis Sears

The young people doing the presentations were fantastic.

Nicole Rice

Staff were helpful and extremely knowledgeable about everything. Nice walk around outside and everything is open and perfect for handicap persons. Plenty of parking and bathrooms. Food also available in the coffee shop. Nice spot to sit down and eat.

Justin Henley

Really cool history and artifacts. Had a ton of fun.

Dale Hestermann

A great wealth of local knowledge of the native Alaskin communities. Great demonstrations and lectures.

Vicki Brown

I visited a week before they were art to close the outside exhibits. Each outside cabin had a volunteer to explain the traditions of the tribe that would have lived there. The volunteers were very knowledgeable and friendly. They were quick to answer questions or just let me view inner objects of the homes in quiet. During my visit, there were live shows with traditional dance and demonstrations of games and stories of other interesting facts. There were tables set up with vendors outside and i was lucky enough to be able to purchase some hand made items. It was disappointing to note that the internal gift shop has items made in China rather than take advantage of the Native talent so readily available.

F Miller

Very good and interesting games presentation

Chris Virgin

Very nice place beautiful scenery and great spot to see wildlife

KK6WGO Rollins

Great job of presenting the values and cultures of the different groups.

Al Risden

We were fortunate to be there during a tribal gathering event in February. It was the Intertribal Gathering and was one of the most spiritual and compassionate events we saw while in the area. The people were genuine and enthusiastic about their cultures and local arts. The performances on stage were also interactive and all were invited to participate at certain times. The children in the audience wanted to help most of the times. :) It was all beautiful.

Carlos Roman

Brilliant, all exhibit and presentations done by young native people.

Carl Eady

as a tour bus driver my people were quite impressed

Gerald Macy

I though it was very interesting. How each culture around the state does things in a different way.

Dan Khile

Wish there were more traditional craftsmanship being displayed.

Lois Danks

Besides the museum exhibits it is an education center for youth and has live performances of songs dances and native athletic games.

samphoun tes

Very informative and the tour guide very knowledgeable.

Jeff Boggs

The young man was good at describing the tribes of Alaska...he and a few others performed some tribal dances...interesting walk around the lake to see more of Alaskan way of life years ago...

Tricia Buskirk

Best place to start a trip to Anchorage. Educational, cultural and great service.

tlchenvt

It’s similar to the polynesian cultural center in Hawaii which introduces native cultures.

DL Hereford

Wonderful venue for the Circumpolar World Music festival. Exhibits of Alaska Native artifacts and beautiful grounds. You really need to see this!

Antonio Castro

So awesome to learn more about indigenous people of Alaska. Come here and learn about the games before doing the tour. You will be glad you did.

Kook Nam Han

It Helps to understand Alaska more. Specially Eskimos, their life and their houses.

Lowell Ricketts

My wife and I absolutely loved our visit to the Heritage Center. The staff were very welcoming and eager to share their incredible knowledge of Native Alaskan culture. The frequent demonstrations helped make the experience engaging, especially the dance demonstrations. The grounds are a must see with five different Native Alaskan structure replicas. Inside each was a guide who shared more information about the engineering and artifacts inside. There are plenty of local crafts for purchase, in some cases from the artist themselves. We easily spent several hours here and could have stayed even longer!

Steve Coates

Good place to learn about native Alaskan culture

Jon Wetzel

Quite good. There are docents, and some k owners lots. Could spend 3 hrs, if you go slow. Recommended

Susan Long

I loved the experience here! Strolling the 6 Villages with someone inside to tell you more about it, the live dancing and storytelling on stage and, as a bonus, vendors outside offering handmade goods for sale! The signs were clear and informative, so I felt like I learned something about each group of indigenous peoples and about all 6-8 of the groups. And you were encouraged to touch everything - I had never touched musk oxen fur before and it makes you realize how thick it is and touching a translucent material made from intestines made me see how beautiful, yet how fragile, it is! I spent 3 hours there and could have easily spent 4 hours. Well done! Plus, there is a free round trip shuttle from the visitor’s center! And if you buy both this museum ticket and the Anchorage museum ticket at the same time, you save a little money!

Don Krupski

Preservation of the many diverse native cultures of Alaska is well represented here. This is a must stop on your visit to Anchorage. Enjoyed my visit even in the rain.

Mary Helen Whitney

Lots of information about the native tribes across the state. Guests can see how each tribe lived and their way of life.

Lynda Hill

The setting was well laid out and beautiful. The young docents were informative and seemed happy to discuss their heritage and answer questions.

Herakles Li

The Alaska Native Heritage Center is a fantastic cultural museum. Though I hesitate to call it a museum and would feel it is more of an experience. The museum doesn't have many of the typical behind the glass exhibits you would expect, instead opting to have an outdoor "village" walk through experience. You get to see the types of homes the different Native peoples of Alaska lived in and get to see in each home the items from that culture. There are also regular shows and talks from folks of their lives and history and culture. All in all a great way to learn about the history and lived experience of Alaskan Natives. There are also small tables selling art and wares made by local native folks. My friend got a baleen bookmarked scrimshawed with her name and a picture of a whale.

detha depari

A glimpse of how native Alaskan live their life and their culture. Not really my cup a tea, but could be the highlighted for visitor who into art and history.

Kale Wright

Very educational. The MCs inject humor into their presentations so it's not all dry.

Timothy Moses

I definitely want to see more! Excellent facility! Beautiful location.

Evan Beedle

Very good and awesome display of Alaskan heritage, Bravo!

Ilia Tyker

Good place for a understanding native culture

Gregory Scott

A great place to spend time

Bruce Marshall

What a wonderful experience. Learning about the different clans, seeing their dwellings and listening to members from each tell their stories was such a treat.

Rod P

Great learning experience at the "Alaska Native Heritage Center." Well worth the stop. Gift shop has native items available.

Linda Ross

Great show of native Alaskans. Very informative. Great demonstrations.

Daniel Bearden

I was a tourist in Anchorage but I felt informed as I walked away from the Alaska native heritage center.

Joe Brooks

Very informative look with activities to learn of Native Alaskan Heritage.

Fiona Kovingre

Staff friendly and place is excellent cultural artifacts such as their local house for food keeping etc. Very enjoyable to visit.

Hilda Soto

Interesting tour. Guide was very knowledgeable. Loved watching the native dances - and participating in one. Really impressed by the example homes. The whole family (12 yrs old to 72 yr old) really enjoyed the visit. Thank you!

Brandy Kehrer

I loved all the outdoor replicas of each native peoples' home. This part was really cool. But the inside was very small and more for adults to read and look through glass cases than for kids. Overall I thought it was cool but that for what you got admission was pretty pricey.

Phil

The Alaska Native Heritage Center is an excellent source of cultural information and history of Alaska Natives. A great deal of preserving many historical items from different periods of history. The gift shop is a must visit if you are looking for Native ivory carvings. The Native youth that participated in the programs were great examples and there are smaller tables of crafts, clothing and jewelry that you can also purchase.

Joshua Fox

As an Alaskan Native I had fun here with my children. Seeing all the art work, and village houses were a great experience into the way of living as the ancestors did. This would be a great place for anyone to see....

Rich Bentley

A very interesting stop.

marty spencer

Great place to learn about the native people of Alaska.

Katie Ranes

Wonderful docents were very knowledgeable and engaging

안은영

Sad but hope-giving place.it is worth of visiting.

Exodus Riley

Very educational, Heritage Pride is so strongly represented here. Loved it. Although it's slow season for the museum, the center is still open for business. We did however get a personal tour by one of the employee Wilson. Very nice and informative

Julia Forbes

What real Alaska is about. Phyllis was a lovely young woman. She was funny and cute and fielded a diverse range of inquiry. Dances and songs were wonderful. Some crafts women were displaying things for sale. Visiting the ANHC as my first tourist stop put my visit in perspective. Absolutely loved learning about the various groups of Native Alaskans.

Mark M

There are contentious activities at each of three locations in the Center--the stage, the movie theater and at the village sites, as well as art to view and crafts for sale. I took the free shuttle bus on a Saturday afternoon in May and there were only a handful of visitors. I had a personal free tour. A very underappreciated site.

Kate Buchan

Such a beautiful people

vrivera1010

Had a chance to learn about Alaskan culture.

Julia Lessie

It is very native and if you love nature,traditions and love history this is the place to do more research.Amazing reading about their origins.Love the place

Benjamin Phelps

Thoughtfully developed museum with indoor and primarily outdoor exhibits. The guides were of mixed quality. I believe that they should automatically greet visitors and start talking about their station. Sometimes I just was asked "do you have any questions?" If you are a tourist trying to learn, you might not have any questions because you don't know enough about the information to know what to ask. Once I answered the question but asking, "What can you tell me about this building" and received a wealth of knowledge. If I didn't ask I would have missed a lot!

William Gray

Very informative and well worth the time. Good for adults and children.

Nicole Goodman

This is a great place to learn about the different native people in Alaska! I really enjoyed the dancing and stories!

Melanie the Sylvia

Absolutely loved this place !! People are very nice !! Tours are very educational !! Learned a lot about the Alaskan natives !!

Nicole H

Was sad with how little cultural thing's they had to show. Was honestly kind of boring.

Eliana Auria

was really cool to see. in the third grade field trip, we had to watch a movie where this girl accidentally eats a fly and the fly turns into a baby in her stomach and the girl was pregnant, then they cut the movie off because the time was out. it’s been a few years and i still do not know what the ending was.

Julia Vigil

Wonderfully set up so you can walk around to different native "villages" with natives standing by to teach you about the various styles of homes, tools, and culture. I really enjoyed the dance performance they put on as well.

David Maddison

Advice - check to see if you’re visiting within seasonal hours. I arrived during the shutdown winter season but the venue was still open and has a small collection of Inuit artefacts and art works. The outside area makes for a nice stroll but all of the exhibits were closed. Alright for a free stop off to stretch your legs on the way to Eagle River Nature Centre during off season

Krissy Key

I loved watching the performances! It was interesting to see the traditional dances and watch them play traditional Alaskan games. I also enjoyed hearing the music and stories. Fun to walk around the village area, which includes several replicas of Native Alaskan homes, and spiritual center. Inside the cultral center, it was much smaller than I had expected. But the displays were interesting. They were primarily about the various Native Alaskan tribes and what was important to them. You can buy a ticket to the Anchorage Museum at a discounted price at the front desk here. If you’re interested in Native History, the Anchorage Museum has much more information on the topic.

Anna Kozma

Amazing, fascinating stories told by native Alaskans

Patty Anderson

Great place to learn history not seen elsewhere.

Melinda Nelson

Everyone was very nice and very helpful except one boy in one of the villages who acted like he didn't want to be there.

Doug Washburn

Native dance exhibitions and displays of native culture and heritage

Dean Balzmi

Loved this cultural experience, glad I didn't miss the dancing

Tammy Vig

if you are a tourist here, please come here to learn about the history of alaskans! it is really interesting and fun! They sometimes have food trucks outside as well.

Missy Romano

It was interesting to see the houses that the native people lived in and to see the furs and tools they used.

Paul Allen

Enjoyable. Listen to and enjoy the dance shows. Outside houses are the main attraction

Julie Croteau

Loved it alot awsome performance by younger generation alaskans great to see them culturly involved

Christina Breault

Outside easy walkable, had tour guides for education. Beautiful museum and live artists. A must see when visiting.

Sewlall Ramoo

Great Esikimo or native people's presentation. The children of the community participate in telling a people's story, which is awesome. Native crafts people's selling hancrafted items.

Kim Kiefer

Great learning opportunity.

Tina Marie

Loved everything here! We learned so many amazing things! The dancers , the village the nature surrounding it all!

rudi rupp

Great place for a small concert

Jared Keeling

I highly recommend this to anyone that is interested in the many cultures of Alaska. The Heritage Center covers the good, the bad, and the ugly aspects of colonization efforts and indoctrination. The outdoor loop is really impressive and the highlight of my trip.

John Noland

A mixture of indoor and outdoor displays depicting native Alaskan tribes. Indoor displays were complemented with live presentation of native dances and music, games and talks with Q and A opportunities. Outside there are examples of houses, tools, boats and totem poles.

Michael Gillespie

Fabulous way to spend party of a day in Anchorage. Excellent displays and staff. Good place to buy local native art. Make sure you catch the native dance and drumming.

Jim Collins

Fun place to visit. Quite a few animals to see. You should walk around instead of driving. They didn't tell us when we arrived that they have a large parking area. Instead we saw a few small pull over areas to look at the moose. Go directly to the large area and walk. More enjoyable that way too.

fount mckinley

A not to miss place. Very educational and entertaining.

Donna Rosado

Awesome place to visit

dawillowbilly

The museum has a lot of very good information about the cultures from around the state and some really neat artifacts

Ali Bani-Sadr

We visited the Alaska Native Heritage Center while in Anchorage. This is an absolute must stop! The center is well laid out, tastefully presented and very informative. The presentation hall offers a variety of speakers every hour who proudly share their love for their culture. Traditional songs and dances were performed, with an opportunity for spectators to join in on the experience. The vast outside area allows for walking into the dwellings and lifestyle of the indigenous people of the area. At each stop, a guide is available to tell visitors of interesting tidbits. There are vendors that displays traditional and artisanal treasures if one is looking for souvenirs. There is also a formal gift shop. We spent about half a day there and felt more enriched for having visited. We loved the pride and importance of the place. Highly recommend it!

Russle Steward

Is a good place to go to learn about the culture. The staff are very knowledgeable in The items displayed. They have performances, they give briefings during your tour, and they have stands that sell trinkets that are hand crafted. There is a playground for kids. I just wish that the area was bigger and had more robust items to see. But what I did see made it worthwhile for The Visit and to understand more of the culture. There is a fee and also a military discount.

Kathryn Jabs

Loved it! The staff is not only friendly but full of knowledge regarding the Native culture (and were young to my surprise), they were polite too! What a treat to learn so much of the lifestyles and history of the Native Alaskans. If you want to learn about Alaska definitely visit this place.

Franny Yeates

The Alaska Native Heritage Center features beautiful artifacts in the main building, and an engaging display of typical native villages and housing in the easily walkable trail around the grounds. The Center has winter and summer hours. During the winter, activities are limited, though the Center is open (and free). During the summer, cultural shows and presentations are held in the well lit and airy auditorium area stage.

Lesley Ringwood

Interesting, informative living museum. The staff are friendly and enthusiastic about sharing their heritage with visitors. We only got chance to see some of the houses & the dancing, needed more time than we had available.

Evelyn Simmers

A lot of natural history shared by the staff. Worth a visit.

Gazza Lawrence

Very interesting place and it was a free entry in March

Debbie Smith

Great place to visit

Mb Shenanigan

Attend the presentations and make sure you take the walk to all the buildings. The people who work there are passionate and knowledgeable. Worth your time.

Auddy Groom

Such an awesome experience to take back home. I learned so much about the ability of tribes to survive. A must-see for tourists

Jenny L

Amazing place. Awesome history.

Lewis Wasserman

This little museum offers a great glimpse into the lives of Indigenous Alaskans. Definitely worth a visit.

Pat McCord

The dancers wete fun and interesting.

V W

Nice place to visit and learn about native culture.

Hilary Brown

Beautiful place that helped me understand what makes Alaska and its native cultures so unique. Loved the dance performances, impressive native games demonstrations, and outdoor tour of each tribal group's traditional homes. Set aside a half day for this!

Wendy Franko

Great start in learning Alaska people's history.

René Cusson

A MUST EXPERIENCE This center offers a variety of indigenous experiences... exhibits, videos, interactive displays, food, live performances, walking tours representing the villages, culture and home life of Alaska's first people. This voyage of discovery deserves a full day or a minimum half day.

Shuai Jiang

A very hands-on museum where all facets of native Alaskan lifes are discussed. There's staff at every station where one can ask questions, and there's always performances at the main house. A lot of the exhibits involves walking outdoors so if it's raining please do remember a jacket, buy they do provide some umbrellas.

Christy Jones

One of the few places to actually learn about native life and history. You can view traditional structures and talk to the volunteers who are well versed in native traditions. Students give numerous demonstrations throughout the day and the dancers are worth a watch.

Tamara Kameroff

I love our Native culture!

Pamela Tapert

Lots to learn, very neat

Amber Buck

What a wonderful place to introduce people to the Native Heritage's of AK. Clothes, costumes, jewelry, and more. They have Native built different styles of homes to walk and tour, as well.

Anirban Ghosh

Unique experience. Must watch the live performances by the natives.

Steve Harris

Very well done. Loved the native games and singing demo which was so interactive. The displays were also full of info rather than static displays

Roy Seher

Excellent facility. Interesting overview of each Native Alaska group. The games and dance demonstrations were entertaining and enlightening. One item I would suggest be covered more clearly is modern day lifestyles, economics, interaction with non Native Alaskans and the function of the Corporations. Worth the visit.

Clayton Gottschalk

Beautiful environment, nice exhibits great facility for activities!

Joanne Cavera

Fabulous place. Loved learning about the different native cultures.

Ro and Reese D

This place is magical. You can learn so many parts of history we was denide and as well see the difference in evolution. It's wonderful place come visit and learn . Very good for whole family. And also help to support local community. People are very nice .they have also nice cafiteria ty out can have some snuck . Enjoy you gonna love it

Kelli McLure

Definitely go experience

John Foreman

A good way to see more information about Alaskan First Peoples. The talks movies and dance presentations are very good. The exhibit on lodging and items used on a daily basis seem a bit worn and incomplete. Well worth a visit if you have some extra time. You can either drive to the location or take a shuttle from the Anchorage Museum downtown

Katrina Nygaard

Great performances and demonstrations by local youth - very educational!

Jim Ketcham

Lots of native artists selling crafts, great presentations on native cultures in the auditorium and interesting recreations of 5 different native habitations along a quarter mile paved loop. Snack bar, too, with outdoor deck.

Patrick Lawless

Very knowledgeable guide and very interesting and informative about the culture of the native Alaskans.