come visit
come visit
Enter the World of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian Peoples
Enter the World of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian Peoples
Exploring Southeast Alaska’s Native Story
Exploring Southeast Alaska’s Native Story
The story of Southeast Alaska’s Native people is an ancient and ongoing one that began thousands of years ago and continues to this day. The Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian people say we’ve been on this land since time immemorial, and our scientific collaborations with researchers have proven we’ve been here for more than 11,000 years.
At Sealaska Heritage, you’ll be surrounded by that story like no other place in Juneau. Walk through a hand-adzed cedar clan house. Experience our exhibits and monumental art. Take home a one-of-a-kind Native art piece or a souvenir, along with new insights into Southeast Alaska history and how we are all shaped by whatever land we call home.
Your visit and purchases will help support Alaska Native artists, workshops, Indigenous language revitalization, and cross-cultural programming all year long. By exploring our exhibits and purchasing art pieces, you are playing a role in our mission to revitalize and enhance the ancient cultures of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian people.
Plan Your Visit to Our Exhibits and the Sealaska Heritage Store
Plan Your Visit to Our Exhibits and the Sealaska Heritage Store
Exhibits
Guided Tours:
Monday-Friday, 10 am and 2 pm
- $49 Adults
- $39 Seniors/Youth
- Under 7 Free
A 1-hour culturally integrated experience with a local guide, providing a deeper understanding of NWC people and art. Includes entrance to the exhibit, lobby, and clan house. To request a private tour, email tours@sealaska.com
Exhibit Admission Only:
Monday-Friday, 3-7 pm
Saturday and Sunday, 10 am-7 pm
- $7 Adults
- $5 Seniors/Youth
- Under 7 Free
A self-guided tour that includes entry to the lobby, clan house, and exhibit area.
Store
The Sealaska Heritage Store’s summer hours are:
10 am-7 pm, Monday-Sunday
To speak to someone at the Sealaska Heritage Store, call (907) 586-9114 or visit sealaska-heritage-store.myshopify.com
Exhibits
Exhibits
SHI curates exhibits that delve into the history, art, and cultures of Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian people. The following exhibits are currently on view:
SHI curates exhibits that delve into the history, art, and cultures of Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian people. The following exhibits are currently on view:
This exhibit explores ancient place names and the innovative inventions that were used to catch halibut and salmon. It includes three sections:
Native Voices on the Land
Salmon People
Halibut, Attack the Hook!
Offered on interactive platforms, all three sections offer a window into how Native people historically survived and thrived in the region, said SHI President Rosita Worl.
“Indigenous people have lived in Southeast Alaska for more than 11,000 years, and during that time, our people invented ingenious tools to catch salmon and halibut and to sustain fish populations. Our people also documented important places, including subsistence areas, through names,” Worl said. “Our goal is to share this knowledge with the public and to honor the ingenuity of our ancestors.”
Native Voices on the Land
Salmon People
Halibut, Attack the Hook!
Offered on interactive platforms, all three sections offer a window into how Native people historically survived and thrived in the region, said SHI President Rosita Worl.
“Indigenous people have lived in Southeast Alaska for more than 11,000 years, and during that time, our people invented ingenious tools to catch salmon and halibut and to sustain fish populations. Our people also documented important places, including subsistence areas, through names,” Worl said. “Our goal is to share this knowledge with the public and to honor the ingenuity of our ancestors.”
This exhibit features nearly 60 works by 56 artists from Alaska’s major Indigenous groups, including the Alutiiq, Athabaskan, Inupiat, Yupik, Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian.
Most of the pieces were made by contemporary artists, while a few represent old masters whose pieces exist in SHI’s ethnographic collection.
Through the show, SHI is honoring the ingenuity and strength of Alaska Native women who continue to create and innovate. Their achievements continue despite centuries of colonization, oppression, and unprecedented times, wrote guest curator Alison Bremner, an award-winning Tlingit artist.
The exhibit opens at 4:30 pm, Friday, May 5, and will run through Dec. 1, 2023.
“Alaska Native women have helped carry our Indigenous groups’ origin stories, histories, and traditional knowledge for thousands of years through ancient art practices,” Worl said. “Through the exhibit, we wanted to honor Alaska’s Indigenous female artists by holding up the mastery of their work for all to see.”
This exhibit features nearly 60 works by 56 artists from Alaska’s major Indigenous groups, including the Alutiiq, Athabaskan, Inupiat, Yupik, Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian.
Most of the pieces were made by contemporary artists, while a few represent old masters whose pieces exist in SHI’s ethnographic collection.
Through the show, SHI is honoring the ingenuity and strength of Alaska Native women who continue to create and innovate. Their achievements continue despite centuries of colonization, oppression, and unprecedented times, wrote guest curator Alison Bremner, an award-winning Tlingit artist.
The exhibit opens at 4:30 pm, Friday, May 5, and will run through Dec. 1, 2023.
“Alaska Native women have helped carry our Indigenous groups’ origin stories, histories, and traditional knowledge for thousands of years through ancient art practices,” Worl said. “Through the exhibit, we wanted to honor Alaska’s Indigenous female artists by holding up the mastery of their work for all to see.”
War and Peace delves into traditional Tlingit laws, the consequences for breaking them, and the complex peace ceremonies that ended conflicts and restored balance.
The Traditional Warrior
Conflicts with Russia
The Peace Ceremony
Celebration 2020/Juried Art Show In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic forced SHI to show its Juried Art Show online in a virtual exhibit. We hope you enjoy exploring this show, which usually occurs in-person and exhibits for only a few months in Juneau.
Carving & Sculpture Division
Endangered Arts
Sewing
Weaving
Kootéeyaa Deiyí (Totem Pole Trail)
Kootéeyaa Deiyí (Totem Pole Trail)
In 2023, Sealaska Heritage raised 12 totem poles along the Juneau waterfront as part of Kootéeyaa Deiyí (Totem Pole Trail), which is phase three of our vision to make Juneau the Northwest Coast arts capital. The goal is to eventually raise a total of 30 totems.
Northwest Coast art (NWC) evolved over several thousand years in the rich and complex Indigenous societies of the Pacific Northwest of North America. Wood carvings, weavings, and other cultural pieces depicting NWC art were aggressively collected by museums and Western explorers and acclaimed as one of the most distinctive and unique art traditions in the world. One of the most distinctive and widely-known art forms in NWC art is the totem pole. Totem poles were carved from large red cedar trees and erected in front of our villages, welcoming visitors who arrived by sea. The totem poles were carved with the crests and spirits of our clans and depicted significant events and clan histories.
Seven of the totems represent the following clans: the L’eeneidí, Wooshkeetaan, Yanyeidí, Ishkahittaan, Kaagwaantaan, L’uknax̱.ádi and the Shangukeidí. Of the remaining five totems, four represent the Haida Eagles and Ravens and the Tlingit Eagles and Ravens, and one represents the Tsimshian.
Explore Kootéeyaa Deiyí using our pocket guide!
Sealaska Heritage Store
Sealaska Heritage Store
Northwest Coast (NWC) art evolved over several thousand years in the rich and complex Indigenous societies of the Pacific Northwest of North America. Art adorned everything from monumental structures and ceremonial regalia to basic utilitarian objects. The simplicity of the design components—elements of a system known as formline—belie the complexity and sophistication that was achieved in this two-dimensional NWC art tradition.
At the Sealaska Heritage Store, we guarantee pieces marked as made by Native people were made by Native people. Beware of cheap knockoffs peddled as “real” Native art that are unfortunately pushed widely by unscrupulous merchants. When you purchase from us, the proceeds help fund workshops and classes on Northwest Coast art that hone and perpetuate the skills of our artists. When you purchase from us, you become part of a holistic cycle to perpetuate our ancient art forms.
Research
Research
