Looking for best port and tour option for learning about the indigenous culture in Alaska

[Kesstral]

I'll be taking my kids to Alaska in May (Brilliance of the Seas).  We are from southwestern BC and live in the traditional territory of the Stó:lō.  My daughter (8yo) has been learning about our local indigenous people in school and she really enjoys it.  I'd love to take her on a tour or visit some sites on our trip where she can learn more about the indigenous culture of SW Alaska (Tlingit I believe?). 

Our port stops are Sitka, Juneau, Haines, and Ketchikan.  I visited Totem Bight state park in Ketchikan about a decade ago so I know it's an option, but looking for something maybe more informative/interactive?  The cruise line has a tour to Saxman Native Totem Village, anyone have any experience with this tour (ie, is it rushed/crowded?). Other ports/tours we should look at?

[wolfie11]

Saxman is an actual native cultural center, where you will be given a tour, watch carvers, and enter a longhouse where there's singing and dancing.  I really enjoyed it.  There is a similar tour in Haines to Klukwan, which is also very good.  There's a wonderful native arts center a museum in Juneau that sells locally produced crafts in their gift store.  Sitka National Historic Park offers a museum and I believe also does a cultural tour.  It's at the Tlingit fort/battle site where the Tlingit attempted to drive off the Russians.

[Northern Aurora]

There are 12 distinct first people cultures in Alaska.  In the SE Alaska cruise ship territory you will find Tlingit and Haida cultures.  

 

Sitka has a large Tlingit population.  There is a wonderful clan house downtown (which I have visited) but I am not clear if it is open to the general public.  There is a visitor's center with information/education displays at the Sitka National Historical Park (referred to as "totem pole park" by the locals).

 

Juneau has displays in the State Museum.  Also the Sealaska Heritage Institute has a beautifully curated exhibit (I don't remember the admission price).  Their gift shop (no admission) is wonderful and I purchase a pair of earrings every time we visit.

 

I haven't been to Haines recently.  

 

Ketchikan has Saxman and Totem Bight.  Additionally they have the Totem Heritage Center which displays a collection of old totems inside (which is a great option on a rainy day).  The Tongass Museum also had information on the first cultures.

 

 

[martincath]

Good for your daughter! Does her school have an Indigenous resource person on staff? I've been lucky enough to meet a few of those volunteering in Vancouver schools, always love picking their brains for new info.

 

On your port list, I recall that the Totem Heritage Center in Ketchikan was obviously packed with totem-focused indigenous info and well worth a visit; but Sitka is an absolute goldmine of info (mostly Tlingit, but others too). As well as the totem park be sure to get into the Sheldon Jackson museum which has permanent exhibits of not just the local Tlingit but also some arctic peoples, IIRC Inuit and Aleut, and others - I found some of the exhibits here were better than at MOA in Vancouver which is really saying something.

 

The fact that there were actual battles between Tlingit and Russian forces - naval vessels and modern (for the time, first decade of 1800s) firearms, hundreds of fighters on both sides, forts constructed etc. - was brand new info for me my first visit to Sitka; depending how dark you want to go, there is also the Sheldon Jackson residential school - I have no doubt your daughter has been hearing something about the tragedies of our own Canadian system, at 8yo I'd be inclined to avoid getting into that material though unless your daughter specifically asks (volunteering here with a lot of kids, including First Nations, in the 5-11 range I've learned to be guided by them - sometimes the more factual info they get the better they can handle the scary stuff, as their own imaginations can make it even worse than reality if left vague...)

 

Some of the Russian sites have good Indigenous peoples info, from another perspective - the particular (arch)Bishop most associated with the eponymous house, Ivan Popov/Saint Innocent, did a lot of linguistic work to document and learn native languages (if you can talk to the locals it's much easier to persuade them to join your church!) so there's a fair whack of 'look how smart and how nice to the natives he was!' exhibits within.

 

As with many North American oral cultures, there really wasn't a native alphabet used so along with the likes of James Evans in Canada Popov was one of the first to create a detailed system of writing - which was primarily used to translate Bible passages by both men as part of their missionary work, but does still get referenced by linguists today (since books from the 1800s are well out of copyright, you can find legal PDF and ebook versions in e.g. the Internet Archive - the basic 'Grammars' were designed to teach people how to read & write so your DD might be capable of reading some of them herself, but modern online resources like Digitalsqewlets and First Voices make nailing pronunciations so much easier!)

 

I absolutely loved Sitka for this unique mix of Russian/American/Indigenous cultures - some of it might skew a bit intellectual for a youngster but if she's keen you couldn't have picked a better port stop. I even found all the churchy stuff fascinating despite being an atheist - but, again, not knowing yourself or your DD I'll leave ponderings on religion for you to assess!

[Kesstral]

If anyone is interested, I thought I'd post a quick update.  I ended up booking the Saxman tour in Ketchikan for our entire family but when we got on the cruise ship there was a letter stating the tour was cancelled due to "operational issues".
 

I was able to take the credit from that tour, plus a discount they offered for the inconvenience, and booked just myself and my daughter on the tour in Haines to Klukwan.  My daughter absolutely LOVED it.  We weren't allowed to take any pictures inside, but the displays, artifacts, and artwork were beautiful.  The bus driver was so knowledgeable and friendly and talked about the history of the area the entire way there and back.

When we got to Ketchikan we took the entire family on the city bus to Totem Bight State Park.  The kids loved running around and got to play on the beach for a bit (combination of throwing rocks and looking for clam shells).  The ride back was a bit painful as the bus was so far behind schedule that we ended up catching the bus on its way out of town and had to endure the entire loop back to the ship (and we were docked at berth 4 which has no close bus stops in that direction so had to walk from berth 3). 

[AKStafford]

That's great that you made it to Klukwan. 

[DougH]

There is a nice Discovery center museum in downtown Ketchikan. It is just across the street from the Lumberjack show