By Katie Myers
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| Fire Bags, 1883, Ethnological Museum of Berlin, image from AMRC |
Although it is only just
the start of summer, it’s not to late to think about an exciting exhibit at the
Anchorage Museum that will open near the end of summer. Dena’inaq’ Huch’ulyeshi:
The Dena’ina Way of Living will be on exhibit from September 12, 2013, through
January 2014. If you’ll be in Anchorage during this time, be sure to check it
out!
About half of Alaska’s
residents live in traditional Dena’ina territory, but there is little general
knowledge about the indigenous people who have called the Cook Inlet region
home.
For 1,000 years before the
founding of Anchorage, Dena’ina occupied 41,000 square miles of southcentral
Alaska. They were once the most numerous of all Alaskan Athabascan groups.
Since the late 19th century, the Dena’ina homeland has been subject to the
greatest settlement, urbanization and population growth of any Alaska region.
Dena’ina have become largely invisible as a people and a culture, their history
unknown.
The Anchorage Museum has
set out to change that. Starting in mid-September, “Dena’inaq’ Huch’ulyeshi:
The Dena’ina Way of Living” will be the first major exhibition ever presented
about the Dena’ina Athabascan people.
The exhibition will have
films, life-size re-creations, images, hands-on learning stations, audio and
more than 160 artifacts on loan from museums across Europe and North America.
These objects include everything from war clubs to chief necklaces to a bear
gut parka, as well as some artifacts on loan from the British Museum that were
collected during Captain Cook’s Alaska expedition in 1778.
Visitors will also learn
what it means to be Dena’ina in the 21st century. Today, many Dena’ina continue
to live a traditional lifestyle; although not the same as their ancestors, they
practice the same traditions passed on through generations and share their
understanding of how land, stories, and people are tied.
Karen Evanoff, author of Dena’ina Elnena, A Celebration: Voices of
the Dena’ina, and exhibit consultant and supporter for the Anchorage Museum
summarizes: “The Dena’ina exhibit tells not only a story of the past, but a
story of the Dena’ina people today. Dena’ina people lived in the Anchorage area
long before outsiders moved in. In the midst of tremendous changes and
influence from the western society, the Dena’ina people have maintained their
identity. The exhibit represents the four Dena’ina groups, separated by
differences in language dialect: Upper Inlet, Outer Inlet, Inland, and
Iliamna Dena’ina. This exhibit recognizes the first people of the Anchorage
area and will educate the public in multiple ways. Not only will you see what
is on display, but a way of life shaped by deep beliefs, values, spirituality
and a relationship with the natural world. The Dena’ina people are honored to
share their story and also to recognize and honor their ancestors of the past
and elders of today.”
If you want to find out
more about the rich history of the Dena’ina, make sure to stop by the Anchorage
Museum to see this first of its kind exhibit!
Want to read about this
exhibit before it opens? Find out about it here: http://www.anchoragemuseum.org/galleries/GalleryViewer2.aspx?incGal=0&cID=111&LayoutID=1
To find out more about the
Dena’ina of West Cook Inlet, including more information about Karen Evanoff’s
book, head to Lake Clark National Park’s publications page here:
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