This summer, CIRI Alaska Tourism Corporation is introducing a cultural heritage program among its products to cater to the growing market of historic/cultural travelers who seek to enrich their lives with new travel and learning experiences.   CIRI Tourism is partnering with Alaska Native villages and tribes to provide first-hand cultural learning experiences on-property at the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge and performances and demonstrations at the Seward Windsong Lodge.  

The Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge is collaborating with Chickaloon Village to feature dance performances and storytelling at the lodge throughout the summer.  Athabascan members of Chickaloon Village and students from the Ya Ne Dah Ah School will offer dance presentations to guests and Talkeetna visitors each Monday at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. and storytelling on Tuesdays at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. throughout the summer.  The $10 per person charge benefits the Ya Ne Dah Ah School, the only tribally run school in Alaska.

Beginning in June, the Qutekcak Native Tribe Dancing Drum Group will perform on Mondays and Tuesdays on Fox Island as part of the Kenai Fjords Tours 10 a.m. National Park Tour and 5:30 p.m. Resurrection Bay Tour out of Seward.  In addition, a wildlife guide offered to passengers on all Kenai Fjords Tours, as well as Prince William Sound Cruises & Tours out of Whittier, describes the Alutiiq culture and includes the Alutiiq names of the birds and mammals viewed in the area.

Passengers of Kenai Fjords Tours that visit Fox Island will also find a new archeological exhibit at the Kenai Fjords Wilderness Lodge, which is being coordinated with the assistance of the Ocean Alaska Science and Learning Center. According to the Center’s education coordinator, Jim Pfeiffenberger, archaeologist have identified numerous ancestral Alutiiq village sites in the Kenai Fjords.  The villages of Port Graham, Nanwalek and Seldovia are actually collaborating with the Arctic Studies Center (Smithsonian Institution), the National Park Service, and the Pratt Museum to explore their ancestral village sites.  This collaboration combines traditional Native knowledge with the science of archaeology to investigate the cultural past of Kenai Fjords National Park.

At the Seward Windsong Lodge, Jose Casados, teen coach for the Native Youth Olympics (NYO), will entertain guests with Native games displays. Jose will demonstrate awe-inspiring moves, including: the one-arm reach, one-foot high kick, two-foot high kick and the Alaskan high-kick. Performances will be Thursdays and Fridays in the Glacier Room at the Resurrection Roadhouse. Tickets are $5 and all proceeds benefit Jose and his athletic pursuits.