Day 6 Anchorage

Day 6

IN AND AROUND ANCHORAGE

We began the day with a visit to the most amazing 'airport' that I've ever seen. The shoreline and adjacent marina like 'births' of Lake Hood form the world's busiest float plane base, much of it pure 'Biggles'. Some sections of the base were just packed with 100s of float planes, like boats in a marina. The picture does not capture this feeling.

 While other members of the group visited the Ulu Factory (native Inuit cutting tool) we strolled down to the banks of Ship Creek which was the site of the original tent city from which the town grew. Unlike other Alaskan settlements, Anchorage's origins had not depended on local mineral resources or fishing. It was founded in 1914 as a railroad construction port for the construction of the Alaska Railroad. Today's town is on higher ground to the south of the original low lying site. 

The Alaska Native Heritage Center is an educational and cultural institution for all 11 of Alaska's major cultural groups. Within the Center is the Gathering Place a focus for Native dancing, competitive Native Games demonstartions and intriguing story telling.

Outside we strolled through 6 authentic life-sized Native dwellings situated in a wooded area around beautiful Lake Tiulana. Each village site exhibits aspects of Native culture and has related artifacts including a guide to explain and interpret what is to be seen.

Above is an Eyak house and below detail from a column inside the house. Eyak occupied that lands alongside the Gulf of Alaska from the Copper River Delta to Icy Bay. Until the C18th the Eyak were more closely linked to their Athabascan neighbour to the north than the Nortrh Coast Cultures to the south.

The Athabascan (Dena) people are the most numerous and traditionally lived along the rivers Yukon, Tanana, Susitna, Kuskokwim and the Copper. It was an Athabascan village that we visited when in Fairbanks.

 Their totem poles are an intriguing feature that preserve the history and ancestry of the people living in a particular village. They are read from the top down.

The territory of the Aleut and Alutiiq stretches from Prince William Sound to the end of the Aleutian Islands in the west. Their culture is strongly influenced by the Russians and includes Russian dishes, the Orthodox Church and some Russian words in their language. These strangely 'hobbit' like dwellings were easily protected and an insurance agaist the worst winter weather. Each had a narrow 'escape' passage at the rear.

For lunch we returned to the centre of Anchorage and afterwards wandered around a surprisingly modern shopping centre with its own central park and sophisticated malls. What a contrast!