Alaska

These beautiful Russian Orthodox icons and incense holders in the Alaska State Museum reflect different styles of devotional art from the Russian period of Alaskan history.

These Kachena moccasins in the Alaska State Museum have beadwork typical of the upper Yukon and Tanana River people from the early 20th century. We have a much smaller pair of similar moccasins that my dad wore as a child when my grandfather was a doctor in Tanana in the early 1930s!

”Old” is an understatement when the basket remains are 5,450 years old. Coastal natives were making similar baskets of spruce roots into the 1800s, like the one on the right, for gathering shellfish.

We visited the Alaska State Museum in Juneau, which features some amazing native artwork like this wall painting from a lodge that includes a couple of salmon pointing toward the entry door.

First view of Alaska’s capital is the busy cruise pier (King Crab!) and mountains covered by clouds and waterfalls. The totem pole by a Tlingit carver honors (from top down) the White Frog (supernatural), Raven (group), Coho Salmon (clan), and a clan member at the bottom.