On Jan. 22, the Alaska Native Heritage Center (ANHC) opened the Athabascan Ceremonial House, the final project associated with ANHC’s village site revitalization renovations. The building, which will be used as meeting and rental space, is a contemporary version of a pre-contact lower Cook Inlet Dena’ina ceremonial dance house. It is adjacent to ANHC’s existing Athabascan village site.
An Athabascan cultural advisory committee gave input into the design of the building. The building footprint roughly matches the remnants of an Athabascan building located at Spirit Lake on the Kenai Peninsula.
The new building features amenities useful for gatherings, including a full kitchen, a staging room, bathrooms, electricity, internet access and phone lines. The building is available for rentals.
The village site revitalization project began in 2005 to renovate, reconstruct and revitalize ANHC’s village sites. The village site revitalization effort included reconstructing several buildings, the addition of artistic-design elements, civil infrastructure improvements and landscaping.
To learn more about this building or about the Alaska Native Heritage Center, visit www.alaskanative.net or call (907) 330-8000.
