Immerse yourself in an epic that is still unfolding.
The story of Southeast Alaska's Native people began more than 10,000 years ago and continues today. At Sealaska Heritage, you’ll be surrounded by that story like no other place in Juneau. Walk through a hand-adzed cedar clan house. Experience our exhibits and monumental art. Take home a one-of-a-kind Native art piece or a souvenir, along with new insights into Southeast Alaska history and the ways we are all shaped by whatever land we call home. Your visit and purchases will help support Alaska Native artists, workshops, Indigenous language revitalization, and cross-cultural programming all year long.
Store Hours:
The Sealaska Heritage Store's summer hours are 10 am-7 pm daily. To speak to someone at the Sealaska Heritage Store, call (907) 586-9114 or visit sealaskaheritage.org/store.
Exhibit Admission:
Daily, 10 am-7 pm
- $7 Adults
- $5 Seniors (65+)/Youth
- Under 7 Free
A self-guided tour that includes entry to the lobby, clan house, and exhibit area.
Exhibits
Two exhibits are currently on view at Sealaska Heritage's museum. Admission to SHI's exhibits, lobby, and clan house is $7. (Due to staffing shortages, cultural interpreters may not be available at all times, however the gallery is set up for self-guided tours.)
Our Grandparents’ Names on the Land: This exhibit explores ancient place names and the innovative inventions that were used to catch halibut and salmon. It includes three sections: Native Voices on the Land; Salmon People; and Halibut, Attack the Hook! Offered on interactive platforms, all three sections offer a window into how Native people historically survived and thrived in the region, said SHI President Rosita Worl. “Indigenous people have lived in Southeast Alaska for more than 10,000 years, and during that time, our people invented ingenious tools to catch salmon and halibut and to sustain fish populations. Our people also documented important places, including subsistence areas, through names,” Worl said. “Our goal is to share this knowledge with the public and to honor the ingenuity of our ancestors"...(more) (News Story)
Native Women’s Art: Drawn From the Spirits of Ancestors Within: This exhibit features nearly 60 works by 56 artists from Alaska’s major Indigenous groups, including the Alutiiq, Athabaskan, Inupiat, Yupik, Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian. Most of the pieces were made by contemporary artists, while a few represent old masters whose pieces exist in SHI’s ethnographic collection. Through the show, SHI is honoring the ingenuity and strength of Alaska Native women who continue to create and innovate. Their achievements continue despite centuries of colonization, oppression and unprecedented times...(more)
Kootéeyaa Deiyí (Totem Pole Trail)
In 2023, Sealaska Heritage raised 12 totem poles along the Juneau waterfront as part of Kootéeyaa Deiyí (Totem Pole Trail), which is phase three of our vision to make Juneau the Northwest Coast arts capital. The goal is to eventually raise a total of 30 totems.
Seven of the totems represent the following clans: the L’eeneidí, Wooshkeetaan, Yanyeidí, Ishkahittaan, Kaagwaantaan, L’uknax̱.ádi and the Shangukeidí. Of the remaining five totems, four represent the Haida Eagles and Ravens and the Tlingit Eagles and Ravens, and one represents the Tsimshian.
The totems were carved by 10 Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian artists, including TJ and Joe Young of Hydaburg, Jon Rowan of Klawock, David R. Boxley of Metlakatla, Nathan and Stephen Jackson of Saxman, Nicholas Galanin and Tommy Joseph of Sitka, Robert Mills of Kake, Mick Beasley of Juneau, and Warren Peele of Hydaburg.
Most of the initial poles were funded through a grant from the Mellon Foundation’s Monuments Project. The Mellon grant also funded apprentices to mentor with each of the artists. The pole by Warren Peele was funded through a grant from the Denali Commission. Check out the totem poles using our pocket guide!
Monumental Art
At Sealaska Heritage Institute's Walter Soboleff Building, visitors will see monumental art made by some of the best artists of our time, and each tribe--Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian--is represented in the large installations.
In front of the Walter Soboleff Building, on the corner of Front and Seward Streets, are three bronze house posts created by (from left to right) Tsimshian artist David R. Boxley, Tlingit artist Steven Jackson, and Haida artist TJ Young. Boxley’s post depicts Raven, the legendary hero of ancient Tsimshian stories. Above Raven are four human figures who represent Tsimshian clans or phratries: Gisbutwada, Ganhada, Laxsgiik, and Laxgibuu. Jackson’s post depicts the woman who gave birth to Raven, and examines the complexity of the ways in which Tlingit culture places value on feminine strength. Young’s post depicts the story of Wasgo (Seawolf), a supernatural figure in Haida culture that shares traits of both Wolf and Killerwhale, known for possessing the size and strength to hunt whales. Installed in August 2018, the three posts were carved in cedar and then cast in bronze. Each features a different patina. Hear directly from the artists and watch the unveiling!
Outside the building, visitors will also see the first of three major public art installations: 40-foot exterior panels designed by the internationally celebrated Haida artist Robert Davidson. The design represents a supernatural being called the "Greatest Echo" -- a theme chosen by Davidson because Dr. Walter Soboleff, the building's namesake, echoed the past to bring it to the present.
Inside the entry, visitors will see an enormous house front made by the Tsimshian master artist David A. Boxley. At almost 40 feet wide by 15 feet high, it is thought to be the largest, carved-and-painted Tsimshian house front in the world. The center of the house front tells the Tsimshian story Am’ala: Wil Mangaa da Ha’lidzogat (Am’ala: He Who Holds up the Earth). A tiny door in the belly of Am’ala leads into the clan house, formally named Shuká Hít (Ancestors’ House) in a ceremony.
Once inside Shuká Hít, visitors will see the largest glass screen in the world, made by the Tlingit glass artist Preston Singletary. Preston is internationally celebrated for his innovative creations, which use a medium not known in pre-contact times. His piece measures 17 feet wide and 12 feet high at its peak and is rendered in carved, amber-and-black glass.
Clan House
The clan house, named Shuká Hít in a ceremony, is modeled after the traditional clan houses historically seen throughout Southeast Alaska. It includes a central “fire pit” and tiers for communal activities. A traditional clan house would have included a wooden house screen with posts on one side, but—in a nod to the modern world—we have rendered them in glass. In the corner of the clan house is the carved hand print of a child. The placement of a handprint or “X” in a clan house is an ancient practice and was done during the grand opening ceremony for the building.
Adze Work
The interior of the building is planked in cedar, which was hand-adzed by the Tlingit master artist Wayne Price. Adzing produces a texture that is commonly seen in Northwest Coast art, canoes, clan houses, and ceremonial objects. Price adzed almost every day for five months despite a very blistered hand. At the end of the project he had made nearly one million adze marks on more than 3,200 square feet of wood! In this short video, Price talks about the importance of adzing to Native culture. Once Native people learned how to adze, everything else followed--including clan houses, totem poles and dugout canoes.
Sealaska Heritage Store
Before you leave, we hope you browse our Sealaska Heritage Store, where we offer authentic Native art, gifts and souvenirs. Proceeds from store sales and admissions support our cultural programs. Read more about our cultural programs.
