With over 20 distinct cultures and 300 different
dialects, Alaska Native arts and culture stretch
across all five regions in our state. Both present-
day Alaska and our history are shaped by these
groups' many amazing lifestyles, art forms, and
stories, as well as their shared and distinct values
and collective heritage.
With art and culture as diverse and broad as the state's
landscapes, Alaska Natives' intrinsic relationship to
the mountains, tundra, forests, oceans, wildlife, and
beyond is celebrated in many ways.
arts &
culture
Alaska Native
17
When you live above
the Arctic Circle, you
learn to adapt to your
surroundings and
seasons with whatever
the land provides. Using
bone and ivory from the
marine life they hunt,
many Iñupiat people are
creators of beautiful
carvings.
All art can have purpose,
and Yup'ik people know
this best. The ceremonial
mask pictured above is
traditionally made from
driftwood to connect with
their spiritual ellam yua,
the "spirit of the uni-
verse," who can guide
good fortune in all that
they do.
iñupiat
yup'ik
Dene (Athabascan)
Sugpiaq (Alutiiq),
Unangax (Aleut)
Yup'ik, Cup'ik
Tlingit, Haida,
Tsimshian, Eyak
Iñupiat,
St. Lawrence
Island Yupik
