Before leaving the delightful bayside town of Seward in southcentral Alaska, Steven and I stopped at the Alaska SeaLife Center, the only permanent rehabilitation center in the state.
Across the street from the non-profit marine science research and education facility was a colorful whale mural, The Return of the Whales, painted in 2019 by artist J. Leslie and the Seward Mural Society.
We learned that Alaska's coastline stretches nearly 45,000 miles and is a vital part of the global economy. Bordered by two oceans, three seas, and the Gulf of Alaska, the shorelines and oceans support thriving and unique fish and marine mammals, and bird populations.
A wolf eel, found in the North Pacific Ocean:
The habitat of eight-inch-long crimson anemones is generally Alaska's Aleutian Islands, but they are also found as far south as Oregon, in water as deep as 1,000 feet. They catch fish and worms with their stinging tentacles.
Sunflower sea stars:
Steven and I had never visited an aquatic center where we were encouraged, not just allowed, to stick our hands in the discovery pools and touch the fish! Though this painted anemone was all sticky, it was so fun to feel it.
On the right was the red-banded sea star.
When I touched the red sea urchin, its spines grabbed my finger, just like our new grandson, Asa, had done a few months earlier.
Rose sea stars, the bottom one, were also in the tank.
After seeing my first puffin in Iceland on our first overseas trip together in 2013, I've been intrigued by the adorable birds. That was why we made a point of seeing many more on our return trip to the island nation this past summer.
We knew from the display in an outside tank that most of the puffins were horned puffins, because of the black fleshy 'horns' they had above their eyes and their orange feet.
We looked for tufted puffins with their telltale yellow feather tufts, but didn't see them or identify them.
Seeing otters and seals glide through the water again just prompted me to buy an otter stuffed animal and an otter board book for our youngest grandchild, 18-month-old Rafe, whom we'll visit with his older siblings in San Francisco for Christmas. Shh, don't tell him, as I want the gifts to be a surprise!
The giant plumose anemone lives on rocks from Alaska to Southern California, to depths of at least 650 feet. They also catch their prey with their stinging tentacles.
Thank goodness no fishermen were hanging out by the tank filled with coho salmon!
Resurrection Bay Overlook from the center:
Even though Steven and I had seen many glaciers by the time we visited the center in 2023, I had forgotten that glaciers form when snow accumulates in one place long enough to create thick layers of ice. Many of Alaska's coastal glaciers extend down to the tideline.
Ophelia the Octopus was created by students at Kodial High School from garbage collected during a local coastal cleanup.
How disgusting that countless Ophelias could be created all over the world from people discarding their trash.
I recommend clicking the photo to enlarge it and read the Marine Debris - It's No Fluke display. It contains words of wisdom for all of us to live by.
North of Seward was the Bear Creek Weir, where we discovered that the Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association annually releases millions of salmon smolt into Bear Creek Lake and then monitors the previous years' releases when they return up the creek to spawn. A smolt is a young salmon after the parr stage, when it becomes silvery and migrates to the sea for the first time.
A staff member told us that the minuscule salmon were a year old and would be released in increments into the bay to reduce the mortality numbers.
Since we'd spent the last couple of days at the southern end of the stunning Seward Highway, we had to return north by backtracking along the same highway we'd driven earlier. The Kenai Mountains Turnagain Arm National Heritage Area had become quite familiar to us by this point!
Some fun facts for you: Alaska, the largest state in the union, is more than two and a half times the size of Texas, and larger than the following three states combined. At more than 586,000 square miles, it is about one-fifth the size of the lower 48 states. Based on size alone, Alaska lives up to its nickname, The Great Land.
Kenai Lake:
Almost in the middle of nowhere was the quirky Moose Pass Trading Post, but it didn't look like it had opened for the tourist season.
The Palmer Moose Flats Wetland and ...
a return to Potter Marsh.
The marsh's Wildlife Viewing Boardwalk was a pretty place to take a stroll, even though the busy Seward Highway paralleled it.
I hope these small birds count as wildlife, as they were all that we saw!
On our first day post-cruise, Steven and I had hoped to tour the Alaska Native Heritage Center, but it had been closed. Fortunately, we had set aside time to see it as we drove through Anchorage for the last time. Photo courtesy of ANHC website:
As we entered, we were immediately greeted with Indigenous people singing and dancing in the vibrant living cultural center.
We then admired some intricate beaded items created in the early 20th century.
In a story that has become all too familiar by now, we've read, and I've written about far too often in too many lands, we read anew about what Alaska's Indigenous peoples experienced. Gold miners, trappers, traders, missionaries, and government personnel who came to Alaska forced the Dena'ina people to modify and adapt their way of life, even though they didn't understand why.
Though the guns, calico, beads, wool blankets, and steel brought by the traders made life easier, the diseases, loss of land, and the newcomers' lack of understanding were a heavy price to pay. Since Indigenous people had traded with their neighbors for thousands of years, they knew the newcomers wanted gold or furs, and in many cases, they even helped the newcomers survive in what was their homeland.
However, as the years went by and the federal government started taking large tracts of land and imposing new restrictions on the resources to further their economic interests, the Dena'ina realized they had to assert their rights to the land. Examples of the astounding misappropriation of their lands included the relocation of the Nenana Cemetery for the Alaska Railroad in the 1920s and the proposed Rampart Dam, which would have flooded 10 interior villages.
The passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in 1971 prompted the Dena'ina to quickly adapt by creating corporations to receive land and compensation for lands given to the state of Alaska and the federal government. They now hold title to approximately 16 million acres of land throughout the state, held by three Native corporations and about 50 village corporations. Since corporations' primary focus is making a profit for their shareholders, the Dena'ina created tribal governments and non-profit social service agencies to serve their people's needs.
The center featured extensive displays on the five distinct cultural regions throughout the state. The Alaskan Northwest was home to the Inupiat/St. Lawrence Island Yupik people, who call themselves the Real People. Their lives continue to depend on the region's sea and land resources.
One of the most significant changes they faced was the introduction of schools and Western religion, which led them to forget their 'old' way of life. One issue they felt was fundamentally wrong was the strict English-only policies enforced for most of the 20th century. Efforts are now underway to reinvigorate the languages and traditions before the last generation of Elders who were raised in the Qasgi pass away.
I found this quote particularly compelling: "When they all entered the school, I thought, 'Ah, the school will take better care of my children than us. We made a mistake about the school. We never told our way of life; we trusted the school to properly lead them."
Another display was devoted to the Unangax and Alutiq people, a maritime culture that depends on the water for its livelihood. The intensity of the weather blowing through the region governs daily activities. Beginning in the 18th century, their cultures were heavily influenced by the Russians, whose influence is still visible. The Russian Orthodox Church is still present in every village, and Russian dishes are commonly made using local subsistence food.
In their culture, children are still taught to give their first bucket of berries, first bit of sewing, first bird and animal kill to their Elders as a sign of respect, and Elders are served first at potlucks. This is done because they know how to live a "good, moral, and successful life, and we honor them for their knowledge." They acknowledge, however, that maintaining these traditions isn't easy in cities, as children might live far from their grandparents and urban youth spend their days in school, in front of computers, playing sports, or watching TV.
Youth, not age and wisdom, is glorified in a city culture. As a result, some children might not be taught respect or have limited opportunities to learn to honor their Elders. This is countered by renewed efforts to prepare youth through culture camps and after-school programs.
The baleen-and-ivory basket was made in 1950.
Though the Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples share a similar Northwest Coast culture, their language and clan systems differ. The region's rich resources, abundant food supplies, and temperate climate enabled the development of art applied to everything from everyday utensils to monumental structures. All four cultures have a matrilineal clan system. Inherited clan rights include the use of land for fishing, hunting and gathering, and the use of crests on totem poles, houses, and ceremonial regalia. It was lovely to learn that a renaissance of the cultures was flourishig.
Aleut and Alutiiq baskets are among the finest in the world, with as many as 2,500 stitches per square inch. A basket maker might work 15 hours to weave that square inch in a tightly woven basket. Think of that the next time you question the price of such artistry!
Baskets from the 1800s:
Behind the center were outdoor exhibits featuring recreations of dwellings from some Indigenous Alaskan cultures we'd learned about inside. I don't know if there were guided tours of the walk around the structures; if there were, we unfortunately missed them.
We did see a sign for this grey whale's carcass, which said it was commonly seen along Alaska's coastline and was hunted by the Dena'ina people. Grey whales have the longest migration of any mammal, traveling 10,000 miles from Baja California to feed in the rich waters of the Bering Sea in the Arctic. This 15-year-old female grey whale was estimated to be 42 feet long and weighed 33 tons.
The Alaska Native Heritage Center was located in the traditional territory of the Native village of Eklutna, a Dena’ina Athabascan tribe, which we visited on the first day.
The dwelling was representative of what the Inupiaq and St. Lawrence Yupik peoples lived in long ago. Their vast region extended north, following the coast to the Canadian border and beyond to Greenland to the east, and west to include the islands of Big and Little Diomed, King Island, and St. Lawrence Island.
The following collection of dwellings celebrated the ancient tradition of the Yup'ik and Cup'il people, who believe that "respecting all things by treating them with care will elicit gratitude and ensure the availability of resources."
We read that the qasgiq served as both the men's house and community center. As soon as boys were old enough to leave their mothers, they joined their male relatives in the qasgiq, where they worked, ate, bathed, and slept together. Older males taught younger ones how to be Yup'ik or Cup'ik.
The fish-drying racks belonged to the Dena'ina, who have used them since time immemorial to dry salmon harvested during the summer months. The racks were also used to dry other types of harvested meat, including caribou, moose, and different kinds of fish, because Indigenous people are taught to prepare, store, and share food throughout the changing seasons.
Though we weren't lucky enough to witness any sports demonstrations or join a tour of the dwellings that would have greatly enriched our experience at the Alaska Native Heritage Center, we were able to tour the museum's excellent exhibits and learn about the state's wide variety of cultures. Hint: If you like high-quality souvenirs, make a beeline for the top-notch gift shop before you leave. I surprised Steven with a lovely wooden painted relief of a wolf's head with an abalone eye by Tlingit artist Browne Willard, which we both still admire every day in our family room!
Next post: The Iditarod Trail Headquarters in Talkeetna and the Hurricane Train Ride!
Posted on December 17th, 2025, from an extraordinarily windy day in Denver, where our local power company has already had to cut power to thousands of homes in the nearby Foothills, as the high winds might again spark a massive fire. Please be safe and take care of yourself and your loved ones.
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