Sealaska Heritage Institute

Living centre for Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian art and culture

Sealaska Heritage Institute is the cultural organization representing the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples of Southeast Alaska, and its building in downtown Juneau is the best place to encounter contemporary Alaska Native art and culture. The institute runs an active program of exhibitions, performances, language classes, and cultural events — including Celebration, a biennial festival that draws indigenous performers from across the Pacific Northwest and is one of the largest gatherings of Northwest Coast peoples.

The Walter Soboleff Building, which houses the main galleries and performance space, is itself worth seeing for its traditional Native design elements. The shop carries a carefully curated selection of authentic Alaska Native art and craft, and can help you distinguish certified Native-made pieces from the tourist versions. The institute is at 105 S. Seward Street; hours vary by season.

things to do museum sight
A story
The distinctive carved panels on the building's exterior are not decoration — they are a text. The designs encode the histories, clan crests, and territories of the three indigenous peoples the institute represents. The building was designed with input from clan elders who specified which crests could be displayed and in what context, continuing a tradition of intellectual property rights in visual art that predates European contact.