NANA Museum of the Arctic - Eskimo Native Dancers

The NANA Museum of the Arctic in Kotzebue is the largest museum in the world solely dedicated to Eskimo culture. Okay, so it's not your everyday museum and isn't very large relative to other museums, but NANA does a great service for native peoples in northern Alaska. For example, take these children performing a traditional dance for museum visitors. Look carefully at how they're dressed. Underneath the tunics and mukluks they're wearing the same street clothes as most Americans. In 1940 it was common for natives to follow a traditional lifestyle, but in a few decades Alaska native culture has all but disappeared as native young people have chosen a Western lifestyle over the subsistence culture of their ancestors. By learning and performing traditional dances for NANA, these children help keep their heritage alive.

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