TLINGIT TRIBAL TOUR AND SITKA RAPTOR CENTER
$69 Per Person

There are several segments to this tour. The first part will be your introduction to your native tour guide, who will be able to relate much of the history of the Tlingits (cling ATS) to you. Sitka is located on the western shore of Baranof Island, and was established by Alexander Baranof of the Russian American Company. He founded the settlement under a charter from the czar and built his original fort, which was ultimately destroyed by a Tlingit attack in 1802. These two nations fought over the "Paris of the North Pacific" until the Tlingits were invited back in 1821. Sitka quickly became the Northwest's most cosmopolitan city.

As you travel through town and the outlying areas, you will hear about the legacy that the Russians left after many of them returned home when Alaska passed from Russian to American hands. We always talk about our knowledgeable guides but these guides, as natives themselves, will help you see the story through their eyes.

You will then be escorted through the Sitka National Historical Park, where you will see the beach where the Tlingit warriors fought the unsuccessful battle. You will be allowed plenty of time to visit the Interpretive Center, which houses a small museum. Native artisans working with jewelry, beadwork and woodcarving will be there for your observation and questions. Out front are totems originally carved for the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, and there is a nice narrated walk behind the visitor's center where more totems stand.

You will also visit the Sheldon Jackson Museum, whose namesake collected artifacts as he traveled throughout Alaska. Here you will see his acquisitions representing Eskimos, Athabascan, Tlingit, Haida, and Aleut peoples.

Enjoy a Tlingit Native Dance performance next in the beautiful Clan House. This nationally renowned Naa Kahidi Dancers group will entertain you with their native costumes. Imagine the sound of the mellow box drums as the aroma of the amazing cedar fire in the center fills the room.

Last, and a departure from the Tlinget culture, is a visit to the Alaska Raptor Center. This facility provides medical treatment for bald eagles and other birds of prey and then, when ready, the center releases them into the wild. The staff here will take you on a tour of this amazing place and you will really be able to see what the eagle is all about.

This is an exquisite tour and it has been produced with lots of thought and care. We hope you enjoy it.

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