Jilkaat Kwaan Cultural Center and Observatory

Occasionally we have the privilege of journeying with a client as they rediscover and reconnect with their own culture and environment. During the past decade, we’ve worked with the Chilkat people to do just that.

Nestled along the banks of the Chilkat River is the ancient Tlingit village Klukwan, which means “Eternal Village,” or “The Village that has Always Been.” The village, located in remote southeast Alaska just 18 miles from the Canadian border, was chosen because of its rich natural environment. The Chilkat enjoyed a multi-layered cultural history preserved through the Tlingit language—and its rituals, songs, dances, stories and oral histories are an important part of youth education. But disease, government oppression, non-Native religious teachings and legislation had dramatically altered their way of life—causing them to abandon their communal clan houses, which housed the Village’s cultural treasures.

The new Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center (JKHC) houses an exhibit gallery and sacred object restoration facility where the Chilkat people will restore and display priceless objects currently being repatriated after being taken from native villages over a century ago. It also features classroom spaces for programs such as Salmon Camp, which teaches traditional methods of catching, drying and smoking salmon. The new Hospitality House includes a gathering, cooking and eating space for tribal members, as well as an eating space for visitors.

A paved terrace connects the two and a series of boardwalks cantilever over the Chilkat River, providing unobstructed view of the hundreds of bald eagles that descend on the river in late fall, which stays relatively warm through the winter due to nearby geothermal springs.

The KHC continues to expand its programs through collaborations with a network of local, regional, State and federal partners, including the Klukwan Educational Trust, the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indians of Alaska, the University of Alaska Southeast, the Alaska State Museum and the National Park Service.