Close up photo of traditional Alaska Native woven basket.

Personal Tour of Exhibits & "Taste of Alaska"

Taste of Alaska” Lunch or Dinner: Enjoy homemade food made the traditional Athabascan way. Menu includes moose soup, salmon (baked or smoked), a variety of salads, fry bread, homemade Alaska blueberry jam, smoked salmon, dessert, and drinks. 15 person minimum reservation.

$35 per person

Personal Tour of Exhibits & Taste of Alaska: Take a guided tour of the
exhibits by Gwich’in Athabascan storyteller Dixie Alexander, then enjoy
traditional Athabascan fry bread, homemade Alaska blueberry jam, and
smoked salmon. Four-person minimum reservation.

$75 per person (Approximately 1.5 hrs)

If part of cultural expression is the preparing and sharing of traditional foods, then TCC Cultural Programs department is doing things right. Dixie Alexander, Tanana Chiefs Conference Cultural Programs Director, created the Taste of Alaska program where traditional foods are shared with small private groups. Alexander grew up in a traditional subsistence lifestyle in Fort Yukon cooking for her 12 brothers and sisters, so cooking comes natural for her. “While my guests are enjoying soup, I am explaining how we show respect for the animal by using all of its parts,” says Alexander. “We eat the meat, use the bones for tools, tendons for sinew, the hide becomes our clothes, the bladder bag becomes our traditional ‘tupperware’ – even the head is a delicacy.”

The unique experience is appreciated. Alexander recently prepared a meal that featured salmon dip, baked King salmon steaks, and frybread with blueberry jam. “The lunch was out of this world!” said Matt Rogers, Interim Director at Chief Andrew Isaac Health Center. “We are in the midst of recruiting new staff for the clinic, and the meal was the BEST recruitment activity we could ever hope to provide.”

In 2011, the Alaska State Council on the Arts chose Dixie Alexander to be among an elite group of Athabascan Indians recognized as ‘living cultural treasures.’ Each was chose for their work to relay their way of life to a new generation of Athabascan children and community members. It is exactly this skill that is allowing the Taste of Alaska program to flourish under Alexander’s leadership.

For reservations or information, contact TCC Cultural Programs at 907.459.3741 or cultural.programs@tananachiefs.org