Alaska Culture

Religion in Alaska

Protestants make up the largest group in Alaska, though it is considered one of the least religious
states in the United States. After Protestant, Catholicism, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
and Southern Baptist are the next largest. The state also has a fairly large Eastern Orthodox population
due to its early Russian colonization.

Social Conventions in Alaska

The “Eskimo kiss”, where two people rub the tips of their noses together, originated from a
traditional native greeting known as kunik, an expression of affection between friends and family that
involves pressing the nose and upper lip against the cheeks.

Music

Influences on music in Alaska include the traditional music of Alaska Natives as well as folk music
brought by later immigrants from Russia and Europe. Prominent musicians from Alaska include singer
Jewel, traditional Aleut flautist Mary Youngblood, folk singer-songwriter Libby Roderick, Christian music
singer-songwriter Lincoln Brewster, metal/post hardcore band 36 Crazyfists and the groups Pamyua and
Portugal. The Man. There are many established music festivals in Alaska, including the Alaska Folk Festival,
the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, the Anchorage Folk Festival, the Athabascan Old-Time Fiddling
Festival, the Sitka Jazz Festival, and the Sitka Summer Music Festival. The most prominent orchestra in
Alaska is the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra, though the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra and Juneau
Symphony are also notable. The Anchorage Opera is currently the state's only professional opera
company, though there are several volunteer and semi-professional organizations in the state as well. The
official state song of Alaska is "Alaska's Flag", which was adopted in 1955; it celebrates the flag of Alaska.

Totem Pole

Totems are symbolic representations of animals or humans. Each tribal family's heritage is crafted
into the totemic design of representative Alaskan wildlife such as the wolf or eagle.

Europeans gave the name "totem pole" to the carved wooden poles made by the Northwest
Indian tribes such as the Tlinkit Indians. Since they had no written language, the Tlinket used the totems
for recording family historical events. Totem poles are read from the bottom up. The order of the crests
tells a story of a particular potlatch or other important event. Poles were built for different reasons: to
show that one owed a debt to another; as wall supports or as part of the entrance to a home; as a
memorial and a container for the cremated remains of a person; to commemorate special occasions, such
as a potlatch, wedding or battle. The height of the pole was a sign of wealth and power.
Dogsledding or Mushing

Dog sledding, more popularly called mushing, traces its roots back to the Eskimos of the 15th
century. It remained a primary mode of winter transportation in Alaska's bush country until pilots began
flying air routes in the 1920's.

Alaskans have been racing dogs since the early 1900's. The All Alaska Sweepstakes race began in
1908 traveling between Nome and Candle. Today, the most famous race in the sport, the Iditarod, takes
place every March. It begins in Anchorage and ands Nome, following an old supply route. It is said to have
been inspired in part, by the famous Serum Run of 1925.

Nome was stricken with a diphtheria epidemic in 1925. Isolated by winter wilderness with no
feasible way of getting in or out of Nome, the residents sent an urgent plea for help via wireless
transmitter. The only possible way to get the serum to Nome was by dog sled.

Mushers departed from Nome and Nenana and relayed the serum from one team to the next until
they were able to rendezvous 250 miles from Nome. Leonhard Seppala, the greatest musher at the time,
helped deliver 300,000 units of serum in time to save the village.

Today, mushing is mostly a recreational sport. Some mush for sheer pleasure while others
compete in a wide variety of races. Races range from sprint mushing to long distance events such as the
Yukon Quest and Iditarod. During the month of March, the whole state of Alaska tunes in to daily updates
on the progress of the Iditarod racers.