Nunalleq Culture&Archaeology Center

Team fundraiser

Quinhagak Heritage Inc and 2 others are organizing this fundraiser to benefit Quinhagak Heritage Incorporated.

Tax deductible

Today, the Native village of Quinhagak, AK is hosting the largest collection of Yup’ik artifacts in the world, and we need your help to preserve this important Alaska Native heritage!

In 2009, the Quinhagak's village corporation Qanirtuuq Inc. together with the archaeology crew from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, opened a rescue archaeology dig to save a prehistoric site from coastal erosion. The site is now known as Nunalleq, which means “Old village” in Yup’ik, and it dates back to AD 1400–1670.

The quantity and quality of the artifact recovered in the course of eight field seasons are unprecedented. Wooden masks and dolls, fishing and hunting tools made of antler and ivory, knives and uluaqs with still hafted slate blades, bentwood vessels, grass baskets, clay lamps, etc. — are just a few examples of what you can see in the collection of over 60,000 artifacts.

This year has opened a new chapter of the project: the 2018 field season culminated in official opening of the Nunalleq Culture and Archaeology Center in the village.

The Center is run and operated by the non-profit organization Quinhagak Heritage Inc., and serves as an archaeological repository and research facility, cultural education center, and museum. Keeping its doors open to community members as well as visitors of the village, the Nunalleq Culture and Archaeology Center has a mission to preserve and share the knowledge and deepen everyone’s understanding of Yup’ik culture and prehistory.

By donating to Quinhagak Heritage Inc., you’ll help us to pay utility bills of the Center, build exhibit cases, purchase much-needed conservation lab supplies, support craft workshops and other cultural activities, and so forth. Every dollar counts, any kind of support is welcomed!