The Chugach Museum

Mission, Vision and Approach

Chugach Museum is an Alaska-based nonprofit with a mission of sharing the Chugach Native people’s way of life and knowledge of the Chugach Region. 

Chugach Museum’s vision is for its collection of artifacts, photographs and interviews with revered Elders to inform and inspire the world and advance Native museum curation.

The following principles guide Chugach Museum: 

  • Facilitation of innovative cultural and educational experiences.
  • Collaboration with Chugach communities and peer museums.
  • Collection preservation through implementation of best practices.
  • Promotion of a Native view of world history.

March 24, 1989, changed the Chugach Region forever. When the Exxon Valdez struck Bligh Reef spilling 11 million gallons of crude oil into the Prince William Sound, the seven villages that comprise the Chugach Region saw their Alaska dream shattered. Residents in those communities went to bed surrounded by abundance, and by morning, devastation. Communities lost their primary economic source, access to subsistence foods, and direct connection to thousands of years of cultural practice. Decades later, communities are still dealing with residual impacts. One urgent issue relates to the preservation of the Region’s history.

Traditional burial sites throughout Prince William Sound were disrupted during the clean-up process, exposing funeral regalia and cultural items. Those items currently sit in boxes inside an Anchorage warehouse. With support from the impacted communities, Chugach Alaska Corporation, Chugach Heritage Foundation, the Exxon Valdez Oil Spil Trust and others, the newly formed Chugach Museum provides a safe and culturally appropriate space to exhibit, study and preserve items from the Region. The two-story, 6,000 square-foot facility will contain exhibit space, a repository for storing culturally sensitive objects, a research lab, a retail store and gathering areas. 

While the facility itself will be a source of Regional pride, it’s what will happen inside that we are most excited about. Chugach Museum offers rich programming that provides new opportunities to learn about our history and experience our culture. Elder-youth mentorship programs, academic research and engagement with our spill-impacted communities are among our top programmatic priorities.

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