NANA Museum of the Arctic

Kotzebue is named after Polish explorer Otto von Kotzebue, who stumbled onto the village in 1816 while searching for the Northwest Passage on behalf of the Russians. Much of the town's history and culture can be viewed at the NANA Museum of the Arctic, at the western end of town. The centre is owned and operated by the Northwest Alaska Native Association (NANA), and a two-hour programme of indigenous culture is held at 4pm and 6.30pm daily in summer. The programme includes demonstrations of Inupiat handicrafts and a nalukataq, the traditional blanket toss, which historically allowed people to gain enough elevation to observe vast distances of terrain. Although the presentation is scheduled to accommodate day tours from Anchorage, walk-ins are welcome.