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Explore the different cultures of the territory between the Arctic and Pacific oceans. The area is home to over 150,000 Indigenous residents, whose diverse languages and cultures are both a link to history and the foundation for contemporary lives.
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Smithsonian Alaska Native Collections

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A stormy sea lashes the village of Shismaref, Alaska, where the coastline has eroded 30–90 m (100–300 ft) in the past 30 years.
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Shismaref, Alaska

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A walrus sits on top of ice.
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The Cultural Icescapes of the Arctic

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A walrus sits on top of ice.
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One Hundred Names for Sea Ice

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Two nurse sharks hover over a baited cage
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Consequences of Arctic Climate Change

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A narwhal breaches the surface, its tusk pointed to the sky
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Why a Tusk? The real-life unicorns of the sea and the tusks that make them famous

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Aerial view of two bowhead whales swimming in the ocean.
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Bowhead Whale: One Species at a Time

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a seven inch fragment of an Inuit soapstone pot recovered at Hare Harbor in Quebec, Canada
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Inuit Soapstone Pot

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A point made of Ramah Chert that belonged to the early Eskimo group known as the Groswater Dorset Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center
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Early Eskimo Point

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Map depicting the archaeological excavation site at Hare Harbor in Quebec, Canada in 2009
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Archaeological Site Map of Hare Harbor

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A fragment of European ballamine ceramic that was excavated at Hare Harbor in Quebec, Canada in 2011
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Fragment of a European Bellarmine Jug

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Two men each hold a ceramic vessel at the archaeological excavation
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Archaeologists Study Early Whaling Community in Quebec, Canada

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