New Bering Land Bridge Preserve Heritage Center opens doors after renovation

By Ariana Crockett O’Harra |

The Bering Land Bridge National Preserve Heritage Center re-opened its doors on September 6 after spending nearly a year undergoing renovations.

Since the visitor center is housed in the Sitnasuak Native Corporation’s building on Front Street, the renovations were done in partnership with Sitnasuak and sponsored jointly by the National Park Service Foundation and The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.

WELCOME— The entrance to the newly renovated visitor center features artwork designed by students from the region. Photo by Ariana Crockett O'Harra

Bering Land Bridge National Preserve encompasses about 2.7 million acres and protects a small part of the remains of the Bering Land Bridge that connected Asia and North America during the last ice age. Nome, about a hundred miles from the preserve, hosts the National Park Service’s visitor center.
The redesign of the visitor center was done as a partnership, which enabled the National Park Service and Sitnasuak to work together on creating not just a regional exhibit, but a cultural one.

CARVINGS— Ivory carvings and traditional tools are displayed at the newly renovated Bering Land Bridge Preserve Visitor Center. Photo by Ariana Crockett O'Harra

Cassondra Odden, Sitnasuak’s Communications Specialist, said that Sitnasuak was happy to work in conjunction with the Park Service. “We were very happy to be able to just work with them and secure funds for them,” she said.
Katie Cullen, the Interpretation and Education Program Manager at the visitor center, says that part of the vision for the new center was working with the local community to expand the scope of the center to something that depicted more than just administrative boundaries.

“This administrative boundary has only been there since 1980 and [the] cultural history of this region is so vast and so much bigger than these 40-some-odd years,” she said.

Working with the local Indigenous groups was important to the creation of the exhibits and the look and feel of the center. A tribal work group was formed with members from communities close to the preserve.

YUM— A new exhibit at Bering Land Bridge Preserve Visitor Center features a re-creation of local foods. Photo by Ariana Crockett O'Harra

“All of the exhibits were collaboratively developed with a tribal work group,” she said. “The tribal work group has members from Shishmaref, Wales and Deering.”
Part of the new exhibit was a display case featuring carvings, artwork, and artifacts from various communities in the region, including Nome, Brevig Mission, Wales and King Island.

This particular section was guided by Sitnasuak Native Corporation’s Elders Committee, she said. “There was an exhibit subcommittee, and we worked closely with them.”

Cassondra Odden said that the Elders who worked on the design of the case really wanted to emphasize both ivory carvings and traditional tools.
“We’ve got some pieces here of tools and like combs and jewelry and stuff like that, arrowheads and spearheads,” she said. The elders “really wanted to just highlight the history of the region and how people subsist and survive and thrive.”

The ivory carvings are an important part of the new center because they provide a look into and important aspect of Indigenous culture of the area. Odden says that ivory carving wasn’t just part of clothing or just decoration.
“It was part of surviving,” she said. “I think the ivory carvings and the ivory pieces are a perfect example of the culture, because it’s art and it’s survival and it’s both at the same time.”

Odden said that introducing people to the history of the region is just as important as introducing them to the region itself. “It’s not just about coming here for gold,” she said. “Of course, that’s an important piece. But this is definitely more highlighting the Indigenous culture, which is of course near and dear to Sitnasuak’s Native Corporation’s heart.”

The public portion of the new center features a salmon drying rack made from driftwood, a table featuring foods that represent regional food traditions and panels depicting the history and culture of the preserve.

The drying rack is made of driftwood from the beaches of Nome, the food display is a recreation of an actual potluck that was held while the new center was being designed, and the exhibits were chosen with both the region and culture in mind.
“Every aspect of it has just been so wonderful, from socialized potlucks to just showcasing these super important pieces,” said Odden.
Cullen says that collaboration and connection are big themes of the new visitor center. “Even beyond, like, our themes that are represented throughout, this kind of feeling and idea of connection, because everything is connected.”

Editor's note: This story was updated to reflect a correction in name of the funders, the National Park Service Foundation and The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. Also, the center identifies as a Heritage Center and not a Visitor Center.