History and Culture

Beringia crafts. — Students at the Chukotka Multi-discipline College in Anadyr learn how to make traditional crafts from leather and fur.
NPS/Katerina Wessels

Beringia is renowned for its rich history and diverse culture. The human history of Beringia started when people first moved onto the land bridge in pursuit of land mammals, edible plants, and other resources for surviving the cold glacial climate. These people became the first Americans, some of whom later moved south from Alaska and populated the continents now known as North and South America. However, some of these people also settled in Alaska and became the ancestors of modern Inupiat, Yupik, Unangax^{^}, and Athabascan.

Several theories exist about how prehistoric tribes lived on and moved across the land bridge and into the Americas. Did they eke out a living in the bitter cold for thousands of years using fuel from dwarf shrubs and animal bones? Did the land bridge provide a corridor in the enormous ice shields that covered most of North America at that time? Or did they travel along the coast in boats? What is certain is that scientific debate continues, discoveries are continually being made, and much still remains to be learned and explained.

Series: Alaska Park Science - Volume 20, Issue 2. Beringia: A Shared Heritage
- Type: Series
- Sites: Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Kobuk Valley National Park, Noatak National Preserve
This year (2021) is the 30th anniversary of the Shared Beringian Heritage Program. This issue highlights some of the history, intent, and accomplishments of the program. The following articles demonstrate the variety of projects and the values of the program.
Studying Long-term Patterns of Bering Strait Cultural Interaction and Exchange Through Archaeological Ceramic Analysis
- Sites: Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Kobuk Valley National Park
The study of ceramic technology expands what we know about the extent of social networks over time. This work is exploring the mobility of social networks across Beringia and how people adapted to changing environmental and social circumstances. Alaska Park Science 20(2), 2021
Bering Land Bridge National Preserve
Frank Churchill’s 1905 Documentation of the Reindeer Service in Alaska
The photographic collection and historic account of an audit of the U.S. Reindeer Service undertaken in 1905 documents the sociopolitical context of early years of Native reindeer herding in Alaska. Alaska Park Science 20(2), 2021
Qatŋut: Celebrating the Legacy of Trade, Dance, and Connection at Sisualik
- Sites: Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Kobuk Valley National Park, Noatak National Preserve
Qatŋut is a traditional trade fair that celebrates dance, food, culture, connections, and trade among peoples. The fair has its roots in the exchange between Indigenous communities on both sides of the Bering Strait. The Beringia Shared Heritage Program has played a key role in supporting and continuing this tradition. Alaska Park Science 20(2), 2021