Honouring ancestry, celebrating presence – the grand opening of the Nunalleq Culture and Archaeology Center

Since the initiation of the community based Nunalleq Archaeological Project in 2009 near the Yup’ik village of Quinhagak, in southwest Alaska, more than100,000 artefacts have been recovered from the eroding coastline of the Bering Sea. This has provided an unprecedented view into Yup’ik life before contact and has also led to a revival of traditional cultural practices in the community. The collection is now permanently deposited in Quinhagak under the curation of the descendant community, and on display in the Nunalleq Culture and Archaeology Center. In this paper we describe the events surrounding the public opening of the Center in 2018 and discuss principles of community collaboration and practice that strengthen partnerships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous collaborations and how they can be sustained long term.