The Beauty and Warmth of Alaska’s Cemeteries.

Visit Alaskan graves and cemeteries for an entrancing look into the idiosyncratic character of Alaska’s history, culture, and people.

Contrary to popular belief, Alaska is not cold year round. The ground does in fact thaw every year all over the state and we have cemeteries from the Tongass rainforest in Southeast Alaska to the barren tundra of the North Slope. Alaskan cemeteries are as weird and wonderful as the state itself and the men and women buried in its soil. Here are a few of the most interesting cemeteries in the Last Frontier.

Eklutna cemetry. These are spirit houses,a funerary tradition unique to the Athabaskans of the area, known as the Dena’ina. Built by the family after the person’s death, these here are a splendid mix of this native tradition with the practices of Russian Orthodox Christianity. The graves of the Athabaskan people are marked not only with their traditional spirit houses, but also with an Orthodox Christian Cross. The graves of non-Native members of the Church…