Welcome to
K'Beq'
‘Footprints’
Kenaitze Interpretive Site
Together with your hosts celebrate the lure and magic of this land and river.
Your hosts are the Kenaitze Indian Tribe and the Seward Ranger District of the Chugach National Forest, working together to preserve, protect, and interpret important cultural and natural resources in the Cooper Landing area.
We ask that you join us in protecting this place. Walk softly during your visit, leaving a faint footprint to mark your time with us. We hope you receive in return an understanding and appreciation for Kenaitze Dena'ina culture and tradition, and the realization that this area, its heritage and resources belong to all of us, and all of us are needed to protect it. Chiqinik, Thank you.
Our ancestors, recognizing the abundance of the place they called Yaghanen, "the good land," settled along the banks of its rivers and Cook Inlet.
Hear and read the words used to describe the resources known as Sqilantnu by our Dena'ina ancestors, the "grocery-store" by our grand-parents. Today it's known as Cooper Landing. Listen for their voices, quiet, subtle, they too have a message to tell.
‘Walk in the footprints of time’
Kahtnu, the Kenai River, tumbling and singing its way to Tikahtnu, Cook Inlet. The whisper and caress of winds passing through the branches of esni, ch'wala, and chug'eya; cottonwood, spruce and birch trees. Thrill to the call of dałika, ggugguyni, tskislagh; grandfather eagle, raven and sparrow. Watch them soar overhead, or flit from branch to branch; your trail companions for your walk in the footprints of time.
At K'beq', Dena'ina Athabascans share their traditions and culture with visitors through interpretive walks featuring archaeological sites and traditional plant use. Tribal interpretation highlights Dena'ina knowledge and respect for the plants and animals of Yaghanen (the good land), the Kenai Peninsula. Explore Dena'ina culture by viewing artifacts over 500 years old, their story told by descendants of those who made and used them. Throughout your visit listen for the ever-changing, endless song of the Kahtnu as it travels through the ancestral lands of the Kenaitze. Your hosts, tribal elders and youth alike, want each visitor to leave K'beq' as a Kenaitze Ida'ina (friend of the Kenaitze).
Join us for Nightwalk, a dramatic theatrical presentation of our tribe's history. Visitors enjoy a guided tour with our narrator, while observing significant events from our past. Poetry, music and performances by tribal artists, and the song of the nearby Kahtnu combine to create a mystical evocative experience. We conclude our presentation with a Friendship Circle, and delicious salmon feast.