"Spirit Houses Shelter the Dead"
Eklutna Village, Alaska

The Dena'ina Athabascan Indian settlement at Eklutna Village has been inhabited for centuries. The Dena'ina cremated their dead and placed the ashes in baskets to free the spirits for their final journey. After Russian Orthodox missionaries arrived in the early 1700's, the Dena'ina converted to Russian Orthodoxy and began burying their dead and placing brightly painted "spirit houses" over the...
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"Spirit Houses Shelter the Dead"
Eklutna Village, Alaska

The Dena'ina Athabascan Indian settlement at Eklutna Village has been inhabited for centuries. The Dena'ina cremated their dead and placed the ashes in baskets to free the spirits for their final journey. After Russian Orthodox missionaries arrived in the early 1700's, the Dena'ina converted to Russian Orthodoxy and began burying their dead and placing brightly painted "spirit houses" over the graves to shelter the spirits until they made their final journey. This photo shows spirit houses in the graveyard of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Eklutna Village, a short distance northeast of Anchorage, Alaska.
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