Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska was the first national park established to conserve wildlife. Home of the tallest mountain in North America, the former Mount McKinley National Park was founded by Congress in 1917. Its name changed in 1980 as its boundaries expanded to more than 6 million acres. A third of its rugged interior is designated federal wilderness. Regular visitors to this site can look forward to short interpretive programs about the park’s rich cultural and natural history on topics ranging from life in subarctic winter to legendary figures from park history, mountain climbing and wilderness values.

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EXHIBITS FOR EIELSON: The Legend of Mount McKinley
(Time 03:01)

• Audio MP3 (4.14 MB)

Chief Mitch Demientieff of Nenana, Alaska, reads an Athabascan legend about the origins of Denali, the Great One.

EXHIBITS FOR EIELSON: Trapline Twins
(Time 01:26)

• Audio MP3 (1.98 MB)

An excerpt from the book Trapline Twins by Miki and Julie Collins is read by Ingrid Nixon, Chief of Interpretation, Denali NP&P. (Trapline Twins © 2005 Vanessapress, Fairbanks. Used with permission).

CHALLENGE
(Time 3:30, Captioned)

• Windows Media (6.61MB)
• Quicktime M4V (23.6 MB)

Discovery of a set of intertwined moose antlers and skulls in a designated federal wilderness area inspires discussion and deeper appreciation of wilderness values.

SUBSISTENCE
(Time 5:27)

• Windows Media (10.2 MB) 
• Quicktime M4V (35.7 MB) 

In March 2008, two Athabascan elders were flown by bush plane from their home in Nikolai, Alaska to Cantwell to help an 18-year-old high school senior build a half-size replica of a traditional moose hide boat. Their story illustrates the importance of an ongoing connection between local rural subsistence users and the land.

 

ACCESS
(Time 04:57)

• Windows Media (9.31 MB) 
• Quicktime M4V (32.0 MB)

Mount McKinley National Park, as it was known at the time, was one of the first parks in America to recognize that a natural setting could have carrying capacity. In 1972, the park limited access to its 91-mile road. In 2008, more than 36 years later, officials began work on a completely new management strategy for transporting people in the park. It could prove to be a defining moment in the rich history of this special place.

 

DISCOVERY: Dinosaur Questions and Answers with Anthony R. Fiorillo, Ph.D. (Time 11:30)

• Windows Media (21.3 MB)
• Quicktime M4V (76.0 MB)
  

Since a first Theropod track was found by a field camp student on the edge of Igloo Creek in late June 2005, there have been many more fossil discoveries at locations throughout the park. Anthony R. Fiorillo, a paleontologist and curator of Earth Sciences at the Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas, Texas, answers some of the most common questions about the presence of dinosaurs in Denali more than 65 million years ago.

 

INSPIRATION
(Time 07:45)

• Windows Media (14.4 MB)
• Quicktime M4V (50.3 MB)

In 2007, Ree Nancarrow accepted a commission to create a fabric art piece for the new Eielson Visitor Center, 66 miles from the park entrance near the base of Mount McKinley. Beginning with white cotton fabric, she fashioned "Seasons of Denali," a remarkable panoramic representation of the Eielson area using dyes, paints, silkscreens, stencils, and oil sticks. A local resident for almost 45 years, Nancarrow began exploring quilting as an artistic medium in the early 1990s.

 

INSPIRATION: Bonus Feature
(Time 02:03)

• Windows Media (3.85 MB)
• Quicktime M4V (13.0 MB)

Ree Nancarrow, with her son Eric and his wife Susanna, delivered her quilt, "Seasons of Denali," to the Eielson Visitor Center on June 3, 2008. The building opened to the public just five days later. Set to music composed and performed by Land Cole.

 

EXHIBITS FOR EIELSON: Seasons of Denali

• Adobe PDF (909 KB)
  

The Eielson Visitor Center, located 66 miles inside the park, reopened on June 8, 2008. Among the featured exhibits is Seasons of Denali, a remarkable quilt by Ree Nancarrow. This link provides a key to all of the plants, animals and birds Nancarrow included in the piece.

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COMING SOON ...

STEWARDSHIP: Monitoring the Effects of Climate Change on Park Resources
(Time 05:27)

Windows Media (10.1 MB)
Quicktime M4V (36.2 MB)

 

Climate change is real, maybe more real here in the subarctic already than other parts of the planet. While temperatures around the globe have inched up a degree or two on average, warming around the state of Alaska has averaged 4 degrees since 1949. Winter in Alaska’s interior has experienced the largest change, about 7 degrees. In Denali, scientists are monitoring climate change closely and cautiously discussing how park management may need to change in the future based on current trends.