Juneau officials have approved plans for a business shuttered years ago to become the new site of a Native cultural immersion park.
The Juneau Empire reports that the city’s Planning Commission voted in favor of a conditional use permit on Tuesday for the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. The tribe is looking to renovate the Thane Ore House, which was closed in 2012.
The tribe’s plans for the site include a restaurant, space for Native dance performances and a gift shop. The cultural center would also provide transportation to shuttle cruise passengers and tourists to the facility.
The tribe’s economic development manager, Myrna Gardner, says visitors would also have an opportunity to learn from Native canoe and totem pole carvers.
