The Anchorage museum
Val says......
After reading about it in the newspaper, I was very interested in seeing the "Yuungnaqpiallerput (The Way We Genuinely Live): Masterworks of Yup'ik Science and Survival" exhibit at the Anchorage Museum. The Yupik Eskimos of Western Alaska survived for thousands of years before any white men arrived. They lived in small villages of about 300 people during the winter; and in the summer, family groups would travel to fishing or sealing camps. This area is below the Arctic Circle so it is not all ice and snow, but tundra with grasses, berry bushes and some small trees.
We decided to go to the museum on a Sunday afternoon and participate in a one hour Curator's Gallery Talk. Our tour guide was Marie Meade, a Yup'ik woman who had helped during the five years of preparing the exhibit. Marie is a Yupik native, born and raised in the village of Nunapicuaq near the Kuskokwim River delta. She now lives a contemporary life in Anchorage, but maintains many connections with her people and her heritage. Our tour lasted almost two hours as Marie explained many parts of the exhibit and answered our questions. There were several opportunities to engage in hands-on activities that showed how things worked or to try things such as weaving a grass basket.
To quote from Museum Today (March/April), "This exhibition presents remarkable 19th and early 20th century tools, containers, weapons, watercraft and clothing in an exploration of the scientific principles and processes that have allowed the Yup'ik people to survive in the sub-arctic tundra of the Bering Sea coast."
Many objects have been borrowed from other museums, including one in Germany. Marie accompanied a team of Yup'ik Elders to Germany to look at the artifacts and determine their use. The items in Germany had been collected and displayed without much explanation of their uses. The Elders were able to supply most of the missing information and were very excited to do so. Some items they had never seen, but knew what they were from stories they had heard when they were younger.
The Yup'ik were very ingenious in their uses of what was around them. When they didn't have sealskin for clothing, they learned to make parkas from bird skins. Rain parkas were made from seal gut. The parka worn in a kayak was made to fit over the opening so the craft didn't fill with water from waves or rain. Kayaks were custom fit to the person who would be using it. Driftwood which came down the Yukon River was used for such things as kayak frames and shaman masks, but it could only be gathered from the beach, not taken from the water. It was not deemed ready to use until it came up on the beach from natural forces.
They were especially pleased to receive several shaman masks for the exhibit. Such masks were made for specific occasions and, since they were often made of wood, were then put out on the tundra to go back to the earth. Some had been gathered and placed in museums and private collections. Although it is unknown on what occasions the masks were used, it was very interesting to see how each was different.
While at the museum we also looked at the exhibit titled, "Iditarod Visionary: Joe Redington, Sr." It was interesting to see the old sleds and other equipment used when dog sleds were the only means of travel in the bush. Joe Redington, Sr. was determined to continue the tradition of travel by dog sled in Alaska and was very instrumental in starting the Last Great Race on the Iditarod Trail. He is, indeed, the 'Father of the Iditarod'. There are many family photos, mushing gear and early Iditarod promotional materials. The Redington family are still active in the Iditarod -- promoting, racing, and volunteering. It's in their genes!
For anyone traveling to Anchorage this year, the Yup'ik exhibit is until October 26th and the Redington exhibit until September 14. There is also a big exhibit on Alaska and a great children's section at the museum.
After reading about it in the newspaper, I was very interested in seeing the "Yuungnaqpiallerput (The Way We Genuinely Live): Masterworks of Yup'ik Science and Survival" exhibit at the Anchorage Museum. The Yupik Eskimos of Western Alaska survived for thousands of years before any white men arrived. They lived in small villages of about 300 people during the winter; and in the summer, family groups would travel to fishing or sealing camps. This area is below the Arctic Circle so it is not all ice and snow, but tundra with grasses, berry bushes and some small trees.
We decided to go to the museum on a Sunday afternoon and participate in a one hour Curator's Gallery Talk. Our tour guide was Marie Meade, a Yup'ik woman who had helped during the five years of preparing the exhibit. Marie is a Yupik native, born and raised in the village of Nunapicuaq near the Kuskokwim River delta. She now lives a contemporary life in Anchorage, but maintains many connections with her people and her heritage. Our tour lasted almost two hours as Marie explained many parts of the exhibit and answered our questions. There were several opportunities to engage in hands-on activities that showed how things worked or to try things such as weaving a grass basket.
To quote from Museum Today (March/April), "This exhibition presents remarkable 19th and early 20th century tools, containers, weapons, watercraft and clothing in an exploration of the scientific principles and processes that have allowed the Yup'ik people to survive in the sub-arctic tundra of the Bering Sea coast."
Many objects have been borrowed from other museums, including one in Germany. Marie accompanied a team of Yup'ik Elders to Germany to look at the artifacts and determine their use. The items in Germany had been collected and displayed without much explanation of their uses. The Elders were able to supply most of the missing information and were very excited to do so. Some items they had never seen, but knew what they were from stories they had heard when they were younger.
The Yup'ik were very ingenious in their uses of what was around them. When they didn't have sealskin for clothing, they learned to make parkas from bird skins. Rain parkas were made from seal gut. The parka worn in a kayak was made to fit over the opening so the craft didn't fill with water from waves or rain. Kayaks were custom fit to the person who would be using it. Driftwood which came down the Yukon River was used for such things as kayak frames and shaman masks, but it could only be gathered from the beach, not taken from the water. It was not deemed ready to use until it came up on the beach from natural forces.
They were especially pleased to receive several shaman masks for the exhibit. Such masks were made for specific occasions and, since they were often made of wood, were then put out on the tundra to go back to the earth. Some had been gathered and placed in museums and private collections. Although it is unknown on what occasions the masks were used, it was very interesting to see how each was different.
While at the museum we also looked at the exhibit titled, "Iditarod Visionary: Joe Redington, Sr." It was interesting to see the old sleds and other equipment used when dog sleds were the only means of travel in the bush. Joe Redington, Sr. was determined to continue the tradition of travel by dog sled in Alaska and was very instrumental in starting the Last Great Race on the Iditarod Trail. He is, indeed, the 'Father of the Iditarod'. There are many family photos, mushing gear and early Iditarod promotional materials. The Redington family are still active in the Iditarod -- promoting, racing, and volunteering. It's in their genes!
For anyone traveling to Anchorage this year, the Yup'ik exhibit is until October 26th and the Redington exhibit until September 14. There is also a big exhibit on Alaska and a great children's section at the museum.
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Yupik spear handle from the Yupik exhibit