Alaska | UNI Museum @ Rod Library

Displaying 1 - 5 of 5

	Catalog #	Name	Description
1	1988.24.15	Basket	Tlingit woven rattle top basket covered in black and orange geometric designs. The seeds in the lid of the basket are there to keep the devil away.
2	1989.43.115	Beads	Trade; Small beads on a clear string. The beads colors are beginning to wear off. The string is tied in a knot. Twelve red over white Cornaline d’Alleppo beads melted together. Three are white and two are red over green. They were probably melted during a cremation. Beads were often made from ivory or bone, and were usually used on amulets or as decoration on clothing. Later, glass beads were introduced to and adopted by the Inuit tribes in the 1700’s. Beads are considered to be an important aspect of Inuit visual culture. Because of how small they are, they can sewn onto articles of clothing in ways that represent familial beliefs. Some of these designs and patterns may have correlated with tattoos. Carnelian Venetian beads. Items in the accession were given to UNI after the death of donor's wife. Most were originally collected by donor’s father-in-law who died in 1954.
3	1989.60.11	Basket	Tlingit woven basket made of either spruce root or flat twisted cedar bark cordage. Made by the women of the tribe, this basket is an open top design with red and black geometric designs running across the middle of the basket.
4	1991.47.6	Mask	Raven mask from King Island. Black mask depicts a raven with long beak and tongue. Includes a strap for hanging. Ravens are often symbols of trickery or heroism. Black wooden mask. Shaped like a raven’s face/head. Black paint. White paint for eyes and eyebrows. Red/orange paint for the inside of the beak. Face of the mask is oval in shape. Made by Tony Pushruk in 1955. Sent to UNI from Port Townsend, WA. Animals were seen by the Inuit people to be equals. According to their beliefs, when hunting, animals gave themselves to humans only if they followed certain taboos. There was an annual celebration called Kelek, which opened passages between the human-world and the animal-world. Shamans would lead dances and songs to convince spirits of animals in the animal-world to cross over to the human-world, a way of achieving an abundance of fish or game. They would wear wooden, carved masks during this ceremony. Other ceremonies also included masks, but Kelek seems to be the most important one. Some masks did not have special meaning, and were mostly worn for fun by children during the festivals. These masks were almost always depictions of birds or fish.
5	2006.9.1	Fetish	Small figurine of carved ivory. The figurine is of a human female in standing position with arms to the side. The coloration of the figurine varies in areas. Small ivory figurine of a human/person. Their hands are connected in front of them. They are in a standing position. Facial features are not defined and there is no hair or clothing on the figurine. The head is very round. Sent to UNI from Pagosa Springs, CO. Mysterious use historically: some think they were used as good luck charms while hunting, others think they were used as game pieces. Some people believed the figurines to be connected to life and death. Within Inuit culture and beliefs, each living thing has a tarniq, a soul, that consists of a miniature image of that living thing. The miniature image of the living thing produces the living thing itself. Most modern Inuit are now Christian and reject the idea of fetish figurines being used as good luck charms or protection amulets. Would be carried with them on their person. The Inuit were nomadic, and therefore they carried with them what they could. To carry a personal item such as a fetish figure indicated wealth and status. This nomadic lifestyle is also the reason for the small size of the figurines. Some fetish figurines have holes, indicating they were worn as jewelry. Fetish figurines could have been used as toys, to teach children how to be adults, and therefore would have symbolized transformation.