Alaskan Ivory Art: Non Western

 Alaskan Law Consumer Law Regarding Alaskan Traditional Items & Carving

In 1935 Alaska State legislature declared that all carvings or cultural items made from ivory, baleen, marine mammal bone, or any bone of Alaskan mammals are only made by a state or federally recognized tribal member or a certified non-Indian artisan. ‘’A certified Indian artisan is an individual certified by the governing body of the tribe of his or her descent as a non-member Indian artisan’’ Meaning you would have to have certified permission from a tribe to market any type of art traditionally made with raw cultural materials. It is against state or federal law to sell “Alaskan Carvings” if you are not a part of a tribe or not a certified non-native artisan.

Iñupiaq ship carving
ca. 1880–1910
Point Barrow, Alaska
Ivory, sinew
30 x 5 x 15 cm

History

Authentic Inupaiq Northern carvings from the far past are very hard to come by. Long ago, they were sold to European and American Whalers. There were 2100 whaling ships every year. It allowed Native Alaskans to make money to help aid their families. This whaling ship craving is a likely image of what the northern slope and coastal whaling ships see yearly hunting their precious whales. 

Analysis 

The carver of this piece is unknown. The ivory whaling ship has a mask and sails with the cold wind. This ship would have been silent without the roaring motor of today's boats. Suitable for preying on whales. Sinew is used, displaying where ropes were to tie down the sails. Traditional works were done with ivory, mainly old mammoth bone, tusk, or tooth. Most were white, but they were also grays and shades of brown within the ivory if they decayed horribly. This size of ivory work is rare because large pieces of ivory big enough to create such a work of art are very hard to find.

When I look at this piece of art, I see the expert artistry of my fellow Alaska Natives. It makes me feel proud to be a part of Inupiaq Culture. Our ancestors would have been so proud of it. They shine down on us with their blessing of the values they taught us to observe. The carver must have many long hours creating the fine details of the router and taffrail. 

Back

Angokwakzhuk

(Happy Jack, Iñupiaq, 1870?–1918),

carving

ca. 1900

Nome, Alaska

Walrus ivory tusk

34 x 5 x 3 cm

History

Angokwakzhuk, also known as Happy Jack, engraved this walrus tusk. Captain Hartson Bodfish nicknamed happy Jack after being invited into their whaling ship. The two sides of the tusk are believed to tell a story of the Eagle-Wolf Dance. The story goes as the hunter kills a giant eagle, then he is taken to the eagle's mother so that he learns to dance so that the spirit of her son can return to her. The hunter then returned home to perform the dance and feast as the mother eagle requested. The hunter saw a vision while dancing in a hillside den where birds fly away from it, and a wolf popped up dancing. This dance and story were passed down through the 19th & 20th centuries. 

Analysis

I noticed that this tusk was made between 1870-1918, and I wondered how he engraved such detail with old-style tools. I have a picture of my excellent grandfather engraving a small piece of ivory with an ancient technique of genius. In this picture, my great grandfather Walter Kowana uses a tool that acts like a stone age drill. He uses the bow to turn the wooden drill and create friction that would engrave into the ivory. He balances the drills into a hole of a wood or bone piece that fits the drill bit to stay in place. He keeps the wood or bone piece in his mouth so that the drill is balanced. I never met my great grandfather, but I would have loved to watch him create ivory engravings and other ivory works. I believe Angokwakzhuk would have something similar to my Amau Great Grandfather. This piece reminds me of what I had missed because I was born later than when my Amau was alive.

(Front)

Iñupiaq cribbage board

ca. 1900

Nome, Alaska

Walrus ivory tusk

57 x 4 x 2.5 cm

Collected by J. E. Standley

History

George Heye purchased an ivory cribbage board from a shop called Pioneer Square in the 1900s. There was a demand for Enthenic Alaskan souvenirs after the Gold Rush. A flood of gold diggers came to Alaska to strike it rich, and they wanted to bring something back to remind them of their Wild Alaskan adventure. They took the opportunity to make money or trade for goods such as sugar, salt, flour, and rice, the basics that western pioneers introduced. Native Alaskans had to adapt to new conditions of life. Everything was changing fast; they could no longer do things in old traditional ways. 

Analysis

The engravings on the ivory cribbage board are two different types of seals hunted on the northern coasts of Alaska. The ringed seal (natchiq) and bearded seal (Ugruk) are depicted on ice flows. In between the cribbage holes, there is a harpoon that was used for hunting such seals. Cribbage is very commonly played among the older population. The flower on the front was probably just for decoration to take up more of the empty white space. The seals are very detailed, and the engraved lines all work together to give the art piece depth in contrast without having the artist coloring the seal. The seals are critical to Inupiaq Culture. Every summer, most of the community of Noatak goes down the coast to camp Sissaulik and harvest bearded seals for their blubber to make seal oil and their meat to make dried meat. Seal oil is like a condiment to be eaten with fish, frozen fish, and caribou meat. They put small amounts of seal oil in Eskimo ice cream, which is melting fat, then stirred to make a sort of whipped cream. It would be expected to have the animals that Native Alaskans harvest to survive. These carving are from my culture. This piece of art depicts the animals we harvest. It also depicts how my people can adapt, whether it may be wilderness or changing their traditions and purposes for carving ivory to benefit their survival. 

References

-, Unknown. “Angokwakzhuk - Infinity of Nations: Art and History in the Collections of the National Museum of the American Indian - George Gustav Heye Center, New York.” Copyright 2010. Smithsonian Institution., 2022, https://americanindian.si.edu/exhibitions/infinityofnations/arctic-subarctic/053086.html#about.

-, Unknown. “Carvings in Walrus Ivory.” Museum Bulletin, 2022, https://www.penn.museum/sites/bulletin/3861/.

-, Unknown. “Iñupiaq Cribbage Board - Infinity of Nations: Art and History in the Collections of the National Museum of the American Indian - George Gustav Heye Center, New York.” Copyright 2010-2011. Smithsonian Institution., 2022, https://americanindian.si.edu/exhibitions/infinityofnations/arctic-subarctic/054277.html.

-, Unknown. “Iñupiaq Ship Carving - Infinity of Nations: Art and History in the Collections of the National Museum of the American Indian - George Gustav Heye Center, New York.” Copyright 2010. Smithsonian Institution., 2022, https://americanindian.si.edu/exhibitions/infinityofnations/arctic-subarctic/214677.html.

., State of Alaska. “Alaska Native Art.” Request Rejected, https://www.law.alaska.gov/department/civil/consumer/Nativeart.html.

State of Alaska. “Alaska Native Art.” Request Rejected, https://www.law.alaska.gov/department/civil/consumer/Nativeart.html.