June 2002 Number 10 www.mnh.si.edu/arctic

Newsletter

ewsletter ewsletter

Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History

NOTES FROM THE DIRECTOR

By Bill Fitzhugh

In thirty two years at the Smithsonian, I have never

experienced a year quite like the last one. In the past, the

Smithsonian seemed immune from worldly upheavals, and

sailed steadily forward even in troubled times. During these

years, the Institution changed physically and intellectually,

increased the social and ethnic diversity of its staff and

programming, and began to diversify its funding stream; but the

basic commitment to scholarship and research remained solid.

Today, this foundation is being challenged as never before.

The result has been an unusual year, to say the least. A

stream of directors—seven or eight at last count—have left

their posts; a special commission has investigated American

History’s exhibition program; a congressional science

commission is evaluating Smithsonian science; and two

additional science studies have been ordered by the Office of

Management and Budget, which threatened to transfer $30

million of the SI science

funds to the National

Science Foundation.

The OMB plan

suggests that the

Smithsonian should be a

gallery and not a research

center. Our governing

Regents seem to agree,

apparently believing that

research is an expensive

luxury that should be left

to universities, and that

our main mission should

be museum-based

education. Indeed, recent

decades have seen a

steady shift in emphasis

from science to general

education, resulting in 15-

20% cuts in science

staffing and decimation of

its research funds. The trend continues. Shortly after his

appointment, Secretary Larry Small ruled that research should

be conducted as a primary mission only in the science bureaus

and that research in the art and history museums should be

restricted to planning specific exhibitions or public programs.

Changes are already afoot. Science Under Secretary

Dennis O’Conner, who served this year also as Acting

Director of NMNH when Robert Fri stepped down, departed

for the University of Maryland. Irwin Shapiro, Director of

the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, has been named

Interim Under Secretary; and Douglas Erwin has been named

Interim Director of NMNH while the search for a permanent

person for both positions continues. Yours Truly has become

Chair of Anthropology (a post I held from 1975-80). By this

time next year the Science Commission Report will have been

on the table for six months, and I hope to report new directions

and improved prospects for Smithsonian science.

***

Despite difficult times, the ASC has maintained its core

programs and has initiated new projects. At long last, Igor

Krupnik and I, with assistance from Elisabeth Ward,

succeeded in realizing the dream of a dedicated ASC monograph

series. Funded by revenues from Vikings, a bequest from James

VanStone, and other sources, it bears the series title

“Contributions to Circumpolar Anthropology” and is dedicated

to monographs, symposia,

translations, and other works.

We envision publishing two or

three volumes each year. Our

first, Gateways: Exploring the

Legacy of the Jesup North

Pacific Expedition, 1897-1902,

appeared this winter and

makes a memorable

contribution to our “Jesup 2”

centennial program. A second

volume, Honoring Our Elders:

History of Eastern Arctic

Archaeology, is dedicated to

Elmer Harp, Jr., who inspired

several generations of arctic

anthropologists (including me!)

at Dartmouth College. Richard

Jordan’s manuscript on the

Avayalik Dorset site, and

several volumes produced by

the Torngat Project will also be

published here.

We are also nearing agreement with Smithsonian Institution

Press to bring out a series of more commercially viable

publications. Among the projects planned for the coming year

are an edited volume on northern ethnographic landscapes

produced by Igor with the assistance of the National Park

Service in Alaska; Christopher Nagle’s study of Labrador

Dorset technology and raw material movements; and English

National Museum of Natural History, Museum Support Center:John

Phillip, Sr. of Kongiganak, AK explains how kayaks were once used for

hunting and transporting people and equipment.
ASC Newsletter 2

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS

Inlingua/Santis Corp. Robert H. Malott

Rasmuson Foundation Phillips Alaska Inc.

Museum Loan Network Rock Foundation

Alaska Humanities Forum Koniag, Inc.

National Park Service Anina Glaize

James VanStone Estate Arco Foundation

Raymond and Margaret Mason Bateman Fund

National Science Foundation Iceland Air

Trust for Mutual Understanding

Ocean Alaska Science and Learning Center

Leifur Eiriksson Millennium Commission of Iceland

National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration

translations of The Archaeology of Taimyr and Central Siberian

Arctic by Leonid Khlobystin and hopefully the massive

Historical Ethnographic Atlas of Siberia translated by Henry

Michael, with the support of the Rock Foundation. Stephen

Loring’s new SI Press edition of Lucien Turner’s 1894

Ethnology of the Ungava District appeared this winter and was

launched with major fanfare at the Canadian Embassy. Finally,

collaboration with ARCUS produced, in the record time of one

year, The Earth is Faster Now: Indigenous Observations of

Arctic Environmental Change, edited by Igor Krupnik and

Dyanna Jolly, which also had a celebratory launch at the

Canadian Embassy.

Without a doubt, however, the ASC publication prize of

the year goes to Aron Crowell for Looking Both Ways:

Heritage and Identity of the Alutiiq People, which he co-edited

with Amy Steffian and Gordon Pullar. Though not a

Smithsonian publication, Aron and the University of Alaska

Press produced this beautiful book, which combines native

perspectives, high quality scholarship, great illustrations, and

spectacular design! Who ever said museum collections were

crusty fossils! This book breathes life on every page!

Although publication was our year’s highlight, fieldwork

brought us new caches of data. My Mongolia projects (2001,2)

landed me in a part of the world with intriguing cultural and

biotic arctic connections and stimulated an interdisciplinary

NMNH project linked to the museum’s new Modern Mongolia

exhibition. I also surveyed the Lower North Shore of the Gulf

of St. Lawrence in Quebec and will continue work there this

year. Further north, Stephen Loring continued his community

archaeology work in Makkovik, excavating at the historic

period Adlavik Island Inuit villages. On the other side of the

arctic, Igor Krupnik worked on community history and

indigenous knowledge projects dealing with observations of

climate change with St. Lawrence Island collaborators.

This year we had a breather in the frenetic pace of recent

exhibit work, as others made sure that Vikings and Looking

Both Ways traveled safely to new venues. Vikings completed a

very successful venue in Los Angeles and opened at the

Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull/Ottawa in May.

Elisbeth Ward and James Rubinstein have done a great job on

media, installation, and educational programming for these

venues. Likewise, LBW finished its opening venue at the

Kodiak Museum and moved to the Pratt Museum in Homer.

This year also saw development in our association with the

National Museum of the American Indian. Igor worked closely

with Lars Krutak on St. Lawrence Island research; Jennifer

McCarty continued her NMAI-sponsored work at the ASC

Anchorage office as education outreach coordinator; joint work

continued on the Alaska Collection Project under the direction

of Aron Crowell, with consultation visits by elders and cultural

leaders from Nome, St. Lawrence Island, and the lower

Kuskokwim; Stephen Loring wrote an introduction for a tribal

catalog on the NMAI Innu and Eastern Cree collections; and

Igor Krupnik and Stephen Loring prepared research and

cataloguing aids for the NMAI collections. Several joint

seminars and special receptions were also organized.

One of our most important educational projects was

updating and redesigning our website. During the past five

years, the site has received awards from Yahoo and NEH and

has been an important communications tool. We hope you like

the new look and new offerings. We hope you enjoy this issue!

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

Arctic Climate Change p. 3

Science Commission Study p. 5

ASC Anchorage

Alaskan Collections Project p. 7

Beluga Whale Nets p. 7

An Intense Visit to the Collection p. 8

An Intern’s Account p. 9

Exhibitions

Looking Both Ways p. 10

Vikings in Canada p. 10

Modern Mongolia p. 11

Outreach

Website for the 21st Century p. 12

Atanarjuat Premieres p. 13

Research

Research in Igloolik, Nunavut p. 14

Studies of Greenlandic Clothing p. 14

Ikpik Journal p. 16

Njal’s Saga Landscape Study p. 18

Publication

Gateways Published p. 20

Makivik-Smithsonian Collaboration p. 20

Earth is Faster Now Book Launch p. 21

Collections

Premier Okalik of Nunavut Visits p. 22

Waugh Collection Project p. 24

Labrador Artifacts p. 25

Fieldwork

St. Lawrence Gateways p. 26

Salekhard Mummies, West Siberia p. 27

Mongolian Initiatives p. 29

Conferences

Mongolia Reserach Conference p. 31

AnthroNotes Award p. 32

Mummy Congress p. 32

Bergy Bits

Snowy Owls and Harry Potter p. 35

Voices of Discovery p. 35

Gifts p. 35

Awards p. 35

Comings and Goings p. 36

New Alaska Outreach Coordinator p. 36

In Memoriam

 9/11 Victims p. 37

Publications and Contacts p. 38

Publication Order Form p. 39
ASC Newsletter 3

ASC INITIATES NEW ARCTIC CLIMATE CHANGE

RESEARCH

By Igor Krupnik

The ASC has a long record of involvement in Arctic climate and

environmental change studies – one that has embraced its research

staff and its many associates and collaborators for almost 30 years.

Bill Fitzhugh explored ancient ecosystem changes in the Eastern

Arctic in his book on environmental archaeology in Labrador (1972)

and in several later publications under the Torngat and Meta

Incognita projects. Igor Krupnik similarly summarized evidence of

historic environmental change in Siberia and the Bering Strait in

Arctic Adaptations (1993) and in a number of papers focused on

indigenous marine hunting and reindeer herding economies. Tracing

cultural-environmental interactions has always been a crucial part of

our research agenda, and we have undertaken such studies in various

places across the north: Stephen Loring in the Aleutians, Aron

Crowell in Cook Inlet, Dosia Laeyendcker on Baffin Island,

Richard Jordan and Susan Kaplan in Labrador, Natalya

Fedorova in Yamal, just to name a few.

However, most of the ASC efforts in environmental change

studies from the 1970s to the mid-1990s were focused on evidence

of former changes, either prehistoric or relatively recent. Although

we stressed the value of our research for long-term modeling of

polar ecosystems, we usually

applied archaeological,

dendrochronological,

ethnohistorical, and other records

to describe the past. In recent

years, this familiar pattern has

been altered as the focus of ASC

interest shifts to include the

issues of today’s rapid changes

in Arctic environment and its

impact upon northern people.

Three developments of the past

year were significant milestones

toward such a transition. First,

the ASC became an active part of

the new inter-agency SEARCH

initiative. Second, together with

the NMNH Office of Exhibits

we are laying groundwork for the Arctic version of the new Global

Change (“Forces of Change”) exhibit at the NMNH to be

developed in 2003 and 2004. Third, Igor Krupnik’s study of

indigenous knowledge of Arctic sea ice and climate (ASC Newsletter,

nos. 8 and 9) has culminated in a new publication project, The Earth

Is Faster Now: Indigenous Observations of Arctic Environmental

Change (2002 – see pg. 21).

Evidences of ongoing, rapid climate change in the Arctic is

plentiful, and has been the focus of several major research projects

by physical and environmental scientists over the last decade. Social

scientists have been rather late and, usually, junior partners in these

efforts. It has been commonly accepted for some time that northern

residents should be included as critical subjects in any

interdisciplinary survey of global climate change. But, it was not

until recently that scientists also realized that Arctic people are the

first and, usually, the most dedicated observers of such change, as

the latter transform their daily life as well as the fundamentals of

their ecological expertise and culture.

Arctic indigenous people have a special stake in modern

scholarly studies of global environmental change. They also have a

lot to contribute – when and if they are given the chance and the

appropriate means to participate in such efforts. Detailed records of

local observations relating to sea ice, weather conditions, and animal

and plant life are generated in dozens of indigenous communities

across the circumpolar zone. These records, because they are

primarily oral, are constantly analyzed and immediately tested in

discussions with neighbors, fellow-hunters, and experienced elders.

This spontaneous observation process is a non-stop, daily, and

inter-generational activity that proceeds without granting agencies

and scientific planning. It is indeed an invaluable resource for

scholarly research in environmental change and a strong impetus for

partnership between scientists and northern residents.

At the same time, Arctic residents are quickly becoming the

spotlight of the global environment debate – Through growing media

attention as well as their own public actions. Major newspapers,

including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles

Times, The Globe and Mail, and others have recently run front-page

stories about the “melting Arctic,” extensively quoting the concerns

and anxieties shared by northern people. Silarjualiriniq, a newsletter

of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, has published several

statements by Inuit leaders expressing rising Inuit concern about the

speed of change in their environment. Beyond spreading this

message, northern residents are also eager to cooperate with arctic

scientists in order to have their observations documented and

transmitted to policy makers. Arctic social scientists believe that at

this critical juncture, we have all the more reason to bring the

evidence of northern people, both of today and of the past, to

public attention. We see this as the new frontier of arctic social

science. It will guide the course of scholarly studies, outreach and

educational efforts, and drive public support for northern research

for years to come.

Unfortunately, this vision is shared by few and the challenges

to arctic social scientists are actually mounting, as we have to fight

the “Johnny-come-lately” image within the northern academic

community. Therefore, we have expanded our efforts in the past

year, through the SEARCH program and related activities to build

bridges. SEARCH, The Study of Environmental Arctic Change, is a

major new research initiative that emerged from a workshop on

modeling climate change in the Arctic. Unlike many other meetings,

the 1997 workshop in Seattle thankfully created substantial

momentum. A year later, the Arctic System Science (ARCSS)

program of the NSF Office of Polar Programs announced SEARCH.

Sachs Harbour community members gather to discuss their observations of climate changes. (Photo from

The Earth is Faster Now, 2002.)
ASC Newsletter 4

At first, SEARCH was fully under the supervision of the ARCSS

Ocean-Atmosphere-Ice Interactions Steering Committee; during its

first ‘gestation’ years it was regarded mainly as an oceanatmosphere modeling enterprise. However, since 2000 SEARCH has

gradually evolved into a much broader venture, under the leadership

of John Calder, Director of the Arctic Research Office at NOAA.

He established the SEARCH Interagency Working Group which

includes representatives from nine participating governmental

agencies, such as NSF, NOAA, DOI, EPA, NASA, and the

Smithsonian. The first serious new funding to back SEARCH

activities is anticipated in FY 2003; but many agencies are already

undertaking some efforts using available funds. The expected

duration of SEARCH is from 5 to 10 years.

The scientific core of SEARCH is to develop a scenario for

environmental change across polar regions that differs from linear

global warming models, which are based upon

the progressive increase in carbon-dioxide

emission. In contrast, SEARCH is focused

mainly on the decadal (3-50 year) and closely

inter-related pan-arctic fluctuations in

atmospheric pressure, ocean and air

temperatures, sea ice, etc., that are driven by

the so-called ‘Arctic Oscillation’ (AO). The

latter has been modeled following the famous

El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), to

which, as many atmospheric scientists

believe, the AO is closely related. Whatever

its cause, this new Arctic environmental

change program was given the name Unaami,

which is a St. Lawrence Yupik word for

‘tomorrow.’ With this new emphasis, the

Arctic Studies Center became involved,

promoting the “human component” within

what was formerly a physical science

initiative.

The ASC and Smithsonian contribution

to SEARCH is important on two different

levels. From the scientific perspective, the

ASC contributes its experience in using paleo-environmental and

archaeological data to decipher past environmental and resource

fluctuations in the polar regions. Such studies provide badly needed

time depth to current models, which are based mainly on

instrumental data of the last century. At the institutional level, Bill

and Igor represent the SI at the SEARCH interagency working

group, where they are, in a sense, the spokespeople for the polar

social science community. We see our mission as that of raising

issues of importance to Arctic native residents.

Last year, the ASC/Smithsonian contribution to SEARCH

expanded into an entirely new dimension, as the working group

began discussing an outreach and educational aspect for the

program. It was quickly realized that the SEARCH agenda has to be

presented to decision-makers (who will determine its future), the

media, and Arctic residents. In short, SEARCH needs a vehicle to

communicate science and to advertise its needs and capabilities to a

broader audience. Bill, with his extensive exhibit experience,

suggested that an exhibition program would be the ideal way to

promote the SEARCH outreach and educational agenda, and to

introduce this initiative to the public.

In fact, NMNH is the ideal location to develop and deliver a

SEARCH educational program. It already has the capabilities,

personnel, and existing framework to be used to bring Arctic

environmental change issues to public attention. The NMNH

Forces of Change educational and exhibit program (initiated in

2000) features the dynamics of global change and examines the

connections between the physical, biological, and cultural forces

that shape our world. The core of this program is a 6,000 square

foot exhibit space at NMNH, which will be used over several years

for a series of regionally focused exhibits. Each of these exhibits will

feature various “faces” of ongoing global change. The first in the

series, Listening to the Prairie: Farming in Nature’s Image, was

successfully launched at the NMNH in November 2000, in

partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Sustainable

Agriculture and Research Education Program. After five-months at

NMNH, the Prairie exhibit started a three-year national tour,

visiting twenty venues, primarily science centers and libraries,

across the country. An estimated one million people will see the

exhibit, which is accompanied by curriculum

materials and other outreach opportunities.

In Spring 2001, Bill and Igor began to

discuss developing an arctic feature for this

programwith Barbara Stauffer and Carolyn

Margolis of the NMNH Exhibit Office. A

six-component Smithsonian-NMNH

SEARCH proposal was developed that

includes, in addition to a Forces of Change

Arctic show, a NASA-supported Global

Links electronic exhibit; an enhanced multistaged web site linked to the Smithsonian’s

popular address; public lecture programs; and

educational curricula for museum and school

use. Unfortunately, the proposal stalled in

2001 and early 2002 because of a lack of

Smithsonian funding and recurrent changes in

top museum leadership. However, the

situation is now changing, thanks to the

strong commitment expressed by the NOAA

Arctic Research Office and its director, John

Calder. NOAA has pledged substantial seed

funding to the Smithsonian-NMNH effort in

developing the “Arctic Environmental Change” exhibit in 2003-

2004, to be preceded by a special planning workshop. This will

serve as a foundation, to a tangible SEARCH public and educational

component, until future funding becomes available from

participating agencies and the Smithsonian.

While the new Smithsonian SEARCH exhibit is still in the

discussion and planning stage, the ASC succeeded in quickly turning

out an immediate material product as its contribution to the

SEARCH program. In May 2002, a new book was published by the

Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS), in collaboration

with the ASC and with the funding provided by the NSF Arctic

Social Science Program. This new volume of some 380 pages, titled

The Earth Is Faster Now: Indigenous Observations of Arctic

Environmental Change, was compiled and co-edited by Igor

Krupnik and Dyanna Jolly, formerly with the University of

Manitoba in Winnipeg and now at the Centre for Maori Studies in

New Zealand. The book is a collection of ten papers featuring

recent projects in documentation of indigenous knowledge of

environmental change. All these projects were undertaken during

the last few years in Alaska and the Canadian Arctic. The book is

accompanied by numerous quotations from interviews with Native

residents of local observations, and has almost a hundred photos

and other illustrations.

Nelson Island Hunters. Photo: James

Barker.
ASC Newsletter 5

This volume began with an almost fortuitous meeting of the

two co-editors at the 13th annual ARCUS meeting in Washington in

May 2001. At the time, both were actively engaged in independent

collaborative efforts in documenting indigenous knowledge on

recent climate change in Alaska and the Canadian Arctic (see ASC

Newsletter, no.9, p.16). When the two prospective editors

discussed their research and the need to advocate the value of

indigenous knowledge to the scholarly study of Arctic

environmental change, the idea of combining resources seemed

obvious. Together, Igor and Dyanna had a good network of

American, Canadian, and European colleagues who were exploring

the same field and who shared the same passion and ideology. The

ARCUS leadership (Wendy Warnick, ARCUS Executive Director,

and Henry Huntington, ARCUS President) expressed enthusiastic

support for the new initiative, which we all regard as truly

exemplary of interagency collaboration.

Overall, during this past year the ASC has made several

successful inroads into merging arctic social science with studies of

modern environmental change in polar regions. We are now working

successfully under an interdisciplinary team of Arctic climate,

ocean, and atmospheric specialists. We are designing, in

cooperation with the NMNH Office of Exhibits staff, some

new venues to make “hard science” more accessible to the

general public, such as interactive exhibits, web site

development, and educational curricula. We have initiated new

ways to document indigenous knowledge on Arctic climate

change and produced the first collection of professional papers

on these issues. Our next goal is to add to these ventures our

long-established expertise in unveiling ancient environmental

and cultural changes from archaeological records and relating

these to modern problems of today’s arctic people.

SCIENCE COMMISION STUDY CONTINUES

By Bill Fitzhugh

During the past year, a national commission appointed by the

Regents (the Smithsonian’s governing body) has been studying the

quality, organization, and future direction of the Institution’s science

programs. The Commission is led by anthropologist Dr. Jeremy

Sabloff, Director of the University Museum (UPenn), and is

composed of 17 scientists from inside and outside the SI in the

fields of biology, anthropology, and astrophysics. To date, the

Commission has spent much of its time gathering and discussing

information on leadership, professional evaluation, organizational

structure, outreach and

exhibition, and relationships

between science and education.

Sub-committees assigned to

each of these subjects have

roamed the science bureaus

from the Mall in Washington

D.C. to Cambridge and

Panama, interviewing staff,

collecting information,

debating issues of balance and

priority, trying to identify the

place of Smithsonian science in

the national science framework

and how to strengthen the

Institution’s contribution to

these efforts in the future. This ambitious task has been further

complicated by events unfolding within the Smithsonian leadership

and the Bush Administration, as outlined below.

Established by Congressional mandate in the spring of 2001,

the Commission was charged with answering many of the same

questions that had been raised during the preceding year by the

Institution’s senior leadership, Secretary Larry Small and Under

Secretary Dennis O’Connor. Their initial proposals would have

eliminated the Zoo’s Conservation Research Center and the Science

Center for Materials Research and Education; created separate

institutes of biology, astrophysics, earth and planetary sciences,

and human sciences; and removed all curators at the NMNH from

museum duties. Advanced with little prior discussion with the

staff, these proposals threw Smithsonian science into a public

uproar (see 2001 newsletter for details) that only partially

subsided when Congress and the Regents stepped into the battle

for what many consider to be the soul of the Smithsonian.

The administration’s critique was rooted in the question of

balance between the two missions established in founder James

Smithson’s bequest “for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.”

How should the Institution best allocate its resources in these two

directions? In an increasingly de-federalized institution, what mix of

federal and private support is necessary and desirable in

accomplishing these missions? How can these existing tasks and

new needs for collections care and museum services be maintained

when the Secretary’s budget priorities call for program cuts to

science and massive new allocations to facilities, exhibitions, and

infrastructure?

Early in its deliberations, the Commission realized that the

answers would not be as simple as they might be for other

institutions such as universities or specialized research centers.

Initial critiques of some aspects of the Natural History research

program gave way during a succession of commission meetings to a

more nuanced understanding of the unique complexities,

idiosyncrasies, and requirements of the Smithsonian science

program. Funded by Congress rather than by peer-reviewed

granting agencies like NSF, science at the Smithsonian has grown

incrementally, adding new functions as scientific methods and

theory advanced, while also retaining aspects of more traditional

research in descriptive studies and taxonomy. At NMNH, for

instance, science funding is shared between research, collections

care, and outreach, whereas functions like collections care, public

access, and taxonomy are relatively minor missions at the

Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the Smithsonian

Astrophysical Observatory, and other science units. Further

Climate changes in recent years have altered snow fall and sea ice patterns, often making travel and hunting

difficult. ( Photo from The Earth is Faster Now, 2002.)
ASC Newsletter 6

complicating activities in biology at NMNH is the need for cutting

edge collections-based research, whereas non-museum based

research centers like STRI and SERC focus more institutional

energy on systemic ecology, which tends to be more popular and

fundable than taxonomic work. At the same time as collections have

grown and become more important to the science community at

large, and as educational needs have increased, these demands have

drained support from science and research at NMNH contributing

to the current crisis. This shift has been further accentuated by

Secretary Small’s priorities, which are to restore the deteriorating

physical plant, and improve institutional infrastructure and

outreach. Often the NMNH with its large science budget has been

viewed as a place to

find funds and

positions for other

priorities. Variation in

unit missions, age, and

staffing introduce other

complications. The

Science Commission

has struggled with these

issues, and Chairman

Sabloff has reported on

progress regularly to

the staff and the media.

A further

bureaucratic

complication

developed in late fall

when the Office of

Management and

Budget selected the

Smithsonian as an a

test case to evaluate

President Bush’s

“scorecard” program,

which involves an annual evaluation of institutional efficiency

and responsiveness to its mission. After much negotiation, the

OMB forced the SI to pay nearly one million dollars for two

new studies, beyond the scores of studies already done and the

on-going Science Commission. One study (to be conducted by

the National Academy of Sciences) is to be directed at the

quality of scientific research and a second (to be conducted by

the National Association of Professional Accountants) is to

look into efficiency of science administration. Both are to be

accomplished within the current calendar year such that their

results can be incorporated into the SC’s final report to the

Regents.

In the midst of all this turmoil and uncertainty,

Smithsonian science has been further set back by rapidly

escalating leadership issues. Following more than a decade of

short-term or acting directors, NMNH’s most recent director,

Robert Fri, resigned in October under pressure from the Castle,

leaving the largest SI science bureau without a director.

Furthermore, a replacement could not possibly be recruited

until the future directions and organization of SI science in

general had been established by the Commission report and the

Castle’s response was in place. In the interim, Secretary Small

appointed Under Secretary Dennis O’Connor to serve as

Acting Director, and Ira Rubinoff, STRI’s very successful

director who had been detailed to Washington for the year, took

up residence at NMNH to assist O’Connor in fund-raising and

other areas. However, in April, just as O’Connor’s efforts were

beginning to produce some real progress at NMNH, he announced

he was leaving his position as Under Secretary and Acting Director

of NMNH at the end of May to take the senior science position at

the University of Maryland. Soon after, Ross Simons, Assistant

Director for Science at NMNH, underwent emergency by-pass

surgury, taking him out of service for several weeks, and Carolyn

Rose, Chair of Anthropology, announced that she would step down,

ill with uterine cancer.

The current science leadership vacuum and the long history

of difficulties

experienced at

NMNH in

maintaining

leadership

continuity

convinced the

Commission to

release an interim

report that was

transmitted to

the Regents and

the Secretary in

early May.

Directed largely

at leadership

issues, the report

recommended

that international

searches be

instituted

immediately to

fill the empty

posts at NMNH

and in the Under Secretary’s office with individuals with

eminent scientific credentials, and in the case of NMNH, with

museum and management skills. The report also noted that the

structure and organization of Smithsonian science was

essentially sound and did not need major reorganization.

At time of printing, it remains to be seen where this roller-coaster

ride will take SI science. The Commission is scheduled to make its

final recommendations in December, but the budget that has been laid

out for the next few years is extremely grim, especially for FY03, in

which the Institution currently has an $12.8 million shortfall in

salaries and expenses. At the same time, Secretary Small is committed

to raise $1.8 billion for renovation of facilities and exhibitions. Given

the national budgetary situation and overseas agendas, the prospects

for the near future are as bleak as any faced since the 1940s.

On the brighter side, however, the work of the Science

Commission has demonstrated that the state of Smithsonian

science is generally excellent and plays an important role in the

national science agenda. While improvements can be made in

many areas, it seems likely that the recommendations made by

the Commission will lead to a new vigor when institutional

priorities will hopefully return once again to the traditional

mother lode of the Smithsonian--its scholarship, its science, and

its collections--which are the truly priceless gems of the

Institution.

Smithsonian Institution Science Commission Members: (standing from left) Warren Wagner,

Peter Raven, Robert Kirshner, Simon Levin, Jeremy Jackson, Stephen Hubbell, Beryl

Simpson, Ilka Feller, William Fitzhugh, Douglas Erwin, Peter Crane (seated from left)

Marvalee Wake, Yolanda Moses, Jeremy Sabloff, James Baker, Alice Alldridge, Bruce

Campbell.
ASC Newsletter 7

A S C A N C H O R A G E

TREASURES FROM THE PAST: THE ALASKAN

COLLECTIONS PROJECT

By Aron Crowell

Two delegations of Elders from Unalakleet, Nome, and

Gambell recently visited the Smithsonian Institution in Washington,

D.C. to look at clothing, tools, and other items made long ago by

Native residents of Norton Sound and St. Lawrence Island. The

Smithsonian’s Arctic Studies Center in Anchorage arranged the trips

in May and September 2001 as part of its statewide Alaska

Collections Project funded by the Rasmusen Foundation, Phillips

Petroleum and the Museum Loan Network. Kawerak and its

Eskimo Heritage Program, directed by Branson Tungiyan, helped

organize the trips, with additional help from Art Ivanoff,

Repatriation Officer for the Unalakleet Tribal Council. Elders

visited two different Smithsonian museums – the National Museum

of Natural History (NMNH) and the National Museum of the

American Indian (NMAI) – to carry out their work.

The result of the project will be an educational web site featuring

information provided by the Elders, in addition to museum exhibitions

and educational materials for use in the schools. Kawerak region

Elders who have participated in this exciting program are Jacob

Ahwinona (Nome), Francis Charles (Unalakleet), Anna Etageak

(Unalakleet), Oscar Koutachak (Unalakleet), Theresa Nanouk

(Unalakleet), Estelle Oosevaseuk

(Gambell), and Marie Saclamana

(Nome).

Dr. Aron Crowell, described the

goals and results of the Alaska Collections

Project at the Bering Straits Regional

Elders and Youth Conference in May. He

noted that important connections between

past and present were explored during the

discussions in Washington. Among the

most important is the subsistence way of

life. Hunting, fishing, and the harvest of

wild plant foods remain an essential part

of Inupiaq and St. Lawrence Island Yup’ik

life today. As Francis Charles stated, “We

live out in the country most of the time.

Well, all my life. I still go out hunting for my food – greens, berries,

drive my own motor and boat.”

The participants provided valuable information about a wide

range of other topics, from the manufacture of skin clothing and

kayaks to traditional medical practices. Anna Etageak drew on her

life-long experience as a skin sewer to describe the process of

making waterproof parkas and tent coverings from seal intestines.

Oscar Koutchak demonstrated the use of the mi’kaq (crooked knife)

for carving wooden bowls and Estelle Oosevaseuk explained the

game called meteghlluwaaq, in which each player tosses a handful of

small ivory birds into the air to see how many will land right side

up. All of the Elders helped to record the names of the objects in

their Native languages.

To help share the results of the Alaska Collections Project,

Kaniqsirugut News will publish several photographs of Kawerak

region items from the Smithsonian in each issue, along with some of

the Elders’ comments. We invite readers to write us with additional

facts or memories about how these items were made and used.

NET FOR BELUGA WHALES

by Jennifer McCarty (reprinted from Kaniqsirugut News)

 “My son Peter makes his own nets.” —Theresa Nanouk,

Unalakleet

“One night my dad caught six beluga in a net. They were towing

two whales, one on each side of the boat, and four were being towed

in the back.” —Oscar Koutchak, Unalakleet

On May 7 through to May 11 of last year, Unalakleet Elders

Anna Etageak, Theresa Nanouk, Oscar Koutchak and Frances

Charles travelled to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington,

D.C. as part of the statewide Alaska Collections Project, sponsored

by the National Museum of Natural History’s Arctic Studies

Center, with the National Musuem of the American Indian.

Several groups of Elders from all around Alaska are studying

objects in the Smithsonian collections and providing information

that will be shared through exhibitions, a web site, and classroom

materials. As a way to continue the reciprocal exchange of

information, the Arctic Studies Center is publishing articles similar

to this one in Nome’s Bering Straits regional newsletter,

Kaniqsirugut News. The last issue of Kaniqsirugut News featured

Iñupiaq and St. Lawrence Island Yupik ice-scratchers used for seal

hunting; in this article, we are featuring the whale net pictured

below. Additional objects will be featured in future issues.

Inupiaq people made beluga whale

nets similar to this one for hundreds of

years. This particular net was probably

made in the late 1800s to the early 1900s

in Unalakleet. Traditionally, these nets

were made of long strips of oogrook

(bearded seal) skin (known to some as

“babiche”). The strips are woven

together. Softened in the sea and

stretched out to its full length, the

resulting whale net would be about 80

feet long. It had a very large mesh—larger

than those made to catch king salmon,

which have a mesh size of about 8 3⁄4

inches. Today, hunters use king salmon

nets for catching belugas. Few, however,

use babiche. Most people, Oscar said, have king salmon nets made

with 72-strand cotton twine.

Oscar Koutchak explained that it takes two people to make

babiche—one to hold one end while the other holds the opposite

end with one hand and cuts very thin strips with the other. “Pretty

soon the seal skin comes to nothing,” Koutchak said. “It’s all

hanging to dry, they stretch it longways around,” he said, making a

circular motion above his head. “When it dries real good...it

contracts, gets real hard. It’s better than rope.”

Attached to a whale net like this one would be wooden floats

tied to the top edge of the net about every eight or ten feet using a

two to three foot length of seal rope. Rocks would be used for

sinkers, along the bottom edge and two larger anchoring rocks would

be tied to the bottom on each end. Theresa Nanouk explained where

the nets were set, “They set it out in the ocean, where it’s deep, so

when the whales go by, they get caught in there.” Oscar Koutchak

clarified that someone setting a net would have to go out different

distances depending on where along the Bering Sea coastline that

Net for beluga whales, from the collection of the

National Museum of the American Indian
ASC Newsletter 8

person was located. “Up in Egavik,” he said, “in front of my

wife’s family’s house, [they set the net] about 150 feet from

the shore. It’s real deep there.”

In the springtime, Koutchak said beluga whales follow the

Norton Sound shoreline and pass Unalakleet on their way to the

high arctic to molt. Through their picture window Koutchak and

his wife would see the whales traveling in pods:

“One time, the sun was just in a perfect position for them

when they were migrating...must have been about a mile, mile and a

half out, and my wife, she said, ‘Look out there!’ And I looked, and

there were some spouts—the sun was over there—just a perfect

position for the spouts...they kept going...must have been about

30 or 40 beluga.”

Koutchak said that if they are caught, they can’t back out and

escape: “...they struggle enough that the net goes deeper and deeper

and gets caught around the beluga’s neck”, he says.

When the whale is finally caught people go out in boats and

pull the whale in, dragging it through the water to the sandy shore,

where it is butchered. We asked Nanouk how beluga muktuk (the

blubber and thick skin of the whale) is shared. She replied matterof-factly but with a twinkle in her eye, “Well, you just have to tell

everybody they have to come get some, a piece. While you’re

cutting it.”

AN INTENSE EXPERIENCE IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

by Branson Tungiyan

On September 8 through the 18th, I had the priviledge of

accompanying a group of Elders from Alaska’s Bering Strait region

to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American

Indian and National Museum of Natural History in Washington,

DC. The intent of this trip was to identify and name objects for the

Arctic Studies Center’s Alaska Collections Project, but the timing

led to unexpected events.

The Elders on this second Alaska Collections Project trip were

Estelle Oozevaseuk - Gambell/St. Lawrence Island, Marie

Saclamana - King Island/Nome, and Jacob Ahwinona - White

Mountain/Nome. Also with the group were Aron Crowell, Director

of the Arctic Studies Center Program in Anchorage and Suzi Jones,

Deputy Director of the Anchorage Museum of History and Art.

Unlike the first group of Elders—who were all from

Unalakleet—this group was comprised of different groups from the

Bering Strait region. The objects that were initially planned to be

examined, identified,

and named would

have been a much

greater number than

the Unalakleet

group. Due to

events that occurred

on September 11,

2001, they were not.

However, these

Elders did their best,

especially as two

language groups -

Inupiaq and St.

Lawrence Island

Yupik - were represented. Much discussion, at times lengthy,

occurred between the Smithsonian staff and the Elders. Many

stories were told in order to

give the background history

of certain objects from the

Bering Strait/Norton Sound/

St. Lawrence Island

collections.

It was on the second

day of identifying and

naming objects at NMAI

that this became an

“intense” experience. We

were busy looking at some

of the most unique objects,

when Terry Snowball, a

staff member of NMAI, came in and told us that we better take a

coffee break. Then, he told us what had happened: terrorist-hijacked

planes had crashed into the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon.

What shocking news that was! And to watch the events unfolding

on the television...it was unbelievable! The whole world seemed to

have stopped with that single moment.

At this time, I want to say a little about Terry Snowball. He

had asked us the previous day if we would like to have buffalo stew.

Of course, I said “yes” because myself and the Elders had never

tried it. Well, he had brought the stew that morning for our lunch.

But then all federal buildings had to be evacuated. Mr. Snowball

took all of us, including some staff members, to his house in

Waldorf, Maryland. And of course then we were able to have that

stew. Such great generosity will never be forgotten.

Bill Fitzhugh is another person that shows great admiration

for Native people. Bill Fitzhugh is the Director for the Arctic

Studies Center at the Smithsonian Institution. The kind hospitality

that he provides to the visitors—he always invites all the visitors

for a “smorgasbord” at his house—is unforgettable.

This was indeed a memorable trip. I can remember the pleased

reactions from the staffers when Estelle Oozevaseuk tried to

demonstrate a game with meteghlluwaaghet, or small ivory birds.

Another time, Jabob Ahwinona tried to unfold a sealskin gut

raincoat, which had become dry from many years of storage. These

small events that happened on this trip made it more enjoyable,

especially under the circumstances. There was also a little birthday

party for Estelle Oozevseuk’s 83 years in Igor Krupnik’s office.

Finally, it was rejuvenating, particularly for the Elders, to visit

Chesapeake Bay and to see the ocean, as it reminded them of their

subsistence livelihood back in Alaska.

Although we didn’t identify as many objects as the first group,

we accomplished what we were there to do. There is a great wealth

of historical objects at the Smithsonian Institution that would be

exciting for any Elder. I believe that the Alaska Collections Project is

making all Alaska Natives aware for the first time that the

Smithsonian has so many carefully preserved Alaska Native objects

from the past. Looking at these objects once again brings up

wonderful memories about our ancestors and the things they once

used.

In conclusion, I would like to thank Aron Crowell, for making

it possible, Jennifer McCarty for her logistical help, Suzi Jones,

Bill Fitzhugh, Elizabeth Ward, Stephen Loring, Igor Krupnik,

Lars Krutak, Terry Snowball, Jim Pepper Henry, and all of the

other staffers that made us feel welcome on this “intense” but still

rewarding trip to Washington, DC. Again, thank you on behalf of

Estelle Oozevaseuk, Marie Saclamana, and Jacob Ahwinona and

myself, Branson Tungiyan.

Jacob Ahwinona, Inupiaq of Nome, (right) and

Branson Tungiyan of St. Lawrence Island, study

an ivory pipe.

Elder Estelle Oozevaseuk, of St.

Lawrence Island, at NMAI’s CRC
ASC Newsletter 9

AN INTERN’S ACCOUNT OF YUP’IK VISIT

By Frank Zeccola

The latest consultation visit, on April 22-26, 2002, included

Yup’ik Elders from the Yukon-Kuskokwin Delta region. I had the

opportunity to spend an afternoon observing and absorbing this

process, and below I have recorded my perceptions of the

event.

I arrived at the Museum Support Center shortly after

lunchtime, just as the objects were being taken out of storage for

discussion, and the consultation was about to begin.

The four Yup’ik Elders sit around a rectangular table, talking

quietly, joking and laughing with each other as everything is

carefully and meticulously prepared. The lighting for the camera is

adjusted, fresh tapes are placed in the two tape machines on the

table, the microphones are set up, and the documents explaining

the items in the collection are sorted through. As I take my seat

to the right of the table, I am fully aware that I am a part of

something very special. For although this is the third day of

looking at and discussing the collections with this group of

Elders and researchers, it is clearly visible that everyone in the

room still felt the excitement of experiencing something

incredible.

When everything is ready,

Dr. Aron Crowell steps to the

front of the table to introduce me

to the group. Sitting at the head

of the table on the left side is Dr.

Joan Hamilton from Chevak,

translator and Director of the

Yupiit Piciryarait Cultural

Center and Museum in Bethel,

Alaska. The Yup’ik man to her

right is Mr. John Phillip Sr.,

from Kangiganak at the mouth of

the Kuskokwim River. Mrs.

Neva Rivers from Hooper Bay

and Mrs. Virginia Minock from

Pilot Station, on the lower

Yukon River, sit to the right of

Mr. Phillip. Also present is Dr.

Anne Fienup-Riordan, an

expert on the Yup’ik region,

Dr. Suzi Jones, Deputy Director of the Anchorage Museum of

History and Art, videographer Barbara Johnson, and Jennifer

McCarty, Alaska Outreach Coordinator for the Arctic Studies

Center.

After these brief introductions, the first object is

presented. The examination of each object will serve as a

starting point for discussion of cultural, social, and spiritual

insight. Each participant wears white gloves, taking special care

in handling the artifacts. Dr. Crowell reads aloud the collection

information, which indicates that the object is a model of a fish

trap, acquired by the museum in 1910. It is a long, cylindrical,

conical, hollow wooden trap made from split willow wood. The

Elders converse in Yup’ik for some time, Mr. Phillip speaking

mostly at first. These conversations in the Native language last

for long stretches of time throughout the event, as the museum

representatives sit quietly waiting for the translation. Finally,

Mr. Phillip comments that the trap is “very well made” from split

willow, a wood that is very pliable and easy to shape. Another

native conversation ensues, shorter this time, and then Dr.

Hamilton explains that traps of this type was were used to catch

blackfish as well as otters and minks. The inner core is

designed so that, once inside the trap, the animal is unable to

get out. Trappers measure a mink-sized opening with three

fingers, and an otter-sized opening with a balled fist. One trap

can hold up to five minks. The Yup’ik hunters would set these

traps in small streams during October or November, and would

check them every other day until summertime.

Although the discussion of the fish trap pertains mostly to

the trap itself, the next object stimulates a deeper cultural

discussion. Dr. Crowell introduces a “crooked knife” with a

metal blade at one end and a sharp point made from walrus rib

bone at the other. The Elders recognize the piece immediately,

nodding their heads and smiling. They announce that all men

used these knives for a variety of different purposes, including

the mending of kayaks, digging, and cutting hair. Yup’ik children

were taught to use these knives at an early age, honing their skills

by cutting little things such as tree branches, and then progressing

to bigger tasks. This prompts the Elders to discuss how, rather

than being spoken of in terms of age and birthdays, Yup’ik

people are evaluated in terms of experience, measured partially

by the skills that they have

acquired in hunting, fishing, and

using tools such as knives and

bows. Mr. Phillip recalls a time

when he felt that he was ready

to begin to learn how to use a

rifle, but the Elders of his village

told him “it’s not time yet.” The

children never questioned the

opinions of older people, and

Mr. Phillip had to wait.

The next object is a bow

collected for the Smithsonian

by Edward W. Nelson in 1888.

Mr. Phillip remarks that he

does not recognize the style of

the bow, although he knows

immediately that it is

constructed from hardwood.

He remembers making bows

like this one for his

grandchildren. Both boys and girls were taught to use the bows

as children. In fact, both boys and girls were taught many skills

for hunting, fishing, and gathering. The bow was used on the

land to hunt bear and caribou, and at sea to hunt seals and birds.

These bows were also used in war, and Mr. Phillip explains that

stories are still told about famous battles. When the children

were young, they used smaller bows and arrows without points

for practice, and then graduated to larger bows when they

developed their skills.

 At this time, I realize that I must head back to my desk

downtown. I leave quietly, and on the way back reflect on

what I have just witnessed. These objects, taken from the

communities in which they were made, and used, over 100 years

ago, are finally now literally back in the hands of representatives

from these communities for a few brief days. It is obvious that

everyone is pleased to have participated in this “reunion.” I am

grateful for the opportunity to have witnessed such a special

event, and I shall remember it always.

Yup’ik Elders (seated from left) Virginia Minock, Neva Rivers, John

Phillip Sr. and Joan Hamilton examine Alaskan artifacts. Aron

Crowell (foreground) and Bill Fitzhugh (background) look on.
ASC Newsletter 10

LOOKING BOTH WAYS EXHIBITION OPENS IN

HOMER, ALASKA

By Aron Crowell

The Arctic Studies Center exhibition Looking Both Ways:

Heritage and Identity of the Alutiiq People wrapped up its

presentation at the Alutiiq Museum in Kodiak on April 6 and

moved to the Pratt Museum in Homer, where it opened on May 3.

Homer (pop. 12,000) is located at the entrance to Kachemak Bay in

lower Cook Inlet, a part of coastal Alaska where indigenous Alutiiq

people have resided for many thousands of years. On May 17,

almost 100 Alutiiq residents of Homer and four nearby villages –

Nanwalek, Port Graham, Seldovia, and Ninilchik – arrived by car,

bush plane, and fishing boat to participate in a community reception

at the Pratt.

The Cook Inlet villages have built strong cultural programs in

recent years, including an Alutiiq language immersion pre-school,

well-known dance groups, archaeology projects, and a revival of

kayak building and other traditional arts. Elders and artists from the

area have worked closely with the Pratt Museum to mount

Tamamta Katuhluta (Everyone Coming Together) an ambitious

semi-annual cultural festival. Several residents, including language

teacher and culture-bearer Feona Sawden and the late educator

Lydia Robart were important contributors to the community-based

development of the Looking Both Ways exhibition. Elder, sealhunter, and kayak builder Nick Tanape of Nanwalek has also

played an important role in the indigenous cultural renaissance of

the Cook Inlet area.

Events hosted by the

Pratt with funding from

the Alaska Humanities

Forum included an evening

reception where guests

feasted on fruits of the

local subsistence harvest:

salmon, halibut, seal oil,

akutaq (“Eskimo ice

cream” made from berries

and shortening), and

chewy marine

invertebrates called

uhhRtaq in the Alutiiq

language (in English,

chitons). Chitons are also

known locally as baidarkies, from the Russian for “little boat,” based

on their resemblance to traditional watercraft of the region.

Representatives of each village welcomed the exhibit at a breakfast

gathering the next morning, where curator Aron Crowell and Elder/

advisor Lucille Antowak Davis were guest speakers.

The installation of Looking Both Ways at the Pratt Museum

was made possible through the dedicated work of the museum’s

staff, including director Michael Hawfield, education curator Gale

Parsons, and collections curator Betsy Webb. The installation team

was led by Alaska tour coordinator Judy Baletka (Anchorage

Museum of History and Art) and by Rick Pelasara and Craig

Huzway of the Smithsonian’s Office of Exhibits Central.

Looking Both Ways will be at the Pratt through September 13,

followed by appearances at the Anchorage Museum of History and

Art, the Alaska State Museum in Juneau, and the National Museum

of Natural History in Washington, D.C. The exhibition catalog is

available from the University of Alaska Press (www.uaf.edu/uapress

or 1-888-252-6657) and educational materials (video, CD-ROM,

and classroom guide) may be purchased through the Arctic Studies

Center web site (www.mnh.si.edu/arctic).

VIKINGS IN CANADA

by Elisabeth Ward

With Norwegian horses, royalty and a Viking ship on hand,

Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga opened at the Canadian Museum

of Civilisation in Hull, Quebec on May 7th. This magnificent

museum, with undulating walls and large interior spaces, sits on the

Ottawa River, just across from the Canadian Parliament Building.

After spending a few days at the museum working with the staff,

giving pre-opening tours and media interviews, Bill Fitzhugh was

inspired to declare the museum the finest museum in North America

to great applause of the assembled crowd on opening night,

including King Haakon and Queen Sonja of Norway, Governor

General of Canada Adrienne Clarkson, and Premier Jonathan

Motzfeldt of Greenland.

However, the impressiveness of the venue and the dedication of

the staff were not the only factors that made this an excellent place to

hold the Viking exhibition. The CMC was an important lender to the

exhibition, supplying most of the artifacts that dealt with the question

of contact between Norse and Native peoples, and Patricia

Sutherland was a member of the

original curatorial team responsible for

developing the exhibition content. From

the very outset the CMC was identified

as one of the leading venues for the

exhibition tour.

Beyond the significant

involvement of the CMC staff, the

history of the Norse in North America

is truly a Canadian story, and as such

this exhibition, celebrating the 1,000

year anniversary of the arrival of

Vikings in North America, belongs in

Canada’s capital more than anywhere

else in the world. All the authentic

Viking and Norse artifacts found in

North America, save one - the Norse

penny from Maine - were found in Canada. This contradicts early

theories of Norse explorations in North America, based on the sagas,

which assumed that Leif Eriksson and his followers would have

naturally continued southward. One of the main points of the

exhibition was new reserach analyzing the northern perspective of

the Norse, and their proclivity for arctic and sub-arctic

environments rather than temperate regions.

Of course, the exhibition was meant to highlight this information.

In fact, the reason why the exhibition was organized in the United

States and toured so extensively there was a Nordic Council decision

based on the large population of Nordic descendants in the US who

know so little about recent research into their Viking ancestors.

Bill Fitzhugh and Elisabeth Ward were therefore surprised

when an Ottawa citizen review of the exhibition took pains to point

out the lack of U.S. participation in the Viking past, save through

E X H I B I T I O N S

Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga opening at CMC in Ottawa, May 7,
ASC Newsletter 11

the popular conception of Scandinavian immigrants to the U.S.

The reporter who started his article on the exhibition with,

“Americans are suffering from a severe case of Viking envy,” while

trying to be a bit tongue in cheek, seemed to enjoy the education gap

between Americans and Canadians when it comes to understanding

the historic role of the Vikings. From reading the review, which

included such gems as, “the Canadian museum..[got] thanked in fine

print at the back of the catalogue along with Iceland, Greenland and

all the other American allies,” one would think the exhibition left

Canada out, which is surely not the case. It was a sobering example

of the realities of Canadian-US politics.

One thing the reviews of the exhibition certainly were correct

to identify was the exciting new research being done on the CMC

Arctic archaeological collections by Patricia Sutherland. This

research points to contacts between the Norse in Greenland and the

Dorset, a paleo-eskimo population that lived in Arctic Canada from

500 B.C. to 1300 A.D. Pat Sutherland’s Helluland Project has been

looking at the collections of Father Rouselliere’s archaeological digs

at Dorset sites on Baffin Island and Richard Jordans 1977-8

excavations at the Avagalik Island site in northern Labrador as part

of the Smithsonian-Bryn Mawr Torngat Project. Evidence from

woven animal hairs, wooden artifacts, and depictions of human

faces may yet prove more extensive contact between Norse and

Dorset, if the radiocarbon dates can be reconciled.

The excitement of a black-tie gala, argumentative media, and

intriguing new research made the opening of Vikings at the CMC

truly an event to remember.

MODREN MONGOLIA EXHIBIT OPENS AND

FIELDWORK HEATS UP!

by Elise Krueger

On July 3rd, NMNH opened a new exhibit illustrating the

experiences of modern day Mongolians and Genghis Kahn’s

continuing legacy in the region. Entilted Modern Mongolia:

Reclaiming Genghis Khan, the exhibit consists of a collection of

artifacts, photographs and hands-on displays, which allow the

visitors to experience Mongolian life. The University of

Pennsylvania’s Paula Sabloff organized this exhibit with assistance

from the National Museum of Mongolian History, which

contributed many of the items on display. Dr. Sabloff and Dr.

Ichinnorov, Director of the NMMH, were on hand to officially

open the exhibition at NMNH, the second stop on its tour after

premiering at the University of Pennsylvania. Modern Mongolia

runs from July 3rd to October 31st at NMNH, and is accompanied

by a book of the same title edited by Paula Sabloff.

Perhaps one of the most exciting features of the exhibit are the

three life-size gers, traditional Mongolian homes, which illustrate

how the nomadic Mongolian lifestyle has changed over the last

century. One of the purposes of Modern Mongolia is to show how

the shifts in 20thcentury governments, from feudal to communist,

and then to democratic, have affected the everyday lives of both

nomads and settled communities. Each ger recreates a Mongolian

home as it would most likely have existed under each of the three

political systems. Using material culture to express political change

in an exhibition is a novel approach developed by Dr. Sabloff, who

is a political anthropologist.

Also key to this exhibit are four films, made specifically for

this exhibition, which provide a historic background to the exhibit,

helping to clarify the relationship between Genghis Kahn and

present-day Mongolians and their democratic ideals, some eight

centuries later. Mongolians are turning to Genghis Khan’s

administration as a model of an endemic state political system

which depended on regional and individual level participation.

Unique to the installation of the exhibition in Washington is a

cast of a Mongolian deerstone, thanks to the efforts of Bill Fitzhugh.

On Bill’s trip to Mongolia summer 2001, he was greatly impressed by

the beauty, mystery, and antiquity of these Bronze Age monuments.

So he convinced the two model-makers of the SI Office of Exhibits

Central, Carolyn Thome and Paul Rhymer, to travel with him to

Mongolia this summer and make a cast of a stone in situ, creating a

replica back in their studio. Installing a cast of a deerstone at the

Smithsonian should demonstrate for museum visitors the unique

heritage of Mongolians and the richness of their culture. This cast will

be the first deerstone to be exhibited outside of Mongolia.

In conjunction with the exhibition, and as a follow up to Bill’s

trip to Mongolia last summer, NMNH and the ASC has begun a

new research initiative focused on Mongolia. Bill Fitzhugh and

Matt Gallon recently visited Mongolia along with NMNH

anthropologist Dan Rogers, and botanists Paula Depriest and

Susan Lutz in order to look at deerstone sites, reindeer herding

patterns and lichen diversity, and the development of urban centers.

We will have more about this in future additions of the ASC

Newsletter as this long-term multi-disciplinary research program

evolves. The opening up of Mongolia has created a unique and

exciting opportunity which Bill hopes will inspire new interest

among western scholars in this little-known and only recently

accessible area of Central Asia.

Elisabeth Ward explains the significance of Viking artifacts at the

CMC opening.

Inside view of ger illustrating early 20th century feudal life in

Mongolia. This ger along with two other half gers display

different periods in recent Mongolian history.
ASC Newsletter 12

O U T R E A C H

WEBSITE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

By Elisabeth Ward

In 1994, the world wide web revolution was just gaining speed:

companies were becoming aware of the possibilities of e-business,

researchers were excited about the free exchange of information, and

brave individuals began setting up personal pages. But the internet

had hardly become the mainstay of our daily lives, both at work and

at home, that it is today. In those uncertain waters, the Arctic

Studies Center first established its web presence, which went live in

1995. Because very few units at the Smithsonian at this time had

generated websites, there were no rules or templates to guide the

ASC in its endeavor. Consequently, in helping to pioneer a

Smithsonian style website, Ted Timreck of Timreck Productions,

who had collaborated with Bill Fitzhugh on film projects, solicited

his friends John

and Kathy

Prusinki of S2N

Media to help

design the new

site. The end

product was a

site teeming with

information as

befitting the

knowledge

contained at the

Smithsonian,

paired with a

liberal use of

bright colors and

backgrounds.

The site featured

articles about

current issues,

including

repatriation, research at the National Science Foundation, an

overview of ASC research in Yamal, a virtual version of the

Crossroads of the Continents exhibition, and an announcement of

the creation of our Alaskan Office. And so a standard of informative

and attractive website design was established. Furthermore, the

inclusion of the extremely popular “Polar Pairs” game, intended to

help kids learn about arctic animals, made the site attractive to a

wide audience, and over the years this combination has earned the

site a number of awards for excellence in educational and humanities

based websites.

Since the development of the first ASC website, we have

continued to add new features, particularly information about

exhibition projects such as Yupik Mask: Our Way of Making Prayer

and Ainu: Spirit of a Northern People. For our other major

exhibition projects, Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga, and Looking

Both Ways: Heritage and Identity of the Alutiiq People, we developed

independent websites linked to the ASC site highlighted as features.

These projects were able to include a web presence primarily

because they were well funded, and money was set aside for

developing a website.

Such was not the case with the ASC website in general. For

over six years, the content originally posted on the site sat virtually

untouched, save a few minor and critical changes. That alone

The new and improved Arctic Studies Center homepage.

warranted a fresh look at the content to determine if it truly

reflected the ASC’s expansion over the years. At the same time, the

general web environment had evolved as well: people are more

savvy about utilizing the web for specific information; technological

advances had increased screen size and multi-media capabilities; and

an esthetic of easily navigable sites had definitely emerged, along

with Smithsonian guidelines of accessibility.

Thanks to the support of the National Museum of the

American Indian, our own ASC funds secured from sales of the

Viking catalogue, and some grant funds from the Rasmusson

Foundation, Nippon Foundation, and Smithsonian Scholarly

Studies Funds, we were able to cobble together enough money to

give the ASC site a badly needed facelift, and to add several new

components. We were fortunate that S2N Media was able to fit this

project into their busy schedule after submitting a wonderful, cost

effective bid. We were

also lucky to have the

assistance of Sara

Gonzales, a student

from the University of

California, San Diego,

whose internship

focused on the website

update. Her fresh

perspective on the site

and her dedicated work

in gathering all of the

pieces together were a

tremendous help.

The first phase of

the facelift is now

complete, and we invite

you to see, and

hopefully admire, the

results, posted at

www.mnh.si.edu/arctic.

You’ll notice a new homepage look and feel, which includes a

watermark of the circumpolar world. Fortunately, during her stay

with us, Sara had pointed out something the rest of us had missed:

the original ASC website had no map of the Arctic! So, we tried to

rectify that both on the homepage and as a downloadable PDF file

in the “Resources” section. Sara spent a great deal of time

developing additional components for that section by pouring over

the many comments we have received over the years from visitors,

resulting in an arctic glossary, frequently asked questions, and

updated weblinks. This section also contains “Tools for Teachers”

a listing of educational material such as teachers guides, CD Roms,

and videos we have produced in conjunction with our projects. We

hope to be able to expand on these offerings in the future.

Another newly created section of the website is

“Publications.” This link lists our newsletter issues, the exhibition

catalogues we have worked on, and several of the more important

staff publications, as well as ways people can obtain these

publications. But the main purpose of this section is to highlight

our newly created series, Contributions to Circumpolar

Anthropology (see article page 20). The first title, Gateways:

Exploring the Legacy of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, 1897

1902, is now available, just in time for the 100 year Jesup

anniversary. Our website contains information about the volume
ASC Newsletter 13

and an order form for the book. Unfortunately, the Smithsonian

cannot process orders directly from our website, but we hope many

people will e-mail, fax, or mail us the form to support our efforts in

independent scholarly publishing. We will certainly be updating this

section of the website as new titles are added, including Honoring our

Elders: The History of North American Arctic Archaeology, a

festschrift in honor of Elmer Harp, which will be available this fall.

The Alaska Office pages were also revamped to expresses more

accurately the special mandate of that office to work with and for

Native Alaskans. Several other components were edited, and a few,

such as “Northern Clans, Northern Peoples,” were deleted in lieu of

a forthcoming statement of the Kennewick Man controversy by the

Anthropology Department as a whole. The staff pages were

updated, with a friendlier bio statement and more recent

photographs, and a listing of internship possibilities has been

posted, originally developed by the ASC outreach coordinator in

Anchorage, Jennifer McCarty. In addition to these major changes,

throughout the website you will notice an attractive and easy to use

side navigation tool bar, which we hope will encourage people to

explore our entire site.

But wait, there is more! This is but phase one of the update.

The next two phases will focus on developing new components

based on recent and ongoing research that is presently not

represented on our website. Perhaps the most glaring omission is a

component focusing on Labrador, where Stephen Loring and Bill

Fitzhugh have been working for years, and where most of our

important research discoveries have been made. We continue to

look for funds for a major website, but in the meantime, we plan to

develop a modest component that captures the people, places, and

history of Labrador.

In addition, we will be posting a wonderful new component on

the Ainu exhibition which utilizes 360 degree views of each exhibit

room, close ups of objects with captions, video clips of Chisato

Dubreiul, Bill Fitzhugh, and others discussing the exhibition, and

Ainu music. Finally, the Alaska Collection Project (see pages 7-9),

which is itself still in its early stages, will require a major web

presence to fulfill its mandate to make the collections accessible to

Native communities, which we hope to begin in the fall.

So, bookmark us and keep checking back!

ATANARJUAT PREMIERES

By Frank Zeccola

On Friday night, February 15th, 2002, Zacharias Kunuk’s

award winning film Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner, the first-ever

dramatic film with an all-Inuit production and Inuit language

screenplay, premiered at the National Geographic Society

headquarters in the Gilbert H. Grosvenor Auditorium. Sponsored

by National Geographic and the Embassy of Canada, the film was

screened in a benefit for National Geographic’s new “Cultures

Initiative” which aimes to preserve cultures at risk. Atanarjuat: The

Fast Runner won the prestigious Camera d’Or prize at the 2001

Cannes Film Festival, where the film premiered, and was recently

named Best Canadian Feature at the Toronto International Film

Festival. Retelling a thousand-year-old traditional Inuit legend,

Atanarjuat paints a simple love story set in the 16th century arctic

region of Igloolik. The Inuit cast, consisting of Natar Ungulaaq,

Peter-Henry Amatsiaq, Lucy Tulugarjuk, and Sylvia Ivalu,

portray the tale of true love conquering an arranged marriage while

presenting the traditional Inuit way of life, from the elaborate facial

tattoos worn by women to the hunter’s sleds built from caribou

antlers and sinew. Throughout the film, director Zacharias Kunuk

illustrates the importance of putting group needs above individual

desires as he simultaneously destroys the aboriginal stereotypes

which plague native people today. The film opened commercially in

the United States on June 7th, 2002.

 Zacharias Kunuk was recognized by the Smithsonian Institution

in 1993, when he was awarded the Andris Slapins Memorial Film

Award, by the Arctic Studies Center, for his film entitled “Nunaqpa.”

When Kunuk began writing films in the 1980’s, he explored different

ways of telling his people’s story based on Inuit oral storytelling

traditions, which have been silenced by fifty years of religious

propaganda, schools, television, and popular movie portrayals of

Native Americans. Kunuk’s quest has been to bring Inuit storytelling

into the new Millennium, to give a voice to Inuit elders before they

pass away, to strengthen the Inuit community through an accurate

representation of Inuit life, and to save Inuit people from repression.

The Slapins Award, funded by a grant from the Trust for Mutual

Understanding supports filmmakers working with northern

voices and communities.

The award is named for Andris Slapins, a Latvian filmmaker

who conducted film projects with the Smithsonian in Siberia,

Alaska, and Labrador in the late 1980’s. Slapins is best known in

North America for his contributions to Crossroads of Continents:

Cultures of Siberia and Alaska, a travelling exhibition produced

jointly by the Smithsonian, the Institute of Ethnography of the

USSR, and Canadian and American museums. Slapins also

documented the demise of the Soviet Union, and was killed by

snipers in January of 1991while filming a populist uprising on

Latvia’s interior ministry in Riga, for a follow-up to the 1990 film

“Homeland,” by Juris Podnieks which Slapins filmed.

The Slapins award is a memorial honoring the life and work of

Andris Slapins, and is given by the ASC to his colleagues as they

document northern peoples and cultures in a manner consistent with

Andris’s ideals of honesty, beauty, art, respect, and courage.

Previous recipients of the award include:

1991: Mark Soosaar for “Man of Kihnu Island” and

Woman of Kihnu”

1992: Asen Balikci and Mark Badger for “Siberia

through Siberian Eyes”

1993: Zacharias Kunuk for “Nunaqpa”

1994: Andrei Golovnev, of Tobolosk, Russia, for “Gods

of Yamal”

1995: Nigel Markham, of St. John’s Newfoundland, for

“Hunters and Brothers”

1997: Sven Haakanson, of Kodiak, Alaska, for “Nenets

Reindeer Herders of Yamal, Western Siberia”

1998: Sara Elder, of Buffalo New York, for “Shooting

Films with Alaskan Native Communities: A Retrospective

Look at the Alaska Native Heritage Center, 1972-1998"

2000: Katherine Harris, of the Micmac tribe, for “Spirit

World”

The commercial showing of Kunuk’s Atanarjuat: The Fast

Runner demonstrates the maturing of native films from underacknowledged masterpieces to widespread commercial successes.

To promote the future success of northern filmmakers, a session at

the World Archeological Conference in Washington DC in 2003 will

be held by the ASC to support native films. That will mark the end

of the annual Andris Slapins award, which has been generously

supported by The Trust for Mutual Understanding.
ASC Newsletter 14

R E S E A R C H

RESEARCH IN IGLOOLIK, NUNAVUT

By Jennifer Shannon

In 2004, the National Museum of the American Indian,

currently under construction on the national Mall in Washington,

DC, will open its doors to the public. The inaugural exhibitions will

include three galleries featuring 26 Native communities from

throughout the Western Hemisphere. Each gallery is developed

through direct and ongoing consultation with Native community

members. During each phase of exhibit development, community

members select, revise and approve the content of their exhibit.

This iterative process, with community-defined content and

community-directed research, reflects the NMAI’s commitment to

Native authority and self-representation.

The Inuit community of Igloolik, Nunavut, will be one of eight

Native communities represented in the Our Lives gallery, which

focuses on contemporary Native identities. Located on a small

island in Foxe Basin, Igloolik is a community of approximately 1300

people who live in prefabricated houses situated along the arch of

Turton Bay, facing a flat expanse of ice and snow that reaches to the

horizon. Behind the town lies the only piece of elevated land on the

island—a small hill, or plateau—where the community’s cemeteries

are located.

Igloolik was selected as part of this inaugural exhibition for a

number of reasons. Geographically, at the time that work began on

the Our Lives gallery, no community from the eastern arctic or the

new Native territory of Nunavut was represented in the inaugural

exhibitions. The Inullariit Society’s Oral History project

(containing interviews with elders since the early 1980s) and the

Igloolik Research Center drew us to this particular community

within the territory, as did its reputation for cultural initiatives

between elders and youth. In addition, the Nunavut Department of

Culture, Language, Elders and Youth, its archive headquarters and

the Social and Development Council are all located in this small

community.

In June 2001, I traveled to Igloolik with Cynthia Chavez,

curator of the Our Lives gallery, to invite the community to

participate in the exhibition. At this time, the town seemed deserted

because most of the Igloolik residents were camping out on the land

for the summer, a tradition that the Inuit have practiced for

hundreds of years. But, we met with members of the Inullariit

Society (an elders’ society), who accepted our invitation and

designated a group of six “co-curators” with whom we would work

closely to develop the exhibit. These elders recommended that we

plan our next visit for the fall, when more people would be in town

after returning from camping out on the land, and the children would

be back in school.

I returned to Igloolik that November, and then again in April

2002. During these visits, it was important to develop the content

for the exhibit, as well as to encourage wider community

participation and awareness of the project. As the Lead

Researcher for the Our Lives gallery, I conducted workshops with

the co-curators, gave presentations to high school classes, held

meetings for young people, attended student council and youth

committee meetings, talked about our project on the local radio

station, attended Hamlet Council meetings and conducted

individual interviews with community members of all ages. I also

put up posters about the exhibit and visited the various

organizations in town.

During my April trip, a man with whom I was visiting in the

community suggested that I go seal hunting with him to experience

life out on the land, and to see people dressed in sealskin boots at

the floe edge. When I asked how long we would be gone, he said we

would be back in time for the hockey game on TV— the Toronto

Maple Leafs were playing the Rangers that evening. However, the

hunting trip that afternoon was postponed for a few hours because

his Internet connection at work was down and he needed to send off

an email before closing up for the day. Unfortunately, the wind

picked up, and, because of the poor weather conditions, we decided

to cancel the trip.

I have yet to experience being out on the land. To be with

people as they are in town, and to not share their life on the land, is

to understand only half of what this community and their lives are

about. For this reason, community consultation and participation is

so important to these exhibits. From our perspective, the

community members are the experts on their own lives and their

community: they bring their own experiences, insights and direction

into how their community should be presented and what

information and materials should be included in their exhibit. From

there, NMAI provides the means, resources, suggestions and

expertise on how to organize and create the exhibit.

Now that we have established a relationship and ongoing

consultation with community members, we realize there are many

more reasons why this community is a valuable component to a

gallery that confronts stereotypes and takes on complex issues of

Native identity, the challenges that face Native people, and the

strategies they use to create and maintain the balance and vibrancy

of their communities today.

In Igloolik, a hunting trip can be postponed due to slow Internet

connections, or shortened to catch a game on TV. People wear caribou

skin parkas with Gore-Tex pants, or hunt using gaffs made with metal

hooks lashed to ice hockey sticks. There are teen dances with strobe

lights and Daft Punk, and Return of the Sun festivals with qulliqs

(stone oil lamps) and ayaya songs. Walking past peoples’ yards, I saw

frozen seals, stretched caribou skins, Skidoos, sleds, Jeeps, a dog

team, and even a violin. When I was invited into peoples’ homes,

there were teapot collections, scary movies, country foods (like

caribou meat) in containers on the kitchen floor, fermented walrus

meat outside in the snow next to the porch and the Lord’s Prayer

hanging on the wall. Igloolik is a place where each person and each

family strikes their own balance, and the people are adjusting—not to

being either traditional or innovative—but to find, as one Inuk

explained to me, “what works.”

COINCIDENCE OR SYMBOL? STUDIES OF

GREENLANDIC CLOTHING

By Mariane Petersen

Between March 29-31, I attended a conference entitled “Arctic

Clothing of North America, Alaska, Canada, and Greenland,” as the

representative of the Greenland National Museum and Archives.

The conference was held at the British Museum in London,

England, and was hosted by the Department of Ethnography. Three

Greenlandic women skin-sewers also participated. Today, many

Greenlandic women still continue to make skin clothing, including

those at the Arnat Ilinniarfiat, The Women’s High School in

Sisimiut, West Greenland, who carry on ancient skin treatment and
ASC Newsletter 15

sewing traditions, and

others who produce

modern clothing woven

from tanned skins.

Each of the women

discussed different

aspects of Greenlandic

clothing: the national

costume, the use of

different skins in these

garments, and the

production of replicas

of the Qilakitsoq

Mummy costumes for a

museum in Greenland.

I also contributed

to the conference as a

participant. Our conservator and I displayed and discussed various

traditional Greenlandic costume parts, including costumes made

from the skins of birds, foxes and seals, as well as the amaat, which

is a special garment use by women which has a large hood for

carrying a baby. Polar bear skin trousers for men and boys, short

fox-skin trousers for women, and footwear were also presented. All

of these costumes had been used at some point between the late

nineteenth century and the 1930’s and were part of a return from

the Danish National Museum in Copenhagen to the Greenland

National Museum and Archives. The return included costumes and

parts of costumes collected originally from the Thule area in the late

nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as well as other costumes

from various parts of Greenland dating to this same period.

My contribution focused primarily on two of these costumes

which raised several complicated questions that have interested me

for years, and I have still been unable to completely answer them.

The questions were addressed to the audience, accompanied by

slides displaying these phenomena. I am hoping readers of this

article can also help me discover the answers. One of the questions

concerns the presence of fox claws that are found in the fox-skin

trousers of Thule women; the other question is the meaning of a

strange boot pattern found in the footwear of the Ammassalik

District in East Greenland from the end of the nineteenth century to

the middle of the twentieth.

When I examined the costumes that were returned to

Greenland, I noticed that the women’s fox-skin trousers had fox

paws placed between the legs. The paws projected backwards

below the crotch and were sewn on both sides so that the claws

faced in opposite directions with a short distance between them.

On one pair of trousers there were fox-paws with three claws on

each side facing one another, and on another there were two claws.

Immediately I wondered what could be the meaning of these paws

and their positioning? Why were the claws placed just there,

between the legs? Are they symbols? If so, what do they

symbolize? Even on a pair of fox-skin trousers of more recent date,

I found similar fox-paws with one claw on each side.

First we began looking for possible explanations in the Thule

area, where the costumes were found. We sent an enquiry to the

Qaanaq/Thule museum requesting assistance and ideas from elderly

people who might remember the meaning of these paws, but these

enquiries produced no satisfactory answers. So I adopted a more

direct approach and began asking people myself. Most people

thought the appearance of these claws indicated that the

seamstresses were attempting to use every part of the fox in making

their clothing while others thought it probably meant nothing. The

first answer seems to make the most sense. But then why leave the

claws in the trousers? And why place them between the legs?

It is possible that the people in Thule have repressed their

knowledge of the meaning of these trousers because they associate

them with heathen times. Such repression is common among Thule

area people in modern times. Still, it is not likely that everyone has

simply forgotten the explanation, for these trousers were used only

a few generations ago.

I have also tried to find an explanation for these claws in

various books dealing specifically with costumes in the Thule area,

but so far I have not come across this phenomenon. To this day, I

have received no concrete answers. The answers I have been given

have been qualified with much uncertainty, and so these vague

answers cannot be considered proper explanations. Can it be that

no one has ever noticed the phenomenon? It would appear so! I am

sure it would have been discussed if anyone from the outside had

known about it.

The other subject of the conference, just as fascinating to me,

was the strange form of footwear worn by the Ammassalik

population until the beginning of the twentieth century. On this

form of West Greenlandic footwear, the sole is sewn directly onto

the upper leather. Furthermore, in certain cases, especially in gala

kamiks used on special occasions, intermediate layers, known as

pussarut, which are folded white strips of depilated, frost-bleached

seal skin, were sewn between the upper leather and the sole.

On the East Greenlandic kamiks from the end of the nineteenth

century and the beginning of the twentieth century, there could be

up to nine layers of folded skin strips between the upper leather

and the sole. With the many layers, the upper leather of the kamik

takes on a strange, elevated form. Do these many layers of sealskin

mean something? Was it merely a fashion phenomenon? Or was it

used to demonstrate the tremendous sewing skills of the wives, or

perhaps to compare the skills of one wife with those of another?

Certainly, the more intermediate layers there are in the footwear, the

more dexterous one must be in order to sew them all together. Was it

an indication of the seamstress’s vanity? Could it have something

to do with making the footwear as waterproof as possible?

Over the years, I have

tried to uncover these

answers by asking elderly

people in the Ammassalik

district, although I have not

received any clear responses.

I have also looked in books

that deal with cultural

elements in the Ammassalik

area. These have provided

no answers either. Has the

meaning of this phenomenon

been forgotten or perhaps

repressed? After all, these

kamiks are also from the time

when the East Greenlanders

were still heathens.

I received some

interesting information just

before I went to London for

the conference. I informed

one of my acquaintances,

who comes from the

Close up of women’s fox skin pants, with fox

teeth still attached, from Thule, Northwest

Greenland.

A man’s boot, from Ammassalik,

East Greenland.
ASC Newsletter 16

Ikpik River

The Ikpik river flows out from Lake Gillian whose source

begins with the melt water pouring out from beneath the Barnes Ice

cap. The water along the course from the ice cap to the sea is cold,

turbulent and where confined by the steep banks of the river, has

powerful currents. It is a river one can hear as well as see as it

rushes toward the sea. Near its mouth, it has carved deeply into the

south bank creating a fascinating panorama by exposing a vertical

expanse of ground ice. It is one of several rivers in the region

supporting a seasonal population of arctic char. I found no traces of

a sappotit, a traditional stone fish weir, probably because the strong

currents made building them impractical. I named the place Killinga

simply meaning... the edge, for future reference.

Killinga

Ikpik River derives its Inuktitut name Ikpik from the high

prominent hill dominating the area. About 300 m up river from the

Father Fournier site you begin to encounter small, undistinguished

inuksuit generally in a line leading inland. Another 120 m. along a

ridge paralleling the river takes you to Killinga. This is the first site

I found. It is a beautiful place to behold.

One faces the rushing river with a 10 m high backdrop of

exposed ground ice on its other side. The patterns on the ground ice

face are striking and tempt the imagination with all manner of

fanciful imagery. The roaring and rushing river in the foreground

creates the illusion that you are swiftly moving. I mentioned earlier

favored locations related to habitation and hunting. There is another

type of favored location where one goes to find solace, wonder

about things or pay respect to the entities embedded in one’s belief.

At Killinga, if you look very carefully, a circle about 4.5 m in

diameter can be discerned surrounded by several small and simple

inuksuk-like structures. To the left of and very close to the circle is

an obvious sitting place with a small Iga fireplace. Nearby, are two

separate little Piqattarviit child’s play areas no larger than one’s

outstretched arms. Small stones of various colors and little pieces of

bone representing things in the children’s imagination have been

placed there. Close by was a very old tent ring flush with the

ground and only large enough for a single family. About midway up

the slope of the Ikpik the high hill, is a large caribou cache with the

antlers placed upon its top. It is here where one can hear the roar of

the torrent up river. On the particular day I was at the Ikpik River

site the sea was glass calm. Large flocks of Pitsiulaaqs, sea pigeons

or black guillemots were drifting about upon their own reflections

and far out upon the horizon one could see a thin white line. It was

the sea ice that never completely disappears, moving to the pull of

tide and push of wind.

Flying SSE from Ikpik to the Piling Lake area takes you across

some of the most interesting terrain in the entire region. It has

valleys, steep cliffs, worn down mountains, numerous rivers and

Flint Lake whose opaque and emerald green waters originate at the

Barnes Ice Cap. It is possible to see caribou trails along some of the

valleys from the air. There are a few inuksuit in the area whose

location suggest trail indicators when traveling in winter. We did find

one site of particular interest. It consisted of a narrow valley about1

km. in length, flanked by steep ridges on each side and tapered to a

narrow passage about 35 m. wide. Strung across the narrow end

were several, evenly spaced inuksuit which were about the size of a

human. The lichens growing across, where the stones of the inuksuit

contacted one another suggested that the site was used when caribou

were hunted with lances and bow and arrow. It was the practice in

those times for women and children to frighten the caribou so that

Ammassalik area, that the question of this East Greenlandic

phenomenon still bothers me, and that I would like to find an

explanation. This acquaintance contacted an elderly relative, who

told us that his grandmother used to know a prosperous hunter’s

wife who was good at sewing skins. The woman, we were told,

used to sew seven layers between the upper leather and the soles of

kamiks.

Why exactly seven layers? I asked. Does the figure seven

mean something? Is it a coincidence? The person I contacted could

not explain it. And although the conference was great exposure for

the question, no answers were provided.

 These are two very interesting issues with which someone

may be able to help us. If you have any information regarding any

of these questions, please contact me at the Greenland National

Museum.

IKPIK JOURNAL EXCERPTS

Ethnogeography in the Piling Lake area of

Central Baffin Island, 2001

by Norman Hallendy

Foreword

This is a portion from a much longer, more detailed report. The

report along with 156 photographs of objects sites and other

features was written to accompany the 2001 field report on the

work carried out by the Geological Survey (GSC) of Canada in

central Baffin Island. Dr. Marc St-Onge, GSC project coordinator

and leader of the Central Baffin Project, invited me to join the field

party for a brief period during the summer of 01. The invitation

provided an opportunity to look around for possible traces of

human habitation. Rhoda Inuksuk, an interesting woman born in

the Piling area informed me that there are many very old Inuit sites

in the region and that her ancestors hunted there as long as anyone

can remember.

Background

An educated guess as to where it was possible to find some

traces of human presence in the area was based on likely areas

where hunters would have set up seasonal camps, fly camps and

built caches as well as potential hunting areas. The term

inigijuminaqtun in the Dorset dialect means favoured locations. The

term utirnigiit means traces of coming and going, found at favoured

locations.

Searching for inigijuminaqtun requires looking for places

having some or all of the following: fresh water nearby; natural

shelter from the prevailing wind; convenient access to the sea; a

safe landing place; nearby rocks which can be arranged to make

caches, shelters, fireplaces etc.; hauling out places where large sea

mammals can be conveniently butchered.

One should also be observant of the surrounding vegetation

particularly the lack or abundance of it as well as its color and

concentration. Lush patches of grasses, sedges and brightly

flowering plants may indicate where faunal remains are present or

the sunken remains of an ancient dwelling may exist. Nunarait is a

general term in Inuktitut once used to denote fauna and flora of little

relevance. In southwest Baffin it referred to the abundant flora which

grows upon old sites. The presence of bright orange lichen Xanthoria

elegans likes growing on bones and rocks white washed by birds and

can indicate hauling out places or where animals were butchered. 
ASC Newsletter 17

they would flee toward the waiting hunters. The valley with its

steep sides and a gate of inuksuit at its narrowest point formed a

perfect corral confining the caribou for slaughter.

From an ethnogeographic perspective, it is the behavior of

caribou that defines the patterns of human activity in the Piling.

Having spent spring and early summer in the vicinity of the Barnes

Ice Cap they move toward the coast in mid-summer and fall.

Further down the coast from Piling, they tend to move back and

forth along the coast. Sixty-nine caches were examined in the Piling

area ... all were empty. Very few caches were hastily built. The

majority were carefully constructed to protect their contents over a

long period. This indicates that the caribou were hunted mainly in

the fall when the animals were in their prime. Those killed earlier

would have been quickly consumed and their skins fit only for

sleeping upon. Caribou cached in the late spring and summer often

become infested with maggots the meat is then fit only for dog food.

Inuktitut place names can be very helpful in trying to

understand the nature and character of place. For example, in the

area where we were, was a place named Amaroktalik meaning

“where the wolves are” this would indicate an area which supported

a sustainable caribou population. A reasonable extension of this logic

would lead one to speculate that hunting activity took place in the

area over a considerable time. In turn, caches, temporary camps,

hunting blinds and inuksuit would likely be found in the area, as it

turned out, they were.

Inuksullarik

About 35 km SSW from base camp is Inuksulik Lake, “the

place of the important inuksuk”. On the north shore at near the mid

point of the lake is an

extraordinary site. As

the name of the lake

implies, it is the place

of the very important

inuksuk. From a

distance this stone

figure standing about

2.5 m high upon a ridge

resembles an

inunnguaq, the figure in

human like form rather

than an inuksuk, that

which acts in the

capacity of a human.

Upon examining this

remarkable figure I

realized that it was

indeed an inuksuk. What

was unique about its

construction was that it

was constructed of long

fairly regular unworked

stone which was not

just stacked but carefully cribbed as one would construct a crib for a

dock. Of the hundreds of inuksuit I have documented I have never

come across an inuksuk constructed in this manner. What at first

resembled arms, were pointers, one pointing inland and the other

toward the sea. Lying about the base of the inuksuk were other

pointers. Because the inuksuk was built in a crib fashion one could

insert a pointer in any one of the following four points: toward the

sea, toward the caribou trails inland, southward to the caribou trails

along the coast and northward to the places of importance at Piling

and to Satorssuaq the Baird Peninsula.

This inuksuk referred to as an inuksullarik because of its

importance, with its movable pointers was indeed a remarkable

construction. Looking carefully into the crevices of the inuksullarik I

could find no tunnijait “gifts” usually in the form of a few cartridges

or perhaps an interestingly shaped stone etc. left by hunters

or some member of the family.

Off to the northern side of the inuksullarik were two large

napataq single stone inuksuit. They ranged in size from 2.1 m to 1.8

m in height. Examining the Rhisocarpon growing between the joints

of the inuksullarik suggested that the construction was at least 200

years old. Quite close to the inuksullarik was a small temporary

shelter made of rocks less than 2 m in diameter If one walked from

the inuksullarik down a slope and across the tundra to a small

outcrop 91 m distant, you would discover a single line of inuksuit

each about knee high as if connecting a landing place to the

inuksullarik upon the ridge. This connection was unfamiliar to me

but I was to see it again on another site a few days later. I believe

that the Inuksullarik site was a major coordination point. Standing at

the site one can see other inuksuit far in the distance. In turn, the

Inuksullarik can be seen from a considerable distance from all

directions. It is situated between three main travel routes leading

inland to where caribou were hunted.

Kattimavik: The Ceremonial Site

On the north side of the tip of Index Point between Piling Lake

and Piling Bay is a impressive site occupying about 85 sq. m. It has

numerous features the most prominent being two separate stone

walled meeting places, hence the

reason for naming the place

Kattimavik. The stone walls are

about shoulder high and each

structure is approximately 7.6 m

in diameter. Curiously, every

structure of this kind that I have

come across whether in south

Baffin, or in the Keewatin have

been (give or take a fraction of a

meter) between 7 and 7.8 m in

diameter. Given the location of

the site straddling the sea and a

lake, elevated enough for adequate

protection, having abundant loose

rock that could be moved easily

and facing the setting sun made it

an ideal location for gatherings,

feasts, ceremonies and games.

The following features were

recorded: 5 inuksuit, 1 work or

meat drying platform, 7 unknown

stone structures, 9 single upright

stones (napataq), 4 qajaq or

kamutik stands, 1 fireplace (iga), 61 tent rings, 78 well constructed

caches with three containing a few caribou remains and the

two meeting places. In all, we recorded 168 features in the

immediate vicinity but I’m certain more are thereabouts. Down by

the water’s edge is a small midden containing a few seal bones and

several broken caribou bones. All the bone matter has lichen growing

upon it, mostly xanthoria. The most notable bone material found on

the site was the upper part of a small bowhead whale’s skull. In all

Multi-directional Inuksuk with remaining “arms” pointing toward the sea

and in the opposite direction toward caribou hunting grounds. The inuksuk

in the foreground is a nalunaikkutaq, a “deconfuser”, marking an alignment

of inuksuit leading inland. (Photo by Norman Hallendy, Tuklilik Project.)
ASC Newsletter 18

probability the whale became stranded in the nearby shallows and

would have occasioned much feasting as well as providing material

for sled runners, snow knives, fuel for oil lamps, rafters for dwellings,

cutting boards, ulu handles etc.

The Initiation Site

Of the sites discovered this was the site that beguiled me. It

too is located on one of the points in the Piling Lake area. Sitting

atop a ridge about 30 m from the water’s edge on the north side is an

unusual circle of 15 inuksuit forming a circle approximately

23 m in diameter. There is one particular inuksuk from which

one sees clearly the form of an almost perfect circle. From this

perspective one also sees the opening to a small enclosure situated

in the middle of the circle. Nearby is a large flat stone at table height

with a small inuksuk standing on top at one end. The uncovered

enclosure made of stone, is only large enough to contain a seated

figure. Three small inuksuit stand side by side from the end of the

“table”. Close by and within the circle are two objects resembling

very small graves. I don’t know what they are nor what, if anything,

lies hidden within. The inuksuit varying in size from 1 -1.5 m in

height are well constructed and include napataq single upright

stones which give the place an eerie appearance from a distance. The

site is absolutely clean. I’ve noticed sites in southwest Baffin and in

the Keewatin where one is required to be respectful

saqqijaaringialik were always clean except for perhaps a fragment

of bone left by a fox. Whether I had discovered a saqqijaaringialik

or an angaku’habvik a shaman’s initiation place I was not

absolutely sure. I am sure it is one or the other and probably the

latter. I lean toward this conclusion because the site resembles an

angaku’habvik I was taken to at Arviatjuaq in the Keewatin several

years ago. This site is interesting because of the enclosure at its center,

the table like structure and a series of strange parallel markings in

the surface of the granite all of which are encircled by inuksuit.

There is a distinct and well-worn pathway leading to the site and

opposite to this pathway and parallel to it, is another less traveled

pathway.

Auyuittuq The land that never melts: The Barnes Ice Cap

Unquestionably, the most important feature in this part of

Baffin is Auyuittuq, the Barnes Ice Cap. Its irregular shape, 23 km

at its narrowest and 58 km at its widest point resembles a slab of

rising bread dough.

Undoubtedly every person who has studied this ice cap sees it

in the context of their discipline. As an ethnogeographer who has

learned his skill while traveling with the Inuit I tend to view

Auyuittuq as the shaper of the landscape, the determiner of

weather, the source of fast flowing rivers that carved the valleys

thus providing caribou trails. Its water floods the western flatlands

and fills the ponds where clouds of snow geese return to nest year

after year. It pours vast quantities of fresh water into the sea and by

altering its salinity affects the the sea’s ecosystem in this entire region.

A very old Inuktitut term comes to mind in describing the

nature of Auyuittuq, its Siqqitiqtuq meaning, the very power of

transformation. 

On July 20, 2001 we set our helicopter down on top of

Auyuittuq. Looking about, we saw only ice. It seemed as if all the

clouds in our sky arose from the shimmering horizon that encircled us.

We stood transfixed in a vast brightness. We could hear muffled

sounds from somewhere deep beneath us. Torrents of crystal clear

water which had been set free from its icy state burst from the surface

carving its way toward the unseen sea. All about our feet were little

indentations in the ice about the size of one1s cupped hands. Each was

filled with melt water. In each water filled indentation were tiny little

plant like organisms without roots stems or leaves... we call algae.

There they were, not much larger than specs of dust getting all their

nutritional needs from sunlight and as a world wide group, these tiny

little specs of living matter were photosynthesizing the bulk of the

oxygen of our planet. We were in the presence of a place

that filled us with a lasting sense of awe and wonder.

Summary and Thanks

I was surprised by the apparent lack of available

information concerning the human experience related to

the Piling area. Artifacts ranging from whalebone sled

runners, Thule-style dwellings, stone fox traps to an

enameled chamber pot and other more recent articles

suggest considerable activity over a sustained period in

the Piling Lake area. Perhaps the stories and accounts if

ever recorded, lie in the archives in Igloolik or buried in

the files of the Inuit Land Use and Occupancy Project

The leading questions in my mind are “what is the

nature of the big picture?” How does Auyuittuq

influence the weather and the entire ecosystem of the

area including the sea life? Why... would a place so far

from home be it Igloolik or Kangiqtugaapik (Clyde

River) have: such an impressive ceremonial site, a

carefully constructed initiation site, semi-permanent dwellings,

hundreds of inuksuit, and countless caches created by a people so

dependent on a single source of food, caribou? And what lies to the

south of Piling where the caribou move back and forth along the

coast? Is there more?

NJAL’S SAGA LANDSCAPE STUDY

by Elisabeth Ward

“They went up to Raudaskrida and waited. From there they

could see the others when they rode west from Dal. The sun was

shining and the skies were clear that day. Thrain came riding down

from Dal along the gravel plain. Lambi said, “shields are shining

over there at Raudaskrida when the sun hits them; some men must

be waiting there in ambush.” “Then,” said Train, “let’s turn and

ride down along the river. They will come to meet us if they have

Shaman’s initiation site - Piling lake area. (Photo by Norman Hallendy, Tukilik

Project.)
ASC Newsletter 19

any business with us.” -excerpt of Njal’s Saga from The Complete

Sagas of Icelanders.

When I first began reading the Icelandic sagas in college, I was

captivated by descriptions like the one above. Beyond the

compelling characters, the understated drama masked by sparse

dialogue, and the quick action, it was the sense of place and

movement across the landscape that I immediately connected with.

When reading them in the original old Icelandic, I derived great

pleasure from parsing the names of places to discover that

the party was not just waiting, as in the example above, at

“Raudaskrida,” an anonymous place, but rather they were

waiting at the Red Cliffs. Somehow understanding the

component parts of place names, and seeing the logic

behind them, made them far more memorable. And in my

trips around the island with my Icelandic relatives, I had

developed a keen interest in the geography of Iceland,

which the sagas only fueled by helping me understand the

significance of such places as Ingolfsholti, the spot where

Ingolfur, the first settler of Iceland, made landfall. It was

like being let into a secret society through learning the

special handshake: I now had the means to transform

Iceland’s strangeness into something very familiar.

In literary studies of the sagas, the symbolism of

the landscape is remarked upon, and of course

philologists rejoice at the abundant use of compounds

for place names. Closer to anthropology, folklorists

have often tried to claim the sagas as their own, arguing

that they are an oral tradition written down rather than a work of

literature. Indeed, many Scandinavian folktales contain

explanations for landscape features and place names, with tales

relating that small islands just off of a given shore are actually

three giants frozen by the benevolent landspirits, etc.

It was in this vein that I first began to think about the

relationship of the sagas to the average Icelander. Unlike literature,

and more like a living folktale tradition, the sagas are known, retold,

and remembered by every Icelander. With constant reminders of

Saga Age people and places everywhere in the landscape, it is

virtually unavoidable.

So when Igor Krupnik and Ted Birkedal of the National

Parks Service began discussing plans for a volume on the cultural

importance of landscapes, I could not resist chiming in with my

own observations of the importance of landscapes in Iceland,

especially saga landscapes. As Igor’s project grew into a volume on

northern ethnographic landscapes, he invited me to contribute a

chapter on Iceland to round out the circumpolar perspective. I

immediately decided that a place I had heard of in southern Iceland,

called the Saga Center, where bus tours were conducted for tourist

to take them through the “saga landscape,” would be an ideal focal

point for such a chapter.

However, the problem was I had never been to the Saga Center:

I had just seen fliers about it several summers earlier. With no

research funds, I discussed how I might be able to make a site visit

to the Saga Center with Icelandic Ambassador Jon Baldvin

Hannibalsson and Atli Asmundsson of the Foreign Ministry.

Ambassador Hannibalsson thought about it for a moment, then

suggested I be in touch with Arthur Bjorgvin Bollason, the

director of the Saga Center, and a “true patriot” who would be

pleased to have his center be the Icelandic focus for this multinational volume. Arthur proved to be a most accommodating host,

arranging complementary housing for me at a lovely summer house

on the “River Hillside” just down the road from the house of

Gunnar, the hero character in Njal’s Saga. Thanks also to

Icelandair for providing my travel tickets.

I spent 10 days at the Saga Center, experiencing life in the

valley where the Raudaskrida rises above the gravel plain of a glacial

river, in the Rangasysla region of southwestern Iceland. That region

is now known also as Njalasloð, the area where Njal’s Saga took

place. The Saga Center is both the product and the producer of this

concept whereby a story is paired in a very literal sense with the

landscape. Tourists take a bus ride which begins at the farm where

the opening lines of Njal’s Saga are set. The bus tour then proceeds

through the landscape, encountering the places in roughly the same

order that readers would encounter them if reading the saga

themselves. A bus guide/narrator fills in the gaps between places,

and makes other observations about the landscape.

While many details are left out, a visitor who takes the bus

tour really does come to know the saga and the landscape at the

same time. To my American sensibilities, the tour bus with guide

had a Disney like quality to it, but I soon came to appreciate

through interviews with the local guides that what was being

presented was not the fabrication of a marketing man or tourism

expert, but rather the outgrowth of a centuries-old tradition in the

region which has kept the characters and the place-names a source

of endless discussion and pleasure. The visitors on the bus tours—

normally groups comprised either of Icelanders or of foreign

tourists, surprisingly in almost equal amounts— were also generous

in sharing their reflections on the Njalasloð experience. Though

some came well versed in the saga (including one couple who were

honeymooning in Iceland after the groom had finished a degree in

Old English), most were more interested in learning about the

landscape. I found that the bus tour provided a wonderful means

for local guides to represent their area to national and international

visitors, a juncture of local identity informing national identity.

My research at Njalasloð proved to be a more intellectually

complex situation than I had imagined, underscoring for me the

central place that sagas hold in the Icelandic conception of self. In a

practice-oriented mode, Igor hopes that this unique example of how

landscapes of cultural importance can be preserved and presented to

the public in a meaningful way will be compelling for the National

Park Service, which commissioned this volume, perhaps proving an

example of what can be done elsewhere. Many thanks to Arthur

Bjorgvin for bringing his insights as co-author to the article for the

volume, which will be forthcoming in the fall.

Raudaskrida, the Red Cliffs, in Southwest Iceland. One of many landscapes

figuring in Njal’s Saga.
ASC Newsletter 20

P U B L I C A T I O N

PUBLICATION UPDATE: GATEWAYS LEADS THE WAY

by Elisabeth Ward

In January of 2002, a shipment of 40 boxes of the book

Gateways: Exploring the Legacy of the Jesup North Pacific

Expedition, 1898-1902 arrived on the dock of the National Museum

of Natural History. This engaging volume—full of insight into the

lives and work of the members of the Jesup Expedition team and the

modern applications their research is finding today—is wonderfully

illustrated by over 70 archival photographs in 364 pages, including

index. With our stock on hand, the Arctic Studies Center began

filling orders for Gateways in early February. If you would like one,

the book sells for $18 (shipping included). Please fill out the order

form enclosed in this newsletter.

The successful printing of the Gateways volume was the

culmination of a full year of work, and an incredible learning curve

for the Arctic Studies Center.

When Bill Fitzhugh and Igor Krupnik first conceived of the

ASC publication series, and Bill talked Igor into being its main

editor and Elisabeth Ward into being the production manager, there

was no readily available blue-print to follow: academic-researchcenter-turned-publishing-house is not unheard of, but how such a

model should work within the structure of the ever-changing

Smithsonian was another matter all together.

Thankfully, there were a few people willing to offer their advice,

including Tish O’Connor of Perpetual Press, Kathy Sims of Sim

Design, and Duke Johns of the Smithsonian Institution Press who all

knew about

the Arctic

Studies

Center’s

desire to try

out desk-top

publishing,

and offered

much sage

advice and

contact

names.

There are

also a

number of useful websites for small publishers, which proved to be

immensely helpful, especially in locating printers specializing in small

print runs.

Perhaps the greatest assistance was the recommendation of some

freelance editors, including Nancy Levine and Nancy Benco. Our two

Nancy’s set to work, each on separate projects. Nancy Levine edited

the Gateways volume, even employing a bit of her under-utilized

Russian language skills, and heroically agreed to also proofread it for

us (although her eyes may have regretted it). Nancy Benco jumped

into our next prepared volume, Honoring Our Elders: The History of

Eastern Arctic Archaeology, exercised her considerable knowledge of

archaeology and editing, a unique and valuable pairing.

After the Gateways manuscript was cleaned-up by Nancy

Levine, Elisabeth worked with a designer, Anya Vinokour, to whip

the manuscript into a Page Maker file, which took quite a bit longer

than expected, thanks to less-than-suitable computer systems and

unanticipated hurdles such as discovering photos that look good on

one’s monitor often print horribly! Many thanks to the patient folks

at United Book Press, especially Steve Reim, for teaching us the right

way to color-correct photographs. Other, more anticipated challenges

included determining where to store the books at the Smithsonian

(“Just ignore the ‘no storage allowed here’ sign...”).

It became quickly apparent that in addition to the demands of

printing a book, once the book is finished, the work is not done!

Publicity for the series, especially through update of the Arctic

Studies Center website (see page 12) became the next priority, and

then it was necessary to set up a database to track orders and create

invoices. Elisabeth just now in June managed to establish a system for

processing credit card orders (though we request those be limited to

international customers only), but with that, the various pieces are

now in place for the Arctic Studies Center to become an efficient

distribution house.

Well, not to make excuses, but all of this, coupled with our small

staff size and competing priorities, made our original goal of

completing both Gateways and Elders within months of each other

truly unattainable. Thankfully, Igor and Stephen Loring had other

publication projects (see below) to keep the momentum going, and as

always, there are more on the way!

But for now, all attention is on Honoring Our Elders: The

History of Eastern Arctic Archaeology. Edited by William Fitzhugh,

Stephen Loring, and Daniel Odess, this publication delightfully mixes

data-rich analytical papers with more personal accounts of leading

figures in the field of Arctic Archaeology. The papers were assembled

in honor of Elmer Harp’s 80th birthday in 1992, and we had sincerely

hoped for it to be completed by his 90th birthday this last April. It

was a frustrating experience in getting the book publisehd that

convinced us to start our own series. We now anticipate a mid-fall

completion date. With the help of two terrific interns, Lori Beth

Mahaney and Elise Krueger, Elders is now in the final layout

stages, and after proofreading and final edits, will be off to the printer

early in the fall. With apologies to Elmer and our patient authors, we

believe the volume will be a valuable contribution to our many

colleagues, and also a welcoming introduction to any newcomers. And

of course, we are accepting advance orders!

Also forthcoming in the Contributions to Circumpolar

Anthropology series will be Akuzilleput Igaqullghet: Our Words Put

to Paper. This Sourcebook of St. Lawrence Island Heritage and

History, edited by Igor Krupnik, Willis Walunga and Vera Metcalf

and compiled by Igor Krupnik and Lars Krutak was first printed in

small numbers in 2000 (See ASC NL #9). This new printing will be

copyright 2002, 464 pages, with over 130 historical photographs

and will be number 3 in the ASC Series, available this fall.

MAKIVIK CORPORATION AND THE SMITHSONIAN

INSTITUTION

By Stephen Loring

A guiding tenet of the Smithsonian’s Arctic Studies Center has

always been that there is a special relationship between the Center

and members of the descendant communities from which the

Institution’s ethnological collections were derived. Perhaps

nowhere is this more keenly felt than it is when working with

community members from the Inuit and Innu villages in Nunavik

and Nitassinan (the land that appears on many maps as the

“Quebec-Labrador peninsula”). The Institution’s interests in

northern Labrador extend back to 1860 when geologists attached to

Igor Krupnik, Elisabeth Ward and Bill Fitzhugh with

Gateways the first title in the ASC publication series,

Contributions to Circumpolar Anthropology.
ASC Newsletter 21

the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey first visited the region to

observe a solar eclipse. However, it was the opportunity of placing

a Smithsonian naturalist at the Hudson Bay Company’s post at Ft.

Chimo (near today’s community of Kuujjuaq in Nunavik) during the

International Polar Geophysical Year in 1881-1883 that really

cemented the association.

The Smithsonian’s “man in Nunavik” was Lucien Turner

(1848-1909) arguably one of the most able and productive field

scientists of his day. A gifted naturalist and polyglot, Turner

conducted research in Alaska and the Aleutian Islands prior to his

stint among the Inuit and Innu of northern Quebec and adjacent

Labrador. While in the “Ungava District” Turner amassed the

largest and earliest systematically collected corpus of artifacts and

clothing from the inhabitants of the region that has been preserved: a

collection now housed at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of

Natural History. Turner’s ethnographic monograph based on his

Ungava experience, Ethnology of the Ungava District, Hudson Bay

Territory (originally published in 1894), long a classic in northern

anthropology, has recently been reissued by the Smithsonian

Institution Press through the generous auspices of Makivik

Corporation and the Avataq Cultural Institute, that it might be

available to scholars and to new generations of Inuit and Innu

students. Makivik, created as part of the James Bay and Northern

Quebec Agreement, is the non-profit organization owned by the Inuit

of Nunavik. Its mandate includes a full range of activities and

initiatives that focus on the political, social and economic development

of Inuit in Nunavik. Makivik’s support of the publication is a further

example of the interaction and cooperation that has come to

characterize relations between the Smithsonian Institution and

northern indigenous communities in Alaska and Canada.

On November 14, 2001 Makivik leadership and members of

the Avataq Cultural Institute traveled from Nunavik to Washington

to attend a reception held at the Canadian Embassy to celebrate the

launch of the republication of Turner’s monograph. The delegation

consisted of Adamie Alaku, the Vice-President of Economic

Development for Makivik, Stephen Hendrie, Robbie Watt of the

Avataq Cultural Institute and Rhoda Kokkiapik from Inukjuaq.

The impetus for the collaborative publishing venture goes back to a

fortuitous meeting between then Makivik C.E.O. Zebedee

Nungak and Stephen Loring at the British Museum in 1996 at a

conference on the history of photography in the Arctic.

Subsequently Mr. Nungak made several trips to Washington during

which he was able to study the objects that Turner had collected

among his ancestors as well as examine the photographs that

Turner took. These photographs are the earliest that survive from

the region. Nungak’s passion for Nunavik history and his

commitment to educational and heritage initiatives were critical to

getting support from Makivik that enabled the Smithsonian

Institution Press to republish Turner’s book and include a number

of the hitherto-unpublished photographs to appear.

In his remarks at the Embassy reception Mr. Alaku addressed

the significance of Lucien Turner’s collection to the Inuit of

Nunavik, “Over a hundred years ago Lucien Turner was a visitor to

the largest trading post in our region. He wrote his experience down

on paper, took time to draw what he saw and used existing

photographic technology to snap images of a past that to us is

extremely valuable.”

Prior to the reception the Makivik delegation had the

opportunity to visit the Museum Support Center to see first-hand

the objects that Turner had collected and which have been so

lovingly cared for for more than a a hundred and twenty years. Far

ranging discussions on the future of the collection and how portions

of it may someday return to the country of its origin.

Fast forward nearly six months to Montreal, April 24, 2002,

where a Canadian launch for the Turner volume was organized by

Makivik’s Lisa Koperqualuk and Rhoda Kokiapik. The

Smithsonian Institution Press had arranged with McGill-Queen’s

University Press to publish and distribute Turner’s Ethnology of

the Ungava District in Canada. The launch was celebrated with a

reception at the historic McCord Museum and proved to be a

festive affair to which many Inuit in the Montreal area were invited.

Several speakers including Moira McCaffrey (McCord Ethnology

Curator), Charlie Arngak (Avataq President), Adamie Alaku and

Stephen Hendrie all noted how the Turner publication bespoke of

a new cooperative and collaborative era in the relationships between

museums and indigenous communities. A short slide lecture by

Stephen Loring traced the route of Turner’s collection from

Kuujjuaq to Washington and elaborated on some of the stories that

the objects told. Finally, there was a delightful presentation of

throat singing by Rita Novalinga and Minnie Amidlak which was

also a fitting reminder about the permanence and continuity of many

aspects of “traditional” culture and the arts.

Preliminary discussions were made with Makivik and Avataq

concerning the possibilities of sending a few of the Turner artifacts

“home” to Kuujjuaq on the occasion of the Inuit Circumpolar

Conference which is to be held in Kuujjuaq in August of 2002.

Hopefully we will be able to report on the success of these

negotiations in a forth-coming newsletter.

CANADIAN EMBASSY LAUNCH OF THE EARTH

IS FASTER NOW

by Igor Krupnik

On May 15th, 2002, the Canadian Embassy in Washington

hosted another book launch reception that featured one more recent

publication initiated by the ASC. This volume, some 380 pages, is

titled The Earth Is Faster Now: Indigenous Observations of Arctic

Environmental Change. It was compiled and co-edited by Igor

Krupnik and Dyanna Jolly, and it was published by the Arctic

Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS), with funding from

the NSF Arctic Social Science Program ( see ASC NL #9).

The volume is a good illustration of the ASC’s long-standing

cooperation with our Canadian colleagues, this time in a new field:

the documentation of indigenous knowledge coupled with climate

(From Left) Louise Blais, Scott Mahler, Stephen Loring, Robbie Watt,

and Adamie Alakuunveil the reprint of Ethnology of the Ungava

District at the Canadian Embassy.
ASC Newsletter 22

C O L L E C T I O N S

MR. OKALIK, THE FIRST PREMIER OF NUNAVUT,

VISITS THE SMITHSONIAN

By Stephen Loring and Jennifer Shannon

In April 1999, the creation of Nunavut was celebrated live

by a satellite hook-up directly from Iqaluit to the Baird

Auditorium in the Natural History Museum (via the Embassy

of Canada). Two years and eight months later, the Arctic

Studies Center and the National Museum of the American

Indian were thrilled to host a brief visit from the first premier

of Nunavut, the Honorable Mr. Paul Okalik.

Mr. Okalik’s visit to Washington, December 2001, was

part of a high-level economic mission to meet with U.S.

government and State Department officials over matters

pertaining to resource utilization and development in Nunavut

and discussion over trade, including the export ban on marine

mammal products. He was also very eager to meet with the

American scientific community to promote cooperative research

ventures in Nunavut.

Born in Pangnirtung in 1964 Mr. Okalik went to high school in

Iqaluit, then to the University of Carleton, and to law school at the

University of Ottawa. In 1999 he was elected as a member of

Nunavut’s first legislative assembly which subsequently chose him

to become the first Premier of Nunavut. Nunavut is Canada’s

newest political jurisdiction that was carved from the former

Northwest Territories to create a new political home for the 25,000

Inuit of the eastern Canadian Arctic. The establishment of the new

territory fulfilled Canada’s federal government’s promise in 1993 to

give the Inuit the right to self-government and self-determination.

On Monday evening Decmber 3rd, 2001 many Washingtonians

and SI staff members had their first opportunity to meet the first

head of government from Nunavut when Mr. Okalik spoke at the

Meridian International Center as a guest of the Embassy of Canada.

The walls of the Meridian Center were decked with artwork from an

exhibition, Polar Extremes: Art From Frozen Places, that including

the brilliant visionary prints of the Inuit artist Jessie Oonark. In

his presentation Mr. Okalik spoke about the challenges of governing

and developing sustainable economic opportunities and

employment in the Arctic. Mr. Okalik spoke movingly about the

challenges his government faces and told of the need for further

development of transportation infrastructure to facilitate the

movement of goods and services within Nunavut as well as between

Nunavut and the rest of the world. It was only fifty years ago that

the Inuit of Nunavut were self-sufficient hunters, living entirely off

the products of the land; today, they are linked to global trade

networks. Mr. Okalik summarized the long-history of political

machinations and negotiations that finally lead, in 1999, to the

creation of Nunavut. He spoke about Nunavut’s “consensus style

government” that allowed legislative members to vote without party

pressure. With self-government comes responsibility, Mr. Okalik

said, “We recognize that we will make mistakes, but we appreciate

that they will be our mistakes....We are free to create laws in those

areas where we have authority.”

Mr. Okalik spoke at some length about the nature of the

Nunavut economy: the idiosyncrasies of the Inuit population (55%

of the Inuit of Nunavut are between the ages of 15 and 24, a labor

force of only about 11,000 people –42% of the population– and

variable unemployment rates in the different communities scattered

change research. In addition to the volume co-editor being Canadian,

seven (out of 10) volume chapters were written by Canadians or by

American scholars working in Canada. The volume opens with a

foreword contributed by Jose Kusugak, the President of the Inuit

Tapiriit Kanatami (former Inuit Tapirisat of Canada), and it closes

with an epilog, written by another Canadian, Fikret Berkes, from

the University of Manitoba. Coincidentally, the book also

happened to be printed in Canada. Hence, even though the topic

was not exclusively Canadian, there were many reasons to celebrate

this new publication at the Canadian Embassy at 501 Pennsylvania

Ave. in Washington D.C.. All this Canadian participation likely

reflects Canada’s awareness of their important role as a country

with a large arctic area and indigenous population.

The event brought together over 60 arctic specialists,

Smithsonian museum workers, media and embassy people,

representatives from various government and environmental

agencies, and staff workers from the ARCUS office in Fairbanks.

Speakers included Igor, Dyanna Jolly, Bill Fitzhugh, and Jose

Kusugak, the ITK President, who came to this reception from

Ottawa, accompanied by Scot Nickels, Director of the ITK

Environment Department, who was also a volume author. Several

dozen copies of the new book were distributed at the party. We are

very grateful to our host, Timothy J. Hodges, the Head of the

Environment and Fisheries Section of the Canadian Embassy, and to

his staff for their hospitality. We also promise to work very hard to

have more ASC book-launch events in the future, and would be most

pleased to be welcome back to the friendly Canadian Embassy located

right across Pennsylvania Avenue from our Washington office.

It was agreed that Igor and Dyanna would prepare an

international collection of project papers under a new logo “Frontiers

in Polar Social Sciences;” ARCUS would take responsibility for

producing and distributing the volume. Once advanced, the book

progressed with a speed that seemed unconventional to modern

scientific cooperation. It took exactly a year: from the inception of the

project in May 2001 to the day the volume was released at the next

annual ARCUS meeting in Washington in May 2002; a remarkably

short period of time for a full-size international collection of paperse.

Maybe, it was the very title of our volume, The Earth is Faster Now,

which facilitated the effort. The ASC contributed to the publication

budget, in order to boost its print run and increase the distribution of

this insightful work by social scientists and Arctic residents. We

thank the ARCUS office in Fairbanks (and volume style editor and

designer, Sue Mitchell, in particular) for this joint venture. The new

book can be ordered for $20.00 (including shipping) from the ARCUS

office in Fairbanks at arcus@arcus.org or www.arcus.org

Co-editors Dyanna Jolly and Igor Krupnik at the launch,

held at the Canadian Embassy, of The Earth is Faster Now.
ASC Newsletter 23

Okalik invited the scientific community to work in Nunavut but

reminded everyone that researchers had ethical responsibilities to

work cooperatively with Nunavut citizens, communities and

government to incorporate them into their research designs and to

share with them their research results. In response to a question

about the controversy last summer over competing American and

Canadian research groups at the fossil forest site on Axel Heiberg

Island, Mr. Okalik defended his government’s permitting process

which approved the U.S. research design, “Nunavut supports good

science and we made the right decision.”

After beakfast, Premier Okalik’s party, including Embassy

officials, Scott Clark (Assistant Deputy Minister of

Intergovernmental Affairs for Nunavut), Annette Bourgeois (Press

Secretary for the Office of the Premier), and Robert Carson (Mr.

Okalik’s Principal Secretary) departed for a round of meetings on

Capitol Hill and an early afternoon Press Conference.

In the late afternoon, Mr. Okalik capped his first twenty-four

hours in Washington with a

visit to see the collections from

Nunavut that are housed at the

National Museum of the

American Indian’s Cultural

Resource Center. Mr. Okalik’s

visit was co-hosted by

Stephen Loring and Jennifer

Shannon, Pat Nietfeld,

Mark Clark, Anne Walters

and Mary-Jane Lenz of the

American Indian Museum’s

staff.

Introductions and

welcoming remarks by the

CRC staff were kept brief as

the sense of excitement and

enthusiasm in Mr. Okalik’s

party became almost tangible.

It was wonderful to watch the

the weary professional

politician, with all the cares

and responsibilities of

government, transform into a reflection of an Inumariit, one of the

traditional Inuit with knowledge about the ways of living on the

land. Such is the power of the old tools and objects in the

museum’s collections, they evoke memory and pride. Mr. Okalik

lapsed into reveries about camp experiences and life on the land as

he handled stone lamps, dog whips, and harpoons that had been in

use fifty years before he was born. The collections of beaded skin

clothing and models of kayaks and umiaks were all very tangible

connections to past Inuit experiences that spoke eloquently of Inuit

accomplishments and humility, of the deep abiding connection to

the place that has become Nunavut.

Mr. Okalik’s party was also able to view the recently arrived

and as yet unpacked and unaccessioned Bert and Helen H. Witt

collection of contemporary Inuit art. This collection of several

hundred prints, wall-hangings and stone carvings lovingly assembled

by the Witt family and recently bequeathed to the NMAI, has by a

single act, placed the NMAI in the vanguard of important

collections of Inuit art. The Witt collection documents an art

movement that is among the most significant developments of 20thcentury art, one that recognizes the contribution of Inuit artistic

across the territory), the challenges posed by economic

development and protection of the environment (“In Nunavut, the

environment is synonymous with our existence!”), concerns about

climate change and global warming, and the hopes and aspirations

of Inuit for the future. He concluded with a discussion of his

government’s position on the traditional subsistence economy that

is practiced in Nunavut and the articulation between hunters and

the State. Hunting in Nunavut is a way of life. People there are

still dependent on traditional subsistence practices to bring good

nutritious food to the table. Hunting and fishing in Nunavut have

the potential to provide economic diversification IF hunters were

allowed to participate in commercial economies outside of the

territory. Specifically the Nunavut government is committed to

lobbying governments, in Canada and abroad, to change the quotas

and restrictions that have been applied to the harvesting of some

marine mammals. In particular, seals provides food and clothing

that are a mainstay of Inuit tradition. Yet, because of the Marine

Mammal Protection Act,

some products of the hunt,

especially seal skins and

walrus ivory that once had a

high market value and which

brought critical capital back

into the communities, can

not readily be sold to outside

markets. Mr. Okalik’s

maintains that seal hunting in

Nunavut is sustainable and

at the heart of Inuit identity

and values. “We have

accomplished a lot already,

but we still have a long way

to go, Inuit hopes and

dreams are mixed with the

high expectation that there

lives will change for the

better.”

The following morning,

bright and early, Mr. Okalik

hosted a breakfast at the

Canadian Embassy for members of the Washington scientific

community with research interests in Nunavut. Representatives

from local universities as well as from many of the U.S. government

agencies with Arctic research agendas (including N.S.F., N.O.A.A.,

N.A.S.A., Alaska Congressional offices, the Smithsonian Institution

and the State Department, etc.) had the opportunity to hear Mr.

Okalik summarize his government’s science policy. The

government of Nunavut, according to Mr. Okalik, recognize the

significance and the importance of encouraging and supporting a

full-range of scientific investigations in their territory. They realize

that many pressures confronting their fledgling government need

the input and expertise of the best scientific researchers available.

Issues including concerns over the consequences and impacts of

global climate change; the alarming rise of air-borne atmospheric

pollutants entering the arctic food-chain and ecosystem; the

maintenance of healthy stocks of fish, birds and other wildlife on

which Inuit culture depends; as well as the full-range of biological,

geological and social science initiatives that contribute to the quality

of life for Nunavut residents, are recognized for their importance to

the future development and prosperousness of the region. Mr.

Premieir Okalik and Stephen Loring examine two pieces of Baker Lake

Tapestry from the Witt Collection at NMAI.
ASC Newsletter 24

skills, talents and vision to a way of seeing and experiencing the

world. Mr. Okalik knew several of the artists whose work was

represented in the collection and his discovery of some of the

famous Cape Dorset prints of the late-1960’s and 1970’s was like

encountering old friends.

Alas, time has a way of pressing in on one in the south that is

so different from the passing of time when out in the country of

Nunavut and soon, too soon, Mr. Okalik’s colleagues were

reminding him of other commitments and other promises. It was

with great reluctance that he had to take leave of the collections but

not before expressing his pride and pleasure in the care the

quallunaat had shown in caring and respecting the things his

ancestors had made. It seems certain that Mr. Okalik’s visit marks

the beginning of a long, bright future for the Nunavut collections at

both the NMAI as well as at the NMNH, as the museum curators

and conservators recognize their responsibilities to make these

materials accessible for a wide range of educational and cultural uses

throughout Nunavut.

THE WAUGH COLLECTION PROJECT: ASC JOINS

EFFORTS WITH THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE

AMERICAN INDIAN

by Igor Krupnik and Stephen Loring

2002 was marked by a very successful new collaborative

effort, part of the ongoing two-year cooperative agreement

between the ASC and the National Museum of American Indian

(NMAI) to analyze a new NMAI collection The Waugh Collection

Project, is gradually evolving into a stable partnership that may

bring substantial benefits to both participating institutions.

In 2001, at the recommendation of Lars Krutak, Lou Stancari,

Mary Jane Lenz, and Alain Bain, NMAI purchased Leuman M.

Waugh’s collection of historical images, field notes, and film footage

from the Rankin Museum of American Heritage in Ellerbe, North

Carolina. Waugh was an acclaimed medical doctor and dentist who

made several northern trips between 1915 and 1940, first as a

recreational get-away and later, after he became more familiar with

Labrador, as several research trips investigating Inuit dental health. He

also served as a member of a special medical team aboard the U.S.

Coast Guard cutter Northland that visited and surveyed Native

communities in the Bering Sea area and in Arctic Alaska, from Norton

Sound to Siberia to Barrow in 1929 and 1930. It was during these

trips that Waugh shot hundreds of photographs and lantern slides, as

well as several film reels with documentary footage that depicted

people and local scenery from about two dozen Native Alaskan

communities.

A collection of Waugh’s photographs and documentary records

arrived.at the NMAI Support and Research Center (SRC) in Suitland,

MD in July 2001, while his ivory carvings and ethnographic objects

remained in the Rankin Museum in Ellerbe. Upon the collection’s

arrival to the NMAI, Donna Rose and Edgar Hartley, photo

collection assistants, began housing and processing the many hundreds

of disjointed and disorganized prints, negatives, and slides, while

Evelyn Moses, NMAI volunteer, did preliminary sorting of Waugh’s

papers. Altogether, the Waugh photo collection acquired by the

NMAI has at least 2,500 images of various formats—prints,

negatives, color lantern slides, and large-size framed pictures—or

about 5,000-6,000 individual pieces. The total number of identified

images from Alaska is about 900 and from Eastern Canada about

1,100. In addition, some 500 images are unidentified and may belong

to either of the two geographic areas. Numerous film reels and

documentary records, such as letters, personal diaries, travel journals,

reprints of Waugh publications and reports, are also included. The full

evaluation of the collection may take several more months, as

cataloguing and documentation of all images and written records

progresses

Faced with this new collection rich in northern ethnographic

material, Bruce Bernstein, the NMAI Assistant Director for

Cultural Resources, identified the Waugh collection as a promising

target for a joint NMAI-ASC research project. Igor Krupnik and

Stephen Loring were invited to serve as northern cultural experts

for the Alaskan and Canadian sections of the Waugh photography,

respectively. By that time, we were both already familiar with

some northern images made by Waugh. In fact, quite a few of

Waugh’s images made their way to personal files of Aleš Hrdlicka

and Henry Collins at the Smithsonian National Anthropological

Archives, since Waugh maintained good relationships with both

Smithsonian anthropologists. A few of Waugh’s pictures from the

NAA files were even reproduced in the St. Lawrence Island

Sourcebook, Akuzilleput Igaqullghet: Our Words Put to Paper,

produced by Igor and Lars in 2000 in cooperation with the

communities of Gambell and Savoonga on St. Lawrence Island.

With this in mind, we both were very anxious to join the NMAI

photo archives personnel in cataloguing and documenting the Waugh

collection.

In dealing with the Alaskan portion of the Waugh photo

collection, it was decided that a new organization system had to be

introduced from the beginning: one that featured modern communities

and regional affiliation. Consequently, the Waugh images of special

interest toAlaskan Native people were organized into eight groups, by

region if possible: Nome-Norton Sound Area (90 images); St.

Lawrence Island (over 130 images); Bering Strait and Siberia (about

100 images); Kotzebue and Kotzebue Sound (about 120 images);

Northern Alaska (about 100 images); Pictures made ‘En Route’ from

Seattle to Nome (some 60 images); Other Alaskan Images (at least

100-150 unlabeled lantern slides), and Unidentified Alaskan Images.

Our starting point for organization of the Eastern Canadian

section of Waugh photography was sorting it similarly into three

major subdivisions reflecting their geographical focus: the Quebec

North Shore; Newfoundland and Labrador. The distinction of the

Labrador coastal villages is such that many of the Labrador images

were very quickly recognized and grouped together. The corpus of

Labrador imagery comes from Waugh’s extended cruise along the entire

Labrador coast from the Strait of Belle Isle to the northern tip of

Two Yupik girls from Savoonga, Alaska: Tagneghli, daughter of Smith

Imingan, and Qaghiiq, daughter of Wangqetelen and Kesliq. Photo by

Leuman M. Waugh, 1929 (?). NAA, Ales Hrdlicka Papers (negative

number, SI 95-9741). Print now in the NMAI Waugh collection.
ASC Newsletter 25

Killinek Island in Hudson’s Strait in 1927. This material contains

much of great historical and social significance, such as depictions of

Native families at the Moravian-Inuit communities that Waugh visited,

including Makkovik, Hopedale, Uviluktok, Hebron and Burwell.

The grouping “Quebec North Shore” is currently the most

nebulous of the sets. It consists of well over five hundred

photographs, which are for the most part of outdoor activities:

canoeing, camping and fishing. These photographs document the

recreational activities of Waugh and his companions on extended

“wilderness” fishing trips between ca. 1915-1925. They would be of

little interest but for the fact that there is a small (ca. 25) but

significant corpus of imagery depicting Indian families (probably Cree

and Innu, perhaps some Mikmaq) and guides that the Waugh party

encountered. There is a much smaller set of images from

Newfoundland that, like the Quebec North Shore group, is derived for

the most part from a series of canoe trips in which the capture of large

freshwater fish figures prominently. There is little of anthropological

or social significance in these images, although on-going research

maybe able to eventually identify Newfoundland Micmac Indian

guides.

Although the Waugh Collection Project is still in progress, it

already is quite obvious that the new acquisition makes a significant

contribution to the current NMAI archives of historical photography

from the North. This is quite a monumental set of imagery, both in

terms of sheer number of the added images (about 5,000) and in terms

of its quality and content. The main value of the Waugh collection lies

in its fairly precise chronological attribution; in the opportunity that

the collection can be catalogued along the regional and, often,

individual village lines; and in the large proportion of personal images

(portraits) of Native people.

Many of those individuals can be identified still by today’s

elders, as was demonstrated by a pilot identification effort that took

place in the community of Gambell on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska.

Copies of some 100 images from this community

made by Waugh in 1929 and 1930 were mailed

there in February 2002. At our request, Mr.

Willis Walunga, a local Yupik historian and a

long-term ASC collaborator, engaged a group of

local elders in review of unidentified Waugh

photographs. The images were promptly

returned to the NMAI, with the names of many

pictured individuals restored by local experts.

This information will be added to the NMAI

photo collection database.

Such a high share of the pictures of Native

people and of village daily scenes makes the

new collection an extremely valuable

contribution to the existing set of the NMAI

Alaskan and northern photography (which is

primarily made of images of museum objects

and/or northern landscapes). It makes the

Waugh collection of special value to further public outreach and

visual repatriation (“knowledge sharing”) efforts to be undertaken

by the NMAI.

Overall, it was a great pleasure and a unique research

opportunity for both Igor and Stephen to join the NMAI Photo

Archives personnel in reviewing the Waugh collection. We would

like to express our deep gratitude to the staff members of the

NMAI Photo collections, particularly to Lou Stancari, Photo

Archive Specialist, and to Donna Rose, Photo Collection assistant.

Their enthusiasm and dedication was truly infectious, and it became

a key factor in the successful pursuit of the joint Waugh Collection

Project, as was the always-welcoming attitude of other NMAI

personnel. Our special thanks also go to Lars Krutak, NMAI Office

of Repatriation, and to Bruce Bernstein, NMAI Assistant Director for

Cultural Resources, and Sheree Bonaparte, Archivist, NMAI. It is

only recently, with the rediscovery of Waugh’s photographic

collection, that this largely forgotten public health official has gained a

glimmer of recognition from anthropologists and northern historians.

We hope that his numerous recently discovered images will help

advance his name and standing among today’s descendants of the

people in the northern communities, whom he once visited, and whose

teeth he peered at and pulled out.

THE SOCIAL LIFE OF LABRADOR’S

ARCHAEOLOGICAL ARTIFACTS

By Matt Gallon

Archaeologists are faced with the daunting task of

reconstructing the lives of people in the past primarily through the

objects they left behind. In order to learn from these artifacts,

archaeologists often find it useful to think about their “life-history.”

For instance, hundreds or even thousands of years ago, a hunter

transformed a block of Ramah chert into a beautiful point for the

end of his harpoon. In mant casese the point outlived its maker, and

was found later by archaeologists. After lying in the frozen ground

of Labrador for so long, the past few decades at the Smithsonian

must have been an exciting time in the lives of the many artifacts

Bill Fitzhugh, Stephen Loring and others have brought back to

Washington D.C. Despite having played a major role in the

groundbreaking reconstruction of the culture-history of the eastern

arctic, sometimes these artifacts can be heard rattling with

excitement over the prospect of returning home to eastern Canada

(on the other hand these noises may come from the on-going

renovation of the roof above the ASC office).

Matt Gallon and interns Kristin Skrabut

and Julia DuPreis are helping hundreds of the

artifacts from Labrador return to Elaine Anton

at the Newfoundland Museum. Before they

depart, however, these artifacts are the stars of

their very own photo-shoot with the ASC’s

brand new digital camera and photo-editing

capabilities. Jim DiLoreto from the museum’s

imaging office has graciously helped us develop

our own digital photography studio and

continues to help print copies of the images.

In addition to the visual record,

measurements and other important pieces of

information about each artifact are stored in a

database, which Matt is currently integrating

with a GIS software program to allow greater

spatial analysis of Labrador’s archaeological

record. The GIS program will allow us to recreate the archaeological

landscape with the exact location of many of the excavated artifacts

in a ‘virtual’ Labrador. In this electronic world, we can raise the sea

level to recreate the coastline as it may have appeared when

Labrador’s earliest inhabitants made many of the artifacts now

residing at the ASC.

As many of the Labrador artifacts return to Canada after their

southern vacation, we here at the ASC will have descriptions, virtual

re-creations and digital photographs to remind us of the relatively

brief period our ancient guests of honor visited us.

Late Prehistoric Period Indian (Point

Revenge) ramah chert point. Found at

Oakes Bay in 1974 by Chris Nagle.
ASC Newsletter 26

F I E L D W O R K

ST. LAWRENCE GATEWAYS: ARCHAEOLOGY OF

THE QUEBEC LOWER NORTH SHORE

By Bill Fitzhugh and Matt Gallon

In late July and August, 2001, Bill Fitzhugh conducted a

preliminary archaeological survey of the Quebec Lower North Shore

(LNS) from the Mingan Islands to the Strait of Belle Isle. This 300-

mile section of rugged coast is one of the least-known regions of

Northeastern North America, although being one of the first areas of

the New World explored by Europeans – first by Vikings around

A.D. 1000 and later by Basque and others in the early 16th century.

Lacking a highway connection, its small Innu (Indian), English-, and

French-speaking villages are among the most isolated settlements in

the Gulf of St. Lawrence region today and are served only by

steamer and light aircraft. Given this large poorly-known territory,

our primary goal was to explore the region’s archaeological potential

and identify sites for further study.

The survey located more than thirty archaeological sites, most

of which were found between Blanc Sablon and Cape Whittle, south

of which cold subarctic conditions give way to the more temperate

regions of the inner Gulf of St. Lawrence. Research was conducted

aboard the Arctic Studies Center’s research vessel, Pitsiulak, which

provided a safe and comfortable means of access and lodging in

these inaccessible regions. Bill’s field team included: Captain Perry

Colbourne; recent Bowdoin graduate Matthew Gallon; University

of Washington student Cristie Boone; Laval MA student, Valerie

Boudreault an Innu with much knowledge of this coast;

photographer Will Richard; historian Selma Barkham, and

Quebecois researcher René Levesque.

Our primary goal was to explore unsolved problems such as

(1) the western boundary, cultural relationships, and disappearance

of the Maritime Archaic Indians who exploited the fish and marine

mammals of the Gulf of St. Lawrence ca. 8000-3500 years ago; (2)

the identity of the later, less maritime-adapted Indian cultures, (3)

the southern limits of Dorset Paleoeskimo and historic Inuit

(Eskimo) cultures; (4) evidence of trade and contacts between LNS

cultures and their neighbors; and (5) the early history of European

exploration and settlement by Vikings, Basque whalers, and other

European groups, and their relations with Native peoples.

Preliminary results of the survey are presented in our 2001 field

report (Fitzhugh 2001). We plan to focus the coming field season on

the region between Cape Whittle and Mouton Bay, an area of

gorgeous scenery with rich fish and sea mammal resources. Two

sites discovered in 2001 will be given particular attention: a 4000-

year-old Maritime Archaic dwelling site (Petit Mécatina-2) and a

spectacular Basque whaling site (Petit Mécatina-3).

As always seems to happen, we found the Maritime Archaic

site at dusk when it was too late to map, photograph, or test, and

we had to leave the area that evening without returning.

Nevertheless, we easily discerned the distinctive features of a large

six-room long-house outlined in the high, ancient, raised beach,

surrounded by cache pits and boulder mounds. A nearby raised

beach of the same elevation (and therefore probably of similar age)

contained large boulder structures similar to Maritime Archaic burial

mounds known in Labrador. To date no MA dwellings have been

found south of Hamilton Inlet in Labrador, making the Mécatina-2

finds important in extending the limit of this culture far into the

Gulf of St. Lawrence and in providing information on house types,

settlement patterns, and possibly burials.

A few miles east of Mécatina-2 we found a Basque site

(Mécatina-3) in a protected cove on the east side of Petit Mécatina

peninsula. Here again, conditions for investigation were not ideal, as

a fierce storm prevented us from taking detailed notes and

photographs; but our test pits produced large amounts of roof tiles,

iron spikes, bone, glass, and other European materials. The material

was clearly Basque, and the site location conformed to the plotted

position on 17th century Basque maps as “Petit Canada,” a whaling

site dating to ca. 1590. The site is on a flat shelf of land on the north

side of a small protected harbor that was ideal for ship anchorage

and whale processing. To the north the site is bounded by a high

cliff whose overhanging wall creates a rain shelter where the whalers

must have constructed tile-roofed sheds as shown by the quantities

of tiles found here. The dry deposits in the rain shadow of the cliff

preserved organic materials of bone and wood that are rarely found

in open sites. The open area below the cliff was covered with

thick vegetation, but everywhere we tested we found roof tiles

and spikes. Clearly, this is a very large and important site. The

deep, cold waters adjacent to the site probably also preserve

whale remains, artifacts, and perhaps even boat and ship remains,

so we also plan some underwater exploration.

In addition to the two sites on Petit Mécatina where we

will be working this coming summer, our 2001 survey focused

on several other areas of the 550km of coast between the

Mingan Islands and Blanc-Sablon. In the Mingan National Park

territory we discovered ten new sites and visited three

important European sites that were previously known. Two of

these historic period sites - explorer Louis Jolliet’s late 17th

century trading post and naturalist Henri Puyjalon’s late 19th

century gravesite - are connected with prominent figures in

Quebec’s history and will play an important role in the

development of tourism throughout the Lower North Shore.

In the region between the Mingan Islands and Blanc-Sablon

we discovered and documented 26 sites, including two previously

unknown Basque sites, several Maritime Archaic sites, a

Paleoeskimo site (probably Groswater), several post-MA Indian

sites, and several 19/20th century European sites. In addition we

The St. Lawrence Field Team (from left to right) Will Richard, René

Levesque, Perry Colbourne, Lynne Fitzhugh, Bill Fitzhugh, Cristie Boone,

Matthew Gallon
ASC Newsletter 27

inspected and documented several private collections

containing prehistoric Indian materials.

One of the goals of the project was to survey for

signs of Inuit or Paleoeskimo culture sites along the

Lower North Shore. Much to our surprise we found no

evidence of the typical Inuit tent-rings or sod dwellings

found just a short distance to the north along the

Labrador coast. We did find some traces of the earlier

Dorset and Groswater Paleoeskimos, but it appears that

both groups were at the limit of their ranges between

Blanc Sablon and Cape Whittle.

In contrast to the absence of Inuit archaeology and

limited Paleoeskimo remains, signs of Indian occupations

were far more abundant in the outer coastal region. The

early Indian Maritime Archaic culture seems to be more

common in the eastern part of the Lower North Shores

where high land occurs close to the coastline. The

Maritime Archaic long-houses, caches, and possibly

burial mounds on the boulder beaches of southern Petit

Mécatina are presently the farthest south and west that

these structures have been found. Our excavations at these sites in

2002 will hopefully identify what factors limited this culture’s

southwestern expansion.

Throughout the survey we inspected the private collections

generously shared with us by the residents of Mingan, Kégashka,

Baie Mouton and Brador. These collections and our own finds

allowed us to confirm previous evidence for Indian (Saunders

Complex and Proto-Innu) occupations of the Lower North Shore in

the 3000 years after the Maritime Archaic period. Over time these

Indian groups moved away from the outer coastal areas to site

locations around the mouths of rivers and further into the interior.

While much of the physical environment and climate of the

Quebec Lower North Shore resembles the coast of central and

southern Labrador, conditions here did not support the diverse

number of Inuit and Paleoeskimo groups found further to the

northeast. On the other hand our survey identified the use of raw

materials like Ramah chert which indicate that Lower North Shore

cultures were in frequent contact with their neighbors in Labrador

throughtout the past 8000 years. Excavations this summer will

focus on the nature of contact between Maritime Archaic groups of

the Lower North Shore and Labrador, as well as possible contact

between the Basque and local Native groups during the 16th century.

The location of these contacts in the Gulf of St. Lawrence have

made it an important gateway through which knowledge, culture and

resources have been exchanged for thousands of years.

THE MUMMIES FROM SALEKHARD, WEST SIBERIA

By Natalia Fedorova

The Yamal Archeological Expedition of the Institute of History

and Archeology of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of

Sciences has been working in the territory of the north and north-west

Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Region for almost ten years, in the Yamal,

Cis-Ural, Shuryshkar regions to be exact. The expedition is being

financed by the Administration of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous

Region. We began, if not from scratch, then at least from a lot of

“blank spaces” on the archeological map. The Yamal peninsula, which

is not only part of this territory but is also its symbol, was practically

uninvestigated.

In 1994, we completed our first step by publishing an

archeological map of the Yamel-Nenets Autonomous Region. During

the next five years, we excavated several sites that were fundamental

to our historical re-constructions, such as the Ust-Poluy sacred place,

the Tiutey-Sale 1 settlement, Yarte VI, and several others. We were

also able, roughly, of course, to solve the question of how and when

the Yamal peninsula was first settled, and to work out the main

system of economic adaptation of its population to conditions in the

far north.

In 1997, our group, including the Smithsonian’s Bill Fitzhugh

and Sven Haakanson, then at Harvard, made a trial dig near the

Poluy River in the vicinity of the Zeleniy Yar settlement, to see

what could be found. As chance had it, we found a human burial: a

male in a wooden coffin with an iron combat knife, a small silver

medallion near the left shoulder, and the bronze figure of a bird in

the lower part of the grave. We estimated the burial had been

constructed between the 7th and 9th centuries AD. We named this

medieval necropolis Zeleniy Yar, after the near-by settlement.

Up to the present , we have investigated twenty-seven burials

and the territory between the graves, where we have found two

sacred places containing metallic objects, clay vessels, and a

metallurgical shop complex. All burials are placed in narrow,

shallow excavations that show traces of wooden constructions

(coffins made of logs or boat parts), and practically all have bedding

materials at the bottom, and most are covered with birch bark. The

individuals were found in extended position, face up, with hands

alongside their bodies or over the pelvic bones, with their legs

pointing toward the river, a positioning that may be connected with

religious beliefs. Eleven of the burials, all males, had suffered

deliberate destruction, including shattered or missing skulls, and

chopped up skeletons. This was probably done to render protection

from mysterious spells believed to emanate from the deceased.

Other traces of “protective magic” may be indicated by the leather

straps that were bound tightly around the bodies, as well as the use

of beads or chains, and bronze anthropomorphic or birdlike figures

that had been broken into pieces at the time of burial.

We also found roughly cut fragments of copper cauldrons

inside the graves. Such pots held a special, festive status in

medieval times, and were probably used, like the many ceramic

vessels found in heaps between the graves, for ritual ceremonies

honoring the deceased. Such utensils continue to play a special role

in burial rites in Zelenii Yar today. By dating the dominant ceramic

Archaeologists excavating Zeleniy Yar, in western Siberia
ASC Newsletter 28

complex, we calculated that the first burials were constructed

between the 6th and 7th century and the latest sometime during the

12th century.

At the end of the 2000 season we found the first mummified

body. Burial No. 15 looked unusual even in the uppermost level of

the grave. The pit was much wider than the previous ones we had

discovered, and the birch bark covering bulged up more prominently,

indicating it contained more than merely the bones of a buried child.

When the birch bark was raised, we noticed well-preserved fur and

human hair. Beneath a blanket of reindeer fur was the head of a

mummified child, and the cheek, eye socket, eyelids, and even the

eyelashes were clearly visible. The face glistened with a black luster,

and long, thick black hair lay beside the face. We took all possible

measures to preserve the mummy, speculating that it was a girl.

The DNA analysis of the mummy, conducted by A.B. Poltaraus

and E.E. Kylikov of the Institute of Molecular Biology of the Russian

Academy of the Sciences, concluded that the sex of the mummy is in

fact female, and the racial and genetic type resembled a modern

European.

During the 2001 season, we discovered four more mummies.

The first three, Burials 23, 24, and 25, were found at the southern

end of the site. Judging by the small size of the pits we thought the

burials probably belonged to children. Under the fill layer we found

more or less boat-shaped log sarcophagi with relatively flat “sterns”

which were turned towards the forest and sharp noses pointing in

the direction of the river. On top, the construction was fully closed

and slightly convex.

Beneath the wood covers we discovered a layer of fur that was

bound by copper hoops 5 or 6 cm wide, roughly cut from the

copper vessels mentioned earlier. There were four or five bands

over each mummy, and their faces were covered with mask-like

copper plates.

The three burials had been prepared in exactly the same manner,

except for a few minor details. For example, turf had been placed over

the fur of the first burial, in which we found leaves, twigs, and plant

roots. The second burial contained high quality fur, dark-brown and

lustrous, and the third came forth with long, fur boots, in excellent

condition, bound with straps of black leather, undoubtedly as a third

layer of protection. Inside the fur bundles, the mummies of children

were preserved to varying degrees. Some details stunned us, evoking

complicated emotions that, in many other instances, are far removed

from the sober, cold eye of the archeologist. The flesh of each

mummy was dark black. One child had a mop of wonderful hair,

another a small hand so well preserved that we could see the lines in

the skin of the bent fingers. We tried to observe these details as

strictly archeological objects, although not all of us could easily do so.

From morning until night we worked with the utmost vigor

and care to preserve the mummies. Although endless arguments

threatened to lead us nowhere, we arrived at several compromises,

such as deciding to pack the upper layers separately, and the

remaining layers as a whole. The entire process was taped on

video, numerous photographs were taken, detailed descriptions

were recorded in the register book, and many drawings were made.

The fur and the bronze were packed in foil, then wrapped in

paper, and descriptions of the objects and where they were found

were inscribed on each package. The most difficult task was

removing the mummified remains without damaging them, but we

accomplished this by clearing away the earth around the burial and

raising the mummies on sheets of plywood. The mummies were

then covered with several layers of bandage and foil. When they

began to resemble the Egyptian ones and had acquired some

stability and firmness, we placed them in specially prepared wooden

boxes. The boxes were nailed shut and placed in the shade.

 On the last day of the expedition’s work, to the north of the

burial site near the remains of a metal-working shop where we found

traces of iron, copper, and bronze, we found a long and narrow grave

pit, Burial No.27. A wooden sarcophagus collapsed when we tapped

it. After the layer of wood had been removed, a great surprise lay in

store for us: practically the whole individual was covered with a

copper plate from feet to chest. We had never observed first-hand

such detailed ritual. Extremely well-preserved fur coverings, binding

belts, a bronze buckle with a bear’s head, an iron hatchet, and several

arrowheads damaged by corrosion were also found.

It is impossible to describe what we felt at that moment. When

we had calmed down, we studied the many well-preserved details: the

high skull, the protruding nose, the heavy chin, the reddish moustache

and hair. Perhaps the term “expression of the face” seems somewhat

incorrect when speaking of the deceased, but he most certainly had a

look of high importance.

It was extremely difficult to remove and bandage this mummy.

First, because the man was tall: 165 cm from head to foot, without the

clothes and constructions around him, and the size of the wooden box

was 1.80 by 0.90 m. Second, it was 3 am and everyone was dead

tired, and third, we were afraid to make mistakes, the result of which

could include the loss of such a well-preserved mummy, a factor

that was quite unforgivable. But, to our great relief, all went well.

The male mummy from Burial No. 27 is presently in Moscow at

the Scientific Research Center of Biomedical Technologies (VILAR).

The other three are being studied by staff members of the Ural

institutes of the Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Ecology of

Plants and Animals, and members of the microbiology section at the

Ural State Medical Academy, directed by Professor A. G. Sergeyev

and whose laboratory is directed by S. V. Lebedev. They will conduct

DNA analysis to determine the sex, race, and genetic type of the

mummies and will attempt to discover the diseases that led to the

deaths of the children. Our geneticist colleagues are also currently

exchanging information and specimens with their Moscow

counterparts from A. B. Poltaraus group.

Specialists from the Institute of Hunting and Fur Trade, in

particular N. I. Mordvinov, analyzed the fur from the burials and

determined that they belong to six different types: reindeer, beaver,

sable, wolverine, dog, and bear. N. I. Mordvinov concluded that the

tanning of the hides was of very high quality. N. A. Aleksashenko,

who personally took part in the diggings and who specializes in the

study of ancient trade, in collaboration with ethnographer E. V.

Perevalova, is studying the clothes and shoes from the children’s

burials. Among other findings, they have uncovered small fragments

Mummy bound with copper bands.
ASC Newsletter 29

of copper and bronze artifacts beneath the heels of the children’s

boots. D. I. Razhev has undertaken the laboratory work of cleaning

and carrying out anthropometric analysis of the mummified remains.

The Presidium of the Ural Section of the Russian Academy of

Sciences has financed the purchasing of a special refrigerator for

storing the mummies and fur clothing.

I would like to express my gratitude to those of my colleagues

who took part in the digging in Zeleniy Yar and in the heated debates

on our finds and their destiny. There would have been nothing

without your participation. I am grateful to my Salekhard friends

from the Administration of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Region

Committee for Science, to the concern Yamalinform, to the YamalNenets Museum of Local Lore, and to many others who have helped

and supported us. A great many thanks are due to specialists of the

Scientific Research Center of Biomedical Technologies (VILAR), who

undertook the preservation of our finds, and also to colleagues from

the Institute of Molecular Biology and the Ural State Medical

Academy. If we are successful in raising the standard of quality of our

research, their responsibility for this has not been small.

The work was carried out with the support of grant from the

various institutions mentioned earlier.

GENGHIS KHAN RIDES AGAIN! MONGOLIAN

EXHIBITION AND NEW RESEARCH PROGRAMS

By Bill Fitzhugh

In last year’s newsletter we reported briefly on a project Bill

Fitzhugh and Steven Young (Northern Studies Center) participated

in last June, when they were invited to join an expedition to visit

the Tsaatan (Dukha) people. The project was instigated by Ed Nef,

Director of the Inlingua Language School of Arlington. Va. Ed also

runs a language school in Ulaanbaatar, the capitol of Mongolia, and

during recent years he became acquainted with the Tsaatan’s struggle

for survival as a tiny reindeer-herding minority in the northern taiga

and tundra of Hovsgol province in northern Mongolia.

During the past year our exploratory work in 2001 blossomed

into a substantive program of education, research, and humanitarian

enterprises reaching beyond the Arctic Studies Center into other areas

of the Natural History Museum and the Smithsonian and elsewhere.

Returning from the field in June 2001, we lobbied NMNH to

accept an exhibition developed by Paula Sabloff at the University

Museum (Upenn). Her show, Modern Mongolia: Reclaiming

Genghis Khan, had been developed with the National Museum of

Mongolian History (NMMH) and featured ethnography and

political anthropology of 20th century Mongolia as it passed

successively through stages of feudalism and communism into a

modern democratic state after emerging from decades of Soviet

domination in the early 1990s. Using the collections of the NMMH

and assistance of its history curator, Dashdendev Bumaa, Paula

has assembled an exciting exhibition that will entice many into the

rarely-exhibited field of political anthropology. The show opened at

Natural History on 3 July during the Smithsonian Folklife Festival

which, by happy circumstance this year, featured the cultures, arts,

foods, and music of the Silk Road and included a Mongolian

component among many other presentations of Central Asian life.

In addition to Sabloff and Bumaa, the opening reception and

festivities featured the Director of the NMMH, Dr. Sandui

Idshinnorov, Embassy representatives, and strong representation

from Mongolian arts and culture, some of whom presented fine

works of art to the Smithsonian that are among the first objects

from Mongolia ever to enter the Institution’s collections.

We were also very pleased to have Ed Nef and Director of the

Santis School and Foundation in Ulaanbaatar, Dooloojin

Orgilmaa, present for the opening. Ed and Orgmilmaa not only

facilitated our 2001 expedition to the Hovsgol region; they also

helped organize our return visit in June of this year.

It is not exactly a surprise that our research and fieldwork

coincided with the Mongolian exhibition! Hatching public programs

tied to research enterprises has been an ASC trademark for many

years! In this case funding became the most difficult issue. ‘Exotic’

it is, with its age-old traditions and alluring past, Mongolian history,

culture, environmental research, and education have not yet made

their mark on the ledger-books of corporations, foundations,

development banks, and government agencies. Hopefully we can

change that history during coming years. Many of these

organizations have been providing economic assistance to Mongolia

as it has developed democratic institutions during the past decade.

The North American-Mongolian Business Council and its director,

Jalsa Urubsharov, and executive director, Steve Saunders, have

been making major efforts in this area for the past several years, and

there are now a score of businesses, including most prominently,

mining, cashere, and tourism, that have taken the lead in developing

Mongolia’s new free market economy.

Although not present at the opening of the exhibition, a

magnificent deerstone – symbol of Mongolia’s ancient heritage –

will make its debut in the exhibition in mid-July. We decided to

include a replica of a deerstone in the exhibition not only to

symbolize the ancient Bronze Age heritage that is still such a

prominent part of modern Mongolia, but to represent our emerging

archaeological and anthropological research programs, begun in

earnest this past month as Dan Rogers, Steven Young, Paula

DePriest, and I initiated a series of linked research programs in

central and northern Mongolia.

Little-known and never previously exhibited outside of

Mongolia and the Tuva and trans-Baikal region of southern Russia,

the ca. 3000 year old Bronze Age deerstones are truly wonders of

the ancient world! Varying from one to 3-4 meters in height, these

stone plinths – mostly carved in beautiful beige or rose-colored

granite – are memorial stones representing stylized human figures,

mostly likely powerful leaders and warriors. Only one stone – the

remarkable eight-foot tall Ushkin Uver monument – carries a human

face, but most show earrings and a cross-hatched belts from which

Preparing dinner in the northern Mongolia tundra is a task Tsaatan

reindeer enjoy!
ASC Newsletter 30

hang knives, axes, and other recognizeable Bronze Age implements.

Between ‘head’ and waist, and sometimes below, the ‘body’ of the

stone is embellished with carvings of large deer-like stags with

swept-back racks of antlers and strange duckbill-like snouts. The

stones carry other markings – dots, circles, and other forms – of

unknown meaning, but the general sense of the imagery is that of

deer-like transformational spirits engaged in assisting the deceased

warrior’s passage into the sky-world. Esther Jacobson, the leading

scholar of deerstone art and archaeology, considers them to be

foundational to the origins of Scythian art which spread west from

the Sayan-Tuva region into West-Central Asia and the transCaucasus in the first millennium B.C.

In addition to casting a deerstone for the exhibition, one of our

goals during the coming years will be to provide better dating

control for the stones and to determine the role of the Hovsgol

deerstones in the broader history of Bronze Age Central Asia. In

addition, I harbor a suspicion that the art and concepts underlying

the deerstones have broader implications for the art and spiritual

beliefs of more eastern

cultures, including those of

Japan, Korea, northeast Asia,

and the North Pacific region.

These links have not yet been

identified, but similarities

between the deerstone spiritimagery and the early art of

the Amur peoples, Jomon,

and ancient Eskimo art

suggest a fruitful area for new

research.

During our June field

season we tested the

deerstone site at Erkhel Lake

and obtained charcoal and

bone (cremated horse)

remains, mapped and

photographed several sites,

while Carolyn Thorne and

Paul Rhymer of the Office of

Central Exhibits cast the

famous Ushkin Uver stone for the exhibit. We discussed with

Mongolian authorities the possibility of initiating a deerstone

replication program to reproduce these monuments as insurance

against theft. During the past several years several of these stones

have been removed from their natural settings, and at least one stone

stolen from a site was recovered by the Muren police. Subject for

millennia to damage caused by natural frost, animal rubbing, and

lightning-strike damage, these ancient cultural treasures are now

endangered as never before as knowledge of their existence spreads

with tourism and international recognition.

In addition to research on deerstones and Bronze Age burial

traditions, our recent work included research on the Tsaatan

reindeer-herders and their adaptation to changing conditions in their

summer and winter pastures in the forest and tundra regions west of

Lake Hovsgol. Paula DePriest and Sue Lutz worked with Tsaatan

elders with knowledge of reindeer and the lichen they feed upon,

and the changing patterns of reindeer forage as the animals move

between summer tundra and winter taiga (forest) ranges. The lichens

they collected will provide important taxonomic and economic

information, and studies of the distribution and apparent expansion

of dwarf birch and forest vegetation into the summer reindeer range

Paul Rhymer and Carolyn Thome, of the SI Office of Exhibits Central,

cast a Deerstone in preparation for the Modern Mongolia exhibit

may be key to understanding the fate of the Tsaatan and their

ancient way of life, which is currently threatened by vegetation

changes linked to global warming and forest advance into their alpine

tundra lichen-fields as well as by modern political and social changes

making it difficult for this small (pop. 350) ethnic community to

survive as a distinct cultural group as they have during the past.

They remain one of the last peoples to practice a type of limitedrange, alpine reindeer-herding that is distinct from the intensive

reindeer-herding of arctic Eurasia as practiced by the Nenets, Sami,

Chukchi and other arctic herders. Some theorize that the arctic

pattern may have developed from the taiga form only during the

past one thousand years and that the original domestication of

reindeer occurred in places like northern Mongolia where foresttundra hunters began to apply principles of domestication learned

from horse, cattle, and caprine-breeders of the steppes. Here, in

northern Mongolia, the close juxtaposition of ecological zones

makes this region the prime location in Central Asia for the

occurrence of such a technology transfer. We are therefore hopeful,

as is Melinda Zeder, who

hopes to study this problem,

that our future research will

produce archaeological samples

of reindeer remains from several

periods during the past 5000

years to test such an

hypothesis. Our recent

discovery of a large 4-5000

year old Neolithic site on the

‘Melody’ River at Soya, in the

western Darkhat Valley, may

provide a start in this direction.

A final part of our growing

Mongolian research program is

being conducted by Daniel

Rogers, who with Matt

Gallon and Mongolian

colleagues, with the assistance

of Bill Honeychurch, has

recently conducted a survey of

medieval sites of the 12-15th

centuries in central Mongolia. Beginning with the urban center

Kharakhorum established by Genghis Khan, Dan has begun to

explore the interesting problem of ‘nomadic empires and urbanism’

– an important but little-explored corner of anthropological theory.

Nomads are not supposed to build cities or empires; but in

Mongolia and much of Central Asia, they certainly did so on

occasion. While these structures did not last forever and

were often superceded by a complete absence of structure

above family nomadism, the history of culture and civilization

in Mongolia offers exciting new opportunities for an integrated

Smithsonian research and educational programs in the coming

years.

The ASC’s ‘undercover’ agenda is to “annex” Mongolia – at

least northern Mongolia and its pingos, permafrost, reindeer, and

culture complexes – as an extension of the arctic world. Meanwhile,

Steven Young, our botanical and paleocological colleague, plans to

explore Mongolia’s role in the history of ancient Beringian

landscapes. Steve has identified some intriguing, previously

unsuspected links here, as well, and if so, Mongolia may have

also played a more important role than we have realized in Ice

Age ecology and the peopling of the New World.
ASC Newsletter 31

C O N F E R E N C E S

MONGOLIA WORKSHOP

by Matt Gallon

On the 13th of March, 2002, the Smithsonian’s National

Museum of Natural History hosted a workshop to explore current

and potential areas of research in Mongolian studies.

Representatives from Mongolia, including the Mongolian

ambassador to the US, Jalbu Choinhor, and the Deputy Director

of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Dr. Enkhtuvshin, met with

individuals from the private sector, Department of State,

Smithsonian and other institutions and universities for a day of

presentations and discussion. Bill Fitzhugh and the Arctic Studies

Center staff helped organize the meeting with financial assistance

from Ross Simons, Associate Director for Research at NMNH.

The workshop heralds a new period of Mongolian-focused

activities at the Smithsonian. Curators from a variety of

Smithsonian departments and Steven Young of the Center for

Northern Studies in Wolcott, VT, are planning a long-term, multidisciplinary, research program on Mongolia’s environment and

cultures, which will complement the opening of the University of

Pennsylvania’s exhibition Modern Mongolia at the Smithsonian’s

National Museum of Natural History in July of 2002.

The idea for the research program originated last summer, when

Bill and Steve participated in a humanitarian mission, organized by

Ed Nef (Santis Inlingua Corp.), to deliver horses to the Tsaatan, a

reindeer herding group in northern Mongolia whose way of life has

come under increasing stress due to political, economic and climatic

changes during the past decade. Bill and Steve were intrigued by the

possible connections between the environment and cultures of

Mongolia and other areas of the north they have previously studied.

After returning to the United States, they encouraged other scholar

at the Smithsonain and elsewhere to collaborate on an integrated

research program in Mongolia.

After Bill’s introductory remarks, Ed Nef discussed the history

of the project and his humanitarian work with the Tsaatan. Clyde

Goulden (Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia) reviewed his

work on the natural history of northern Mongolia and its role in the

creation of the Hovsgol World Heritage Project conservation area.

Steve spoke about the similarities between Mongolia’s current

environment and the paleo-environments of other areas of the arctic.

He also discussed the many opportunities a research program would

provide for training Mongolian students in the natural sciences.

Bill outlined the potential for anthropological research of the

past and present cultures of the Hovsgol region. He identified the

need for further ethnographic work with the Tsaatan during this

period of dramatic change in their culture. Archaeological

investigations in this region may be able to determine if past contact

with herders to the south initiated reindeer domestication here and

then spread to other areas to the north. Bill also hypothesized that

further research on the area’s Bronze Age stone monuments, known

as “deerstones” due to their ornate carvings of flying elk, might shed

light on the origin of early Eskimo art in the Bering Sea region.

The focus on archaeology continued as William

Honeychurch (Univ. of Michigan—Ann Arbor) described the

results of his archaeological survey of the Egengulf River area in

northern Mongolia. William is now investigating how the political

organization and management strategies of the early nomadic

confederations differed from other archaic states whose populations

were mainly comprised of sedentary farmers. He also identified

several other problems in Mongolian prehistory that archaeologists

could address, such as the domestication of horses, the relationship

between peripheral areas and state systems and the transition from

the early Bronze Age into the confederation period.

While showing the group some skulls from the Smithsonian

collection, Doug Owsley (NMNH) explained how the study of

human skeletons can shed light on ancient populations and

migrations. Together with Dennis Stanford (NMNH), Owsley

would like to investigate Mongolia’s Paleolithic populations in order

to better understand the spread of humans from Central Asia into

Northeast Asia and the Americas.

Returning the focus to the contemporary inhabitants of

Mongolia, Dan Plumley (Totem Project) described how he and his

organization combat the rapid disintegration of the way of life of

reindeer herders in northern Mongolia and Tuva Russia. He

stressed the need to facilitate communication between these groups,

which have been separated by the recently closed boundary

between Mongolia and Russia, and develop ways to help them

protect their environmental resources and traditional economy.

Daniel Rogers (NMNH) outlined his interest in the cities

built during the Khan period in Mongolia. Most people believe the

empire of Genghis Khan and his relatives consisted of a nomadic

horde of barbarians, and fail to realize that the Khan’s built a few

urban centers, which were home to many talented artisans. Dan

hopes that archaeological investigation of the empire’s little known

urban centers will add another dimension to our understanding of

history’s largest geographic empire and to the theory of transient

urban and state systems.

Paula Sabloff (Univ. of Pennsylvania), curator of the Modern

Mongolia exhibition, described her work on contemporary

Mongolians’ perceptions of democracy. Contrary to most

Americans’ perceptions of Genghis Khan, Mongolians identify him

as the father of their modern democratic principles. Through

surveys and video interviews, Paula illustrated the similarities and

differences between American and Mongolian ideas about

democracy.

Sas Carey (Life Energy Healing School, VT) explained how

practitioners of traditional Mongolian medicine in the Gobi desert

taught her about medicinal plants and healing techniques—

knowledge that she now passes on to her students.

Matthew Brady (Univ. of Pittsburgh) described how the

University of Pittsburgh facilitates the exchange of Mongolian and

American students. He also identified several opportunities for the

exchange of students and scholars in the future.

Several presentations focused on Mongolia’s plant life. Sonja

Schmitz explored the potential for study of the genetic diversity

among Mongolia’s plant populations. Gordon Jacoby (LamontDoherty Earth Observatory) presented a history of Mongolia’s

climate, which he reconstructed using tree ring data. By analyzing

cores taken from Siberian pine, Gordon identified changes in surface

temperature over the past 1700 years. Paula DePreist, a lichen

specialist at NMNH, brought a sample of lichens to help illustrate

her interest in the botany of the Hovsgol region. She would like to

investigate the effects of the reindeer’s grazing patterns on their

favorite food, reindeer lichen, and the evolutionary and adaptive

aspects of the reindeer-human relationship.

Conservation biologist, Peter Leimgruber (CRC), described
ASC Newsletter 32

how he helped train Mongolian biologists to monitor eastern

Mongolia’s antelope population. He also commented on the

potential to expand this project with both the antelope and other

animal species in Mongolia.

After the presentations some of the participants responded to

what they had heard during the workshop. Maijargal

Sanjmyakov, an art history scholar and wife of Ambassador

Choinhor, spoke on behalf of the Embassy of Mongolia. She

encouraged the Smithsonian to initiate a new period of research

similar to that of the Ray Chapman Andrews period at the American

Museum of Natural History in the early 1900s.

Ambassador Joe Lake added his observations on the changes

in Mongolia since he became the country’s first U.S. ambassador in

the early 1990s. He views the increase in American scholarly

research on Mongolia as one of the positive results of the country’s

changing political climate.

Dr. Enkhtuvshin (Mongolian Academy of Sciences) said that

he was pleased to see that scientists from so many different fields

are interested in conducting research in his country. He and his

fellow Mongolians welcome American interest in their country and

will try to assist future research programs with the hope of

developing a closer working relationship between Mongolian and

American scientists.

The workshop concluded with a strong consensus that a

coordinated research program would soon be organized, and that the

workshop paved the way for future research collaboration.

SMITHSONIAN ANTHROPOLOGY HONORED AGAIN

AT SAA

By Elisabeth Ward

Last year, the Society for American Archaeology awarded Bill

Fitzhugh and Elisabeth Ward the prestigious Book Award for

Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga. Although we were extremely excited

by the honor, we felt a bit shy about being so singled out. That

situation was rectified this year, when Ruth Selig, Ann Kaupp, and

Alison Brooks won the Award for Excellence in Public Education for

their dedicated work over the years on AnthroNotes, a free publication

of the Natural History Anthropology Department for teachers of

anthropology that includes short articles on recent anthropological

work and suggestions for activities in the classroom. This publication

was initiated while Bill Fitzhugh was chair of the department, a mantle

he is about to resume, so he was especially pleased.

Although the lively reception after the awards ceremony,

complete with a bouquet of balloons from Carolyn Rose who could

not attend in person, was certainly the highlight of the meetings,

Arctic Studies Center staff and associates also presented several

papers. Bill and Elisabeth jointly presented a paper entitled

“Engaging Scandinavian-American Identity through the

Smithsonian’s Viking Exhibition” at a thoughtful, theoretically

oriented session on archaeological representation in the museum

context. Our paper focused on how the Viking exhibition,

ostensibly about a culture that existed 1000 years ago, has become

very relevant to modern Scandinavian-Americans. Thanks to Kelly

Britt and David Goldstein, who organized the session with

Heather Atherton, for including us.

Ted Timreck, of Timreck Productions, who has worked with

the Arctic Studies Center for years on documentaries and websites

that bring our work to public attention, showed a film he is

currently working on. He is producing a documentary on the “On

Your Knees Cave” site, Alaska, where human remains from an

individual thought to be over 10,000 years old was discovered,

prompting a careful evaluation of how the site should be dealt with

by both the archaeologist and the local Tlingit community.

But the paper that best represented the Arctic Studies Center

was certainly that given by Stephen Loring on his community

archaeology project with the Innu and Inuit in Labrador. His paper

was part of a session entitled, “Places in Mind: Archaeology as

Applied Anthropology,” which included papers on such diverse

projects as urban archaeology in historic black communities and

work in Australia to promote tourism to outlying towns. All of the

papers in the session, regardless of the specifics of the site

discussed, shared a methodological approach whereby the

archaeologists consciously, deliberately, and cooperatively involve

community members whose cultural heritage is represented by the

site in the development, execution, and interpretation of the site,

though to varying degrees. Stephen’s paper garnished a great deal of

interest by the session attendees given his rather unique emphasis

on combining teaching Innu and Inuit students about archaeology

while practicing traditional subsistence living strategies, many of

which the students did not know before they left for the field. Like

the conference as a whole, this session pointed to a future for

archaeology that maintains a solid scientific basis while successfully

creating a socially responsible, publicly aware, discipline.

THE 4TH WORLD CONGRESS ON MUMMY

STUDIES

by Bruno Frohlich

The “4th World Congress on Mummy Studies” was held in

Nuuk (Godthåb) in Greenland from September 4th to 10th 2001.

The Greenland National Museum and Archives acted as the official

host for more than 100 congress participants from all over the

world. Previous congresses have been held on the Island of

Tenerife (Spain), in Columbia and Chile.

Traditionally congresses have been held at locations where

human mummified remains have been found and/or studied. Thus,

Greenland was an obvious choice for the 4th Congress. The finds of

the Qilakitsoq mummies in northwestern Greenland in 1972 resulted

in one of the most comprehensive and multidiciplinary studies of any

mummy finds in the world. At this time, the Qilakitsoq mummies are

displayed at the Greenland National Museum and Archives in Nuuk.

Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, proved to be an excellent

host. The conference facilities were excellent, lodging and food

Award winners Ruth Selig, Ann Kaupp, Alison Brooks recieved the

SAA Award for Excellence in Public Education, from SAA

PresidentRobert Kelly.
ASC Newsletter 33

were in good Danish tradition outstanding, and the traditional great

hospitality showed by the people of Nuuk was not alone

wonderful but also a great experience.

More than 70 papers and ten posters were presented

covering a variety of topics including paleopathology, bog people,

mummification methods, applied technology and analytical

methods, mortuary archaeology, conservation, and special sessions

on Greenland and Arctic archaeology, and the mummies from

Llullaillaco (Argentina).

The welcome and official opening ceremony was dominated

by speeches by officials from the Greenland National Museum

and Archives, The Greenland Home Rule, and local government

officials. Ms. Lise Skifte Lennert, Minister of Culture,

Education, Research and Church Affairs in Greenland set the tone

for the congress by emphasizing the importance of an ethical and

respectful treatment of all human remains including mummies and

of the importance of studying such material and learning from this

process.

In addition to the scientific program, several lectures were

organized for the general public. This included selected topics such

as mummy studies, bog people and DNA analysis were

particularly organized for the public and proved to be a great

success. Niels Lynnerup of the Laboratory of Biological

Anthropology at the University of Copenhagen gave an overview

of mummy studies and emphasized the importance of nondestructive and non-invasive methods by showing slides depicting

the research on the Qilakitsoq mummies and other human remains

both from Greenland and Denmark. Christian Fisher of the

Silkeborg Museum in Denmark presented new information about

research on bog people and Søren Nørby from the University of

Copenhagen gave a broad overview of DNA research and how it

relates to archaeological and anthropological studies.

The scientific sessions resulted in four days of activities

included presentations on a variety of topics related to the study

of human mummified remains and on Greenland and Arctic

archaeology in general. The first day of talks included mostly

reviews of archaeological research in Greenland and in the Eastern

Arctic. Peter Schledermann from the Arctic Institute of North

America, University of Calgary, summarized the present status on

migrations into and within the North American Arctic area and

discussed the dating of various Paleo and Neo Eskimo groups in

Greenland. Of interest for most scholars of Greenland pre-history

is the question about population replacement or population

admixture. For example, did the Thule people, arriving in

Northwestern Greenland around 1,150 AD replace an earlier, but

now extinct population of Late Dorset people? or did the two

groups blend together? Such questions have been reiterated over

the years. As we will see later in this review, new research based

on the extraction of mtDNA from human skeletal remains have

helped solve some of these problems. Claus Andreassen of the

Greenland National Museum and Archives summarized some of

the more recent data and ideas on mortuary practices, on on-going

issues related to possible contacts between Dorset and Thule

people, and various migrations of Paleo-Eskimos and Neo-Eskimos

into Greenland.

Niels Lynnerup gave an excellent overview of the results

from the multidiciplinary research on the Qilakitsoq mummies (see

attached figure). The Qilakitsoq mummies were found in 1972 by

two Greenlanders out on grouse hunting. A total of eight bodies,

all fully dressed in excellent preserved skin clothes were retrieved

and shipped to Copenhagen where they were studied until they

were returned to the Greenland National Museum and Archives in

1982 where they now are on display. The study on the Qilakitsoq

mummies is truly multidiciplinary, and an overall review of the

results would be prohibitive in this article. However, they date to

around 1450 AD. The eight mummified bodies included two

children and six adult females. Because of the excellent

preservation it was decided that the study of the four best

preserved bodies should be non-destructive and non-invasive.

Thus, a lot of the results have been obtained by non-destructive

means, minute sampling from the surface and some biopsies.

Indeed, extensive x-ray analysis was performed by one of major

government hospitals in Denmark. More recently, CT scanning has

been performed at the Nuuk hospital and it is the hope that such

methods will reveal new and exciting information about the

mummies.

The session on mummification methods included presentation

by Bernardo Arriaza of the University of Nevada

(mummification of fetuses) and Felipe Cardenas-Arroyo of the

Fundacion Erigaie, Bogota, Columbia (skull ‘overmodelling’ and

brain extraction in Columbia). Torstein Sjøvold presented the

latest find on the Tyrolean Iceman and discussed age at death

determination using radiographic and microscopic methods. We

also learned from Sjøvold that extensive CT scanning was

originally carried out by completing 1 mm scan slices of the skull

and mostly 8 mm scans of the post-cranial body. Although no

details are available at this time, the 8 mm scan of the post-cranial

body could have resulted in missing intrusive objects less than 8

mm in size, such as reported recently by Italian researchers.

The segment on bog bodies included several ‘overview’

presentations. Two presentations may be representative of future

trends in the studies of human remains: Pauline Asingh of the

Moesgård Museum in Aarhus, Denmark presented the results from

recent multidiciplinary research on the famous Iron-Age Grauballe

bog man from Denmark. New scientific examinations include DNA

analysis, CT scanning, paleopathology, preservation/conservation,

odontology, C-14 dating, and much more. Robert Janaway of

Bradford University in England presented a paper on taphonomic

changes in buried bodies and associated materials in a northern

England peat environment all based on experimentation. Bodies of

buried pigs are monitored pertinent to changes in chemistry,

temperature, and humidity to learn and establish rules for changes

to carcasses deposited into a peat. Such research is very important

The Qilakitsoq child found in northwest Greenland together with seven

other Inuit, all well preserved in the cold and dry environment. The

bodies have been dated to 1450 A.D., and are an excellent

representation of the original Inuit/Thule people (Photo by Bruno

Frolich, Courtesy of The Greenland National Museum and Archives.)
ASC Newsletter 34

since it allows us to evaluate taphonomic processes and use such

information in evaluating present and future finds.

The Paleopathology section was dominated by a series of

papers describing methodologies and techniques. Athur

Aufderheide of the University of Minnesota gave two excellent

presentations including one on the Paleoepidemiology of American

Trypanosomiasis or Chagas’ disease. Aufderheide used DNA

analysis to identify the presence of the parasite causing the

Chagas’s disease. Otto Appenzeller from the NMHEMC

Research Foundation, Albuquerque, New Mexico introduced a

relatively new field of study: Paleoneurology. By studying 200

Egyptian mummy portraits and measuring 32 skulls all dated to

about 2,000 BP Appenzeller showed that it is possible to

diagnose individuals suffering from potential focal epilepsy,

migraine (hemiplegic) and autonomic nervous system

dysfunction. In general, the paleopathology presentations

demonstrated exciting

ways in which

pathologists can deduct

information from human

mummified tissue. What

was lacking in some of

the presentations,

however, was a clear and

well defined purpose of

the studies and how to

apply the information

into a greater picture of

interpretation.

The session on

Applied Technology and

Analytical methods

included some very

interesting papers on

DNA analysis and the use

of non-destructive and

non-invasive techniques

such as Computed

Tomography (CT) and endoscopy. Dennis O’Rourke of the

University of Utah, extracted mtDNA from prehistoric

skeletons from the Thule culture, Dorset culture and from the

Aleutian Islands. Analysis showed that the Thule samples are

members of the mitochondrial haplogroup A, and the Dorset

samples are members of haplogroup D. Statistical tests

significantly separate Thule from Dorset, thus suggesting the

‘Dorset to Thule transition’ to be a population replacement

rather than an interaction between the groups. Similar analysis

of Sadlermiut skeletons shows the presence of both

haplogroups A and D suggesting Sadlermiuts could be kind of

remnants of a Dorset population but with a later genetical input

from a Thule group. Finally, O’Rourke informed us that

haplogroups A and D are both present in equal frequencies in

three ancient Aleut skeletal populations as well as in modern

Aleuts. This, according to O’Rourke, supports the hypothesis

that the Aleutians have been populated by the same genetical

population for at least 3,000 to 4,000 years.

The Mortuary Archaeology Session completed the

Congress’ official scientific program. Filipe Cardenas-Arroyo

of the Fundacion Erigaie, Bogota, Columbia argued that PreHispanic burials are “....social spaces representing the

continuation of life after death through the use of symbolic

icons such as mummies....” Thus, he concludes that PreHispanic burials are symbols of life rather than death. Jane

Buikstra of the University of New Mexico examined the role

of mummies from La Laguna de Los Condores, Peru and argued

that the mummies represented an ‘arrested’ and ‘liminal’ state

with the bodies and spirits suspended between the living world

and the generative cycles which creates new lives. For this reason,

the mummies represent a dangerous and powerful entity.

Three papers and three posters on Aleutian mortuary

practices were presented by Birna Jonsdottir, David Hunt, and

Bruno Frohlich, all from the Smithsonian Institution. Hunt

reviewed the historical background and the curation of the

institutions more than 30 Aleut mummies from Kagamil Island.

Jonsdottir summarized her findings from the CT scanning of 32

mummies and concluded that non-destructive and non-invasive

methods such as CT were powerful tools in studying such

material and that

destructive

methods including

complete autopsies

could be avoided or

minimized by the

application of CT

and biopsies.

Frohlich reviewed

our knowledge of

Aleut mortuary

practices and made

suggestions for new

approaches on how

such data could be

interpreted. In

general, the three

authors contend

that traditional

Aleut mortuary

practices and

spirituality

continued after the arrival of the Russians in 1741 AD and even

later after the sale of Russian America to United States of

American in 1867. Most likely, traditional mortuary practices,

including mummification continued well into the 20th century.

Furthermore, they argue that the practice of mummification in the

Aleutian Islands represent a temporary status where the contact

and communication between the living and the dead’s spirit is

important to ensure an orderly transfer of the spirit from the world

of the living to ‘another world’.

The Congress was ‘wrapped up’ by a special session on the

Inca mummies from Mount Llullaillaco in Argentina. Bob Brier of

the C. W. Post Campus of the Long Island University in New York

expertly chaired presentations describing one of the most exciting

and certainly extremely important find of well preserved human

remains within the last decade.

The 4th Mummy Congress was completed on September

10th and even the tragic events of the September 11th attacks

on the World Trade Center in New York City created major

travel disruptions for all of us especially if returning to the United

States, it can be stated as a fact that the Congress was a great

success and that the selection of Nuuk as the host city was an

excellent choice. The 5th Mummy Congress will be held in Turin,

Italy and is scheduled to take place during the summer of 2005.

Old town of Nuuk where the 4th Annual Mummy Congress was held. (Photo by Bruno

Frolich)
ASC Newsletter 35

SNOWY OWL REPORT

In February, the Arctic Studies Center webmail encountered a

string of emails about snowy owls. Our website feature on arctic

animals includes the snowy owl, and in the description, we

originally had written that they are found only in the arctic. Well,

this year is certainly the exception. We had several email reports of

people who had seen snowy owls in such places as Vermont,

England, and the Pacific Northwest. Then a reporter called asking if

we’d heard anything about a crash in the lemming population in the

arctic. Stephen suggested that the two might be related, since

lemmings are the main source of food for snowy owls. Less

lemmings means snowy owls have to go further afield to find food,

including well south of the arctic. Given this information, we

decided to amend our website to say that the snowy owl mostly

lives in the arctic, but ranges further. While it seems likely that all

of this is a real observable natural phenomena of this winter and

spring, we can’t help but notice that this sudden burst of interest in

snowy owls happens to coincide with the release of the Harry

Potter movie, which features a snowy owl!

VOICES OF DISCOVERY

Last November the Smithsonian “Voices of Discovery”

program, funded by Pfizer Foundation and collaborating with

LEARN, an educational organization in Connecticut, organized a

program entitled “Sailing into Southeastern Connecticut with the

Smithsonian.” Scholars who participated in the program gave

presentations revolving around the central theme of water: its

historical impact and environmental importance. Several scholars from

the Smithsonian were lucky enough to participate in this program,

including Elisabeth Ward, who discussed the Viking voyages, circa

1000 A.D., Viking ships, cultural and territorial expansion, trade

relations, and environmental impact. The Voices of Discovery

program works to involve Smithsonian scholars with communities

nationwide, providing educational opportunities for all ages.

AN ABUNDANCE OF NEWSLETTERS

If you’re wondering why you’ve recieved two newsletters in

the past six months, its not because we’ve shifted to semi-annual

production! We’re just trying to get back on track with our annual

spring issue. Last year’s slippage resulted from our own tardiness

being compounded by the events of September 11th, the

Smithsonian anthrax mail paralysis, and the closure of the

Smithsonian’s printing and duplication service.

G I F T S

PITSIULAK CONTINUES NORTHERN RESEARCH

TRADITION

In August of 2001, The University of Massachusetts officially

transferred the deed and formal ownership of the Research Vessel

Pitsiulak to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

On that occasion, Dr. Tony Morse, Research Professor in geology

at the University of Massachusetts, offered the vessel to the

Smithsonian to support “the finest kind of science and scholarship

in the North,” noting the research accomplishments made by the

Arctic Studies Center’s use of Pitsiulak and the extensive record of

rebuilding and maintenance of the vessel by the Smithsonian over

the past two decades. In the transfer documents addressed to

NMNH Associate Director for Science, Ross Simons, Dr. Morse

B E R G Y B I T S

expressed the hope that the donation would enable the Smithsonian

to pursue it long-time commitment to northern research and that the

vessel would give new life to this research tradition.

Dr. Morse built the R/V Pitsuilak in 1971 with NSF support

and was the vessel’s Master for many years. His family, including

his wife, Dorothy Forbes Morse, and their daughter Sophie

Morse, worked and lived aboard the vessel in Labrador for several

seasons in the 1970s. Dr. Morse noted that the collaboration with

Fitzhugh and his NMNH team during the period of his research on

the bedrock geology of coastal Labrador “did much to enhance the

efficiency and safety of our research programs in this difficult area.”

After Morse finished his field studies he agreed to loan Pitsiulak to

Fitzhugh for the Smithsonian’s Torngat Project (1977-78) and later

to its Frobisher project in Baffin Island in the early 1990s. Sophie

joined the Smithsonian team for the Frobisher work as First Mate

and soon became the vessel’s operations officer.

Dr. Morse was introduced to Labrador in 1949 by Cdr. David

C. Nutt, USNR, who was then skipper of the 100-foot schooner

Blue Dolphin, which was then engaged in oceanographic and

geographic studies in Labrador. While on board, Dr. Morse assisted

Dartmouth College archeologist Elmer Harp in various field

studies, during which they discovered the important Port au Choix

Dorset site in northern Newfoundland. Commander Nutt received

his early training in northern regions while sailing with Capt. Bob

Bartlett to North Greenland and Ellesmere Island aboard schooner

Effie M. Morrissey. Later he was promoted to Exec on Schooner

Bowdoin under Capt. Donald MacMillan, who was conducting

geographical studies in Labrador and Greenland, ultimately became

skipper of the USN hydrographic vessel Sumner, as well as a task

force commander in the Pacific.

During World War II, Captain Bartlett enlisted the aid of the

Morrissey in search of an Arctic air route to support the ferrying of

fighter planes to Britain. Coincidentally, the senior officer on that

enterprise was Harvard physiologist Dr. Alexander Forbes,

USNR, the great uncle of Dr. Morse’s wife, Dorothy Forbes

Morse. Dr. Forbes book, Quest for a Northern Air Route, vividly

describes his search for the Arctic air route, and his work describing

pioneering work in air-photo mapping, published as Mapping

Northern Labrador From the Air in 1932, remains unsurpassed.

Dr. Morse has encouraged the Arctic Studies Center to “enjoy

this rather remarkable thread of history of a great schooner and a

web of connections down the line from Bob Bartlett through my

own dear mentor David Nutt and my dearly remembered great

uncle-in-law, Alex Forbes, and through them to R/V Pitsiulak, all

connected in turn to Captain Sophie Morse.” Well chronicled, Tony!

And now to be well-remembered!

A W A R D S

 The Alaska Federation of Natives’ Denali Award was

presented this year, to Ann Fienup-Riordan, a Research Associate

with the Arctic Studies Center, for her work with Native Alaskans.

Over the past 30 years she has been helping the Yup’ik preserve

their history and traditions, including curating the exhibition

Agayuliyararput (Our Way of Making Prayer): The Living

Tradition of Yupik Masks. The award was presented at the annual

AFN convention, held in Anchorage. During her acceptance

speech she thanked the Yup’ik for sharing their knowledge with

her and explained how her research agenda has changed over the
ASC Newsletter 36

previous decades, moving from personal interests towards those of

the Yup’ik people, such as Yup’ik masks and lore. We

congratulate Ann, a model of a thoughtful, respectful, and highly

productive scholar on this well-deserved honor.

C O M I N G S A N D G O I N G S

The unexpected departure of Carolyn Rose as Chairman of

the Department of Anthropology, due to illness, and the

appointment of Bill Fitzhugh in her place, was by far the most

noteworthy professional change last year in the Anthropology

Department. We all miss Carolyn’s guidance and compassion, and

sincerely hope for her full recovery and speedy return to work. Bill

anticipates his new duties as Chairman will occupy a large

percentage of his time, and is depending on Aron Crowell, Stephen

Loring, Igor Krupnik, and Elisabeth Ward to keep the Arctic Studies

Center on mission. To aid in these efforts, an energetic, intelligent,

and skilled team member has been added: Matthew Gallon. A 2001

graduate of Bowdoin College. Matt assisted in the survey of the

Quebec Lower North Shore last summer and has proven to be an

indispensable research assistant. Aron Crowell and Jennifer

McCarty are similarly pleased to have the assistance of Rita Eagle

in the Anchorage office, who has been compiling the information

gathered during the Alaska Collection Project while completing her

degree at the University of Alaska, Anchorage.

The other researcher at the Arctic Studies Center this year was

Vladimir Pitulko, from the Russian Academy of Sciences in St.

Petersburg. A long time associate of our Russian arctic projects,

Pitulko helped Bill and Igor organize an English translation of Leonid

Khlobystin’s Archaeology of Taimyr and continued his research on

the Zhokov Island and the 25-27,000 year old Yana River site, eastern

Sakha on the Laptev sea coast. He follows Lynda Gullason, who

completed her fellowship with us last year just in time to give birth to

a beautiful baby. Pitulko will be back this fall to complete his

fellowship work.

To a few other colleagues, we’ve had to say a more lasting

good-bye. Nikki Sandoval, who was instrumental in the hire of

Jennifer McCarty and a respected member of NMAI’s National

Outreach Team, has left NMAI for a position at XXXX. Slightly

more far afield, our long-term friend at the Canadian Embassy, Louise

Blaise, who was an elegant, thoughtful, and very supportive Cultural

Counselor for many years, has been posted to Japan, where she will

serve as Press Officer.

We wish both of them

well.

This year has also

seen its share of interns,

adding to the cycle of

comings and goings.

Sara Gonzales from

the University of

California, San Diego,

spent January through

March with us,

working on our website

update and allowing us

to enjoy the thrill of

graduate school acceptances. Best of luck to you! Sara’s friend

Frank Zeccola agreed to utilize his English skills on editing our

newsletter this spring as he finished up at the University of

Maryland. Lori Beth Mahaney from George Washington University

jumped in this spring to assist with the Elders volume, and also

worked on the Newsletter. However, our summer intern Elise

Kruger has the distinction of finishing not only the newsletter, but

also the Elders volume. Other summer interns include Iris Hahn,

whose work on the linguistics of the Kensington Runestone will be

highlighted next issue, and Katura Reynolds, a Master’s student

studying scientific illustration and a pleasure to have in the office.

Speaking of Saras, Sara Ganeire has returned from her Morman

missionary tour in Argentina and is now planning “what next” at home

in California. We’d be delighted if her path keeps us in sight!

ALASKA OUTREACH COORDINATOR JOINS ASC

A new Outreach Coordinator joined the staff of the NMNH’s

Arctic Studies Center last fall. Jennifer McCarty, who is Iñupiaq

(a.k.a. “Eskimo”) and Scotch-Irish American, had been working as a

contractor at the ASC prior to being hired in early September of 2001.

The position is funded by the National Museum of the American

Indian (NMAI) and is situated in the Alaska Office of the ASC. The

ASC’s Alaska Office is supported and housed by the Anchorage

Museum of History and Art in Anchorage, Alaska.

“I am very excited to be here,” commented Ms. McCarty

about her new appointment. “In this position, I have the

opportunity to interact with individuals, communities and

organizations, and help them develop their ideas about improving

or even starting culture centers and museums throughout Alaska. I

very much want to thank NMAI’s Nikki Sandoval and NMNH’s

Aron Crowell for bringing me into the Arctic Studies Center and

NMAI Community Services teams.”

Last winter, McCarty developed a pamphlet describing

internship and training opportunities from ASC, NMAI and NMNH’s

Office of Fellowships and Grants, distributed statewide to native

Culture Centers and Museums, native corporations and individuals.

She then gave presentations about NMAI and ASC at the Bering

Straits Regional Elders and Youth Conference in Nome, Alaska and in a

teleconference for the Culture Centers and Museums Consortium

Group.

McCarty’s main responsibility is to assist Alaska Office

Director Aron Crowell with the Alaska Collections Project, created

to develop and disseminate knowledge of the Smithsonian’s Alaskan

collections in cooperation with Alaska Native Elders from

communities around the state. Objects from Alaska are housed in

Suitland, Maryland at both the NMNH’s Anthropology section at

the Museum Support Center (MSC) and in NMAI’s Community

Resource Center (CRC) as well. McCarty coordinates outreach

efforts between the Smithsonian and the Alaska Native community.

She is responsible for bringing several groups of Alaska Native

Elders to the MSC and the CRC to examine objects from their

cultural area in Alaska. The information that they share will form

the basis for an exhibit, a website and educational material. Three

such groups have already visited the collections. Such visits will

continue into 2003, and in 2004 will be followed by an exhibition at

the Anchorage Museum of History and Art.

In addition to her other responsibilities is the opportunity to

field questions about the Arctic Studies Center, the NMAI’s

Community Services program. She is available to contact for

assistance in developing ideas for improving and starting culture

centers and museums throughout Alaska; and for individuals

interested in learning more about opportunities the Smithsonian

has for students (High School and beyond), Elders, community

scholars, artists, and museum staff.

2002 ASC Summer Interns (from left) Katura

Reynolds, Iris Hahn and Elise Krueger
ASC Newsletter 37

I N M E M O R I A M

SEPTEMBER 11TH VICTIMS

The last page of this newsletter has often been reserved for

the annual obituaries of the distinguished arctic anthropologists

and close colleagues who have touched the lives and minds of

ASC staff. As it came time to produce this year’s newsletter,

we were gratified to realize that arctic anthropologists have a

remarkable tenacity for life. We admire Elmer Harp, Frederica

De Laguna, and other elders of our “Arctic clan” for their

strength and longevity. The volume dedicated to Elmer and in

honor of many other arctic anthropologists from his generation

has certainly tested the patience as well as teh longevity of its

authors, will be completed this summer for distribution in the

early fall.

Yet even if this year had seen the passing of one of our close

associates, the jarring events of September 11th have altered our

common vision of the trauma of individual, natural deaths. We

would therefore like to take this opportunity to remember those

who were killed on that day.

None of us here at the Arctic Studies Center personally knew

any victims of either the World Trade Center or the Pentagon

tragedies. Though we did not experience close losses in our families,

one should be thankful for a cultural mechanism that allows those

without an immediate personal grief to process the horror of such an

event. As with other tragic events that shocked the nation - the

assassination of John F. Kennedy and the Challenger Space Shuttle

disaster - it seems that everyone can recall their personal story of

exactly how they learned of the tragedy, exactly what one was doing

on September 11th. In remembering that day so clearly, we all

remember the communal loss and we culturally share in the grief.

For the staff of the Arctic Studies Center, September 11th was

not so unlike other days. We were all

spread hither and yon, doing various

things. Bill Fitzhugh was getting ready for

an 11am flight to Houston, where he was

supposed to give a Viking lecture. Aron

Crowell was in Suitland Maryland with a

delegation of Native Alaskan elders and

leaders from the Norton Sound area as part

of the Alaska Collection Project. Igor

Krupnik was at home preparing for his

next trip to St. Lawrence Island for

fieldwork. Stephen Loring was in Labrador.

Elisabeth Ward was alone in the ASC

offices downtown on the Mall attending to

daily duties. None of us was watching the

news. And then the phone calls started

coming in – Elisabeth’s brother called her,

and then she called Bill at home, still

uncertain what was going on. As they

were on the phone, Bill’s shaking voice

said more than his words, “The World

Trade Tower just collapsed, it just

collapsed.” Shortly after he received a

phone call from Aron, who had heard the

news in Maryland. He and the delegation

of Elders from Nome and Gambell had

been invited down to the home of Terry

Snowball, an NMAI employee, in southern Maryland, hopefully far

enough away from Washington to be out of danger. Though safe,

Elders Jacob Ahwinona, Estelle Oozevaseuk, and Marie Saclamana

were very upset, and doubly concerned since many of them needed

to get home to Alaska and the flights were canceled for many days.

Their friends and family back home were especially worried about

them being so close to the seat of government. Everyone expected

another attack.

Back in D.C., from the windows of the ASC looking out onto

the Mall, Elisabeth could see a thick column of black smoke blowing

in from the west, where the Pentagon lies. Smithsonian staff were

not sure what to do, and huddled around whatever television was

available. A loud noise was interpreted as a car bomb, and there

were rumors that the State Department had been hit, as everyone

grew increasingly worried. Finally, around 11am, a note from the

Director instructed us to vacate the building. The streets of

Washington were a surreal scene: business men poured out of their

offices, walking home; cars were clogging the intersections, no one

getting anywhere; conflicting reports of the status of the metro

where flying about, as everyone asked each other which metro

stations and lines were okay or closed.

As Bill, Aron, Igor, and Elisabeth attempted to sort out what

best to do back in Washington, Stephen Loring’s experience of the

tragedy of September 11th is surely one of the more unique.

Stephen had been conducting fieldwork in the interior of Labrador,

searching for traces of Innu land-use and tenure. With three

companions he was traversing a difficult portage route down the

Adlatok River Valley, west of Hopedale. Stephen and his friends

only heard the news of the events of the 11th some ten days later

when they made a call out on their satellite phone to let their friends

and families know of their whereabouts and progress. We

suspect he must have been among the last

people on earth to learn about the tragedy.

We all reported to the office the next day

despite the museum’s offer of liberal leave to

demonstrate our resilience, our defiance

against terrorism, the only way we could. The

Elders likewise returned to the Suitland

collection facilities and tackled the work of

examining collections from their villages, even

as it became increasingly clear that flights

would be delayed for many days. The rest

of us were a bit less productive, as we tried

to process the shock of that traumatic day.

For many days afterward, we were

overwhelmed by a stream of anxious phone

calls, email messages, faxes, and letters of

condolences from our colleagues and friends in

Canada, Russia, Norway, Britain, France,

Japan, Denmark, Germany, Israel, Iceland,

Greenland, as well as from all across the

United States. We extend a sincere thanks to

the many colleagues who wrote to express

their concern, sympathy, and solidarity during

and after September 11th.

And such are the stories we recall

when the question is asked, “Where were

you that day?” By sharing them with you,

we mean to acknowledge the gravity of that day and to express

how much the tragic deaths of so many people affected us all.

ASC photography collection
ASC Newsletter 38

STAFF PUBLICATIONS

Aron Crowell

2001 “Looking Both Ways” in Looking Both Ways: Heritage

and Identity of the Alutiiq People. Edited by Aron L.

Crowell, Amy F. Steffian, and Gordon L. Pullar.

University of Alaska Press, Fairbanks.

2001 “Ukgwepet – “Our Beliefs”: Alutiiq Spiritual Life and

Traditions” with Jeff Leer. In Looking Both Ways:

Heritage and Identity of the Alutiiq People. Edited by

Aron L. Crowell, Amy F. Steffian, and Gordon L. Pullar.

University of Alaska Press, Fairbanks.

2002 One Century at a Time: The Alutiiq People of Kodiak

Island. The Harriman Expedition Retraced, 2001. In press.

2002 New Dynamics of Cultural Research and Representation

in Alaska. In North Meets North: The First Northern

Research Forum. Northern Research Forum, Akyreyi,

Iceland.

William Fitzhugh

2001 Gateways: Exploring the Legacy of the Jesup North Pacific

Expedition, 1897 1902. Igor Krupnik and William W.

Fitzhugh, editors. Contributions to Circumpolar

Anthroplogy, 1. Washington D.C.: Arctic Studies Center.

2001 “Foreword.” In: Gateways: Exploring the Legacy of the

Jesup North Pacific Expedition, 1897 1902. Igor Krupnik

and William W. Fitzhugh, editors. Contributions to

Circumpolar Anthroplogy, 1. Washington D.C.: Arctic

Studies Center.

2002 “Yamal to Greenland: Global connections in Circumpolar

Archaeology.” In Archaeology: The Widening Debate,

edited by Barry Cunliffe, Wendy Davies, and Colin

Renfrew, pgs. 91-144. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

2002 “Origin of Museum Anthropology of the Smithsonian

Institution and Beyond” In Anthropology, History, and

American Indians: Essays in Honor of William Curtis

Sturtevant, edited by William L. Merrill and Ives

Goddard. Smithsonian Contributions to Anthropology

44:179-200. Washington, Government Printing Office.

Igor Krupnik

2001 Gateways: Exploring the Legacy of the Jesup North Pacific

 Expedition, 1897 1902. Igor Krupnik and William W.

Fitzhugh, editors. Contributions to Circumpolar

Anthroplogy, 1. Washington D.C.: Arctic Studies Center.

2001 “A Jesup Bibliography.” In: Gateways: Exploring the

Legacy of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, 1897 1902.

 Igor Krupnik and William W. Fitzhugh, editors. pgs 297-

316. Contributions to Circumpolar Anthroplogy, 1.

Washington D.C.: Arctic Studies Center.

2002 The Earth is Faster Now: Indigenous Observations of

Arctic Environmental Change. Igor Krupnik and Dyanna

Jolly, editors. Arctic Research Consortium of the United

States: Fairbanks.

Stephen Loring

2001 “Introduction to Lucien M. Turner and the Beginnings of

Smithsonian Anthropology in the North. In Ethnology of

the Ungava District, Hudson Bay Territory [orig.1894],

by Lucien M. Turner. Classics of Smithsonian

Anthropology. pp. vii-xxxii, Smithsonian Institution

Press: Washington.

Elisabeth Ward

2001 “Northern Europe.” In, Peoples of the World, edited by

K.M. Kostyal. Pp. 164-174. Washington D.C.: National

Geographic. With Keith E. Ward.

2001 “Mythic Explorers and Warrior Poets.” Terra Magazine

38 (4): 3-5. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles

County.

Arctic Studies Center: Anchorage Office:

Department of Anthropology Arctic Studies Center

Natural History Building, MRC 112 at the Rasmuson Center

Smithsonian Institution 121 West 7th Avenue

P.O. Box 37012 Anchorage, AK 99501

10th and Constitution N.W. (907) 343-6162

Washington, D.C. 20013-7012 (907) 343-6130 (fax)

(202) 357-2682

(202) 357-2684 (fax)

or visit our website at http://www.mnh.si.edu/arctic

ARCTIC STUDIES CENTER STAFF:

William Fitzhugh, Director and Curator:

fitzhugh.william@nmnh.si.edu

Aron Crowell, Alaska Director and Anthropologist:

acrowell@alaska.net

Stephen Loring, Museum Anthropologist:

loring.stephen@nmnh.si.edu

Igor Krupnik, Ethnologist:

krupnik.igor@nmnh.si.edu

Elisabeth Ward, Museum Specialist:

ward.elisabeth@nmnh.si.edu

Jennifer McCarty, Alaska Outreach Coordinator:

mccartyjj@ci.anchorage.ak.us

Matthew Gallon, Research Assistant:

gallon.matthew@nmnh.si.edu

RESEARCH ASSOCIATES:

Noel Broadbent, University of Umeå

Ernest Burch Jr., Harrisburg, PA.

Anne Fineup-Riordan, Anchorage, AK.

Joan Gero, American University

Norman Hallendy, Carp, Ontario

Daniel Odess, University of Alaska, Fairbanks

Douglas Siegal-Causey, Harvard University

STEERING COMMITTEE:

Douglas Anderson Ted Birkedal

Ernest Burch Anne Fineup-Riordan

Jana Harcharek Aldona Jonaitis

Susan Kaplan Gordon Pullar

Patricia Wolf William Workman

Rosita Worl Miranda Wright

Steven Young

CONTACT INFORMATION

This newsletter has been produced by Frank Zeccola,

Editor; Elise Krueger, Designer; and Elisabeth Ward,

Manager

Please note the change of address, in D.C., to avoid mail

irradiation delays and damage.
ASC Newsletter 39

Order Form for Arctic Studies Center Publications

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Ainu: Spirit of a Northern People. Edited by William W. Fitzhugh and Chisato O. Dubreuil. 1999. Paperback $49.95 Hardcover

$75.00 (CD also available at no cost)

Gateways: Exploring the Legacy of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, 1897-1902. Edited by Igor Krupink and William W.

Fitzhugh. Contributions to Circumpolar Anthropology 1, 2001. $18.00 (with shipping)

Akuzilleput Igaqullghet: Our words Put to Paper. Edited by Igor Krupink, Willis Walunga, and Vera Metcalf. Contributions to

Circumpolar Anthropology 3. 2002. $18.00 (with shipping) - available after September 2002

The Earth is Faster Now: Indigenous Observations of Arctic Environmental Change. Edited by Igor Krupink and Dyanna

Jolly. ARCUS, 2002. $18.00 (with shipping) (limited number of copies; also available at www.arcus.org)

Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga. Edited by William W. Fitzhugh and Elisabeth Ward. Available from SI Press

(www.sipress.si.edu) Paperback $34.95 Hardcover $60.00

Thank you for supporting the Arctic Studies Center and its research!
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Washington, D.C. 20013-701210th and Constitution N.W.P.O. Box 37012Smithsonian InsitutionNatural History Building, MRC 112Department of AnthropologyArctic Studies Center