Woman's Parka
date: label: Accession Date
content: 23 Nov 1883
name: label: Donor Name
content: U.S. Signal Service
notes: label: Notes
content: This object is on loan to the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, from 2010 through 2027.
label: Notes
content: From card: "Illus. in BAE 9th AR, fig. 61, p. 118."
label: Notes
content: Source of the information below: Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center Alaska Native Collections: Sharing Knowledge website, by Aron Crowell, entry on this artifact https://alaska.si.edu/record.asp?id=609 , retrieved 11-25-2021; see web page for additional information: Parka, Inupiaq. This is a young woman's fancy parka for festivals and ceremonies. The U-shaped bottom edge is a traditional feminine style that is no longer made. The white fur is from the belly of the reindeer, and the brown fur is from its other parts, including leg skins used to make the vertical panels. The seams and bottom are trimmed with wolverine fur. Along the lower edge are a strip of alder-dyed skin, lines of brown fur and red yarn, and a triangular patch of bleached sealskin. Elders said that the fine work shows the young woman's skill as a seamstress. This is a young woman's fancy parka for festivals and ceremonies, made of reindeer skin. The U-shaped bottom edge is a traditional feminine style that is no longer made. Reindeer are semi-domesticated caribou and were historically acquired in trade from Chukchi herders on the Siberian side of Bering Strait. Starting in 1892, the U.S. government established reindeer herds in northwest Alaska. Their light-colored fur is highly valued. Starting in 1892 the U.S. government established reindeer herds in northwest Alaska. The term qusuŋŋaq is used for a parka worn with the fur facing out. According to Martha Aiken, Ronald Brower Sr., Jane Brower, Doreen Simmonds, and Kenneth Toovak, the white fur on this parka is from the belly of the reindeer, and the brown fur is from its other parts, including leg skins used to make the vertical panels. The seams and bottom are trimmed with wolverine fur. Along the lower edge are a strip of alder-dyed skin, decorative lines of brown fur and red yarn, and a triangular patch of bleached sealskin. Elders added that the fine work shows the young woman's skill as a seamstress. When people gathered at festivals they were looking for marriage partners, and if a woman could sew clothing like this she would be highly prized.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 3 Feb 2022
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Point Barrow, Alaska, United States, North America
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Eskimo, Inupiaq
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 013712
label: USNM Number
content: E74041-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Parka
physicalDescription: label: Length - Object
content: 132 cm