Happy almost Thanksgiving! Of course if you’re Canadian, you had it on October 13th. And on the day after that, 19 states including Oregon and Alaska celebrated Indigenous Peoples’ Day. And November is National American Indian Heritage Month, so there’s a lot to commemorate. (Confused about which term is preferred? Why not just ask your friend their tribal affiliation?)
This Parka is from Alaska. Hooded pullovers, most parkas have no front opening, just a single “hand-warming” pocket across the belly. They’re cut long to insulate your rump when you sit. Hip-length versions are called Anoraks, a word from Greenlandic Innuits, while ‘parka’ comes from the Nenets language of the Aleutian Islands Unangan. European explorers in the late 1500s adopted parkas and from there the indigenous survival gear made it into wider use. Traditionally made of caribou or seal, this one is shearling (sheepskin). The fur trim around the hood is wolf or fox. The cruelty of ‘harvesting’ fur has made it less fashionable, but there’s no substitute for it when needed. The dense, soft, real fur ruffs around boot cuffs, face and wrist openings of sub-zero gear act as flexible ‘gaskets’ trapping body heat inside while allowing easy movement. Faux fur, (spun plastic) can’t hold crucial warmth in efficiently so for survival there’s legitimate need for real fur in freezing climates. Because leather is hard to clean, a smock called a kuspuk (from the Yupik language) may be worn over the parka. Originally made of waterproof strips of seal-gut, kuspuks mimic the shape of parkas and today are often made of printed cotton. The first cottons used in the 1930s were calicos recycled from emptied flour sacks. Lightweight and informal, kuspuks can be worn alone in warm weather and like parkas and anoraks have been adopted by non-natives. Some women’s kuspuks have ruffled hems. Pretty!
Glass beads came to the Americas as European trade goods and were incorporated into local people’s established shell, stone and porcupine-quill beadwork. Florals are popular with many tribes, but from the history of the QBO estate these moccasins and mittens came from, they are most likely Athabascan-made. This is a grouping of tribes from the inland northern regions of the continental U.S., southern Canada and Alaska who are culturally and genetically related, and who speak different but related languages (similar as to how we classify “Scandinavians”.) The moccasins are lined in rabbit fur for cold weather. Rabbit is inexpensive because they are raised for food, but the leather is thin, so this lining might be replaced several times before the shoes wore out. The mittens are luxurious beaver fur. From the condition of the leather, they are under 50 years old. A cold-water aquatic rodent, beaver is the best insulating fur available.
The original owner of this suede jacket noted it was bought in Canada. Both style and metal zipper help date it to the 1960 – 70s. ‘Indians’ had unfairly been the bad guys in cowboy movies through the 40s & 50s but in the 60s their portrayals became more sympathetic and Hollywood strove to cast genuine Native American actors, give them accurate costumes and show them speaking real languages. In these shows, both indigenous characters and white ‘mountain men’ wore fringed leather clothing and moccasins, which then surged in popularity with musicians, hippies and other free-thinkers. While the geometric trim on this jacket was commercially made, the jacket itself was not and an authentic detail which remained largely unseen is the lining. Hand-sewn in, it is an old-fashioned, flour-sack calico just like an early cotton kuspuk. So this Thursday as we’re giving thanks for our feasts we can appreciate how much of it is native – turkey, cranberries and the ‘Three Sisters’, green beans, squash and corn. Happy Thanksgiving!
https://sewyupik.com/
Tuesday Treasures was started by our staff member, Jeanne Lusignan. Each week she will be featuring items that have been found at our estate sales. If you would like to submit a treasure for Jeanne to feature in a future installment of “Tuesday’s Treasures”, please follow the button below and send us an email! Please attach a few photos of your treasure in a beautiful setting as well as any details you have about your item such as manufacturer, use, age, region of origin. If you don’t know about the piece, that’s okay! We still might be able to research it for you! Don’t forget to tell us what makes this item such a treasure to you!