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The rare things: a pictorial essay
Nanuq907
Member Posts: 2,551 ✭✭✭✭
MrMike just posted a pictorial essay of random guns and related stuff. I want to add to his display but I also don't want to mess it up. So here's something similar.
I recently posted a story about seeking the perfect sealskin / sea otter hat, and finding one from Helen Pootoogooluk from Shishmaref. It was the chance of a lifetime and I was incredibly blessed by how it worked out. Here's something like that for my boy.
When my boy was earning his Eagle Scout rank I wanted to get him something special. I spent a year looking and there was nothing that "mattered" in the big scheme of things. Being an Eagle Scout matters. So I searched. I found myself in another Native arts fair and all the kind hearted eskimos had come to Anchorage with their goods. For many there was fierce obstinate warrior pride, for others, subdued embarrassment. But over it all, dignity and humble respect. Alaskan natives are amazing like that ... you'll never see it until you close your mouth and open your ears and look at them. I walked along, touching a piece here and there, admiring, smiling at them, feeling totally out of place. I was just a Gussuk, and I could *feel* it on my skin. The place was full of gorgeous handmade pieces, and I asked "Eagles? Do you have eagles?" and they just looked at me like I was broken. "Eagles? Do you have anything?" And a cute 20-something eskimo girl put down her phone and made eye contact. "C'mere" she said and I followed her down a few tables. She stopped and there was an ancient man with no teeth and bleary eyes. She said "kululiaq" and bent to speak in his ear. "King" is the closest translation. He sat for a moment, then broke into a grin and bent to pull something from under his table. He was an elder from Shishmaref, and he made 1 or 2 pieces each year. He set something on the table wrapped in a sheet of leather. I smiled and nodded, I doubt he even saw me, and unwrapped it. It was the most spectacular carved handle knife I'd ever seen, and it had eagles. I can't imagine how many hours it took to make it, with all the detail. I told the girl "yes, thank you" and handed her my credit card. She smiled and ran it, and I think the gussuk paid for a good portion of his annual living expenses right there. But my God, what an unspeakable treasure. I can always earn more money, but a chance for something like this is once in a lifetime. "Quyana" whoever you were.
The base is a section of moose antler, the end is capped with baleen and the "holder" is a carved oogruk tooth.
I recently posted a story about seeking the perfect sealskin / sea otter hat, and finding one from Helen Pootoogooluk from Shishmaref. It was the chance of a lifetime and I was incredibly blessed by how it worked out. Here's something like that for my boy.
When my boy was earning his Eagle Scout rank I wanted to get him something special. I spent a year looking and there was nothing that "mattered" in the big scheme of things. Being an Eagle Scout matters. So I searched. I found myself in another Native arts fair and all the kind hearted eskimos had come to Anchorage with their goods. For many there was fierce obstinate warrior pride, for others, subdued embarrassment. But over it all, dignity and humble respect. Alaskan natives are amazing like that ... you'll never see it until you close your mouth and open your ears and look at them. I walked along, touching a piece here and there, admiring, smiling at them, feeling totally out of place. I was just a Gussuk, and I could *feel* it on my skin. The place was full of gorgeous handmade pieces, and I asked "Eagles? Do you have eagles?" and they just looked at me like I was broken. "Eagles? Do you have anything?" And a cute 20-something eskimo girl put down her phone and made eye contact. "C'mere" she said and I followed her down a few tables. She stopped and there was an ancient man with no teeth and bleary eyes. She said "kululiaq" and bent to speak in his ear. "King" is the closest translation. He sat for a moment, then broke into a grin and bent to pull something from under his table. He was an elder from Shishmaref, and he made 1 or 2 pieces each year. He set something on the table wrapped in a sheet of leather. I smiled and nodded, I doubt he even saw me, and unwrapped it. It was the most spectacular carved handle knife I'd ever seen, and it had eagles. I can't imagine how many hours it took to make it, with all the detail. I told the girl "yes, thank you" and handed her my credit card. She smiled and ran it, and I think the gussuk paid for a good portion of his annual living expenses right there. But my God, what an unspeakable treasure. I can always earn more money, but a chance for something like this is once in a lifetime. "Quyana" whoever you were.
The base is a section of moose antler, the end is capped with baleen and the "holder" is a carved oogruk tooth.
Comments
Nanuq907, a very beautiful piece of artwork befitting a huge milestone. I especially love the eagle head on the base of the antler handle. A wonderful story describing your quest for the perfect gift.
Oh man, where do I start? My grandparents were Yellowstone Park Rangers and traded with the Indians so we have trunks full of amazing stuff. White deerskin moccasins covered with beading, matching leather gauntlets, handmade Navajo rugs, pipes, beaver fur gloves, my granddad’s knife and pistol, ranger hats, a 4x4 map on canvas covered with corrections and “x marks the spot” where they discovered new geysers... it’s just endless.
Even the Certificates signed by the Presidents at the time, re-upping great grandfather to be Postmaster of YNP another couple years, before he became Superintendent. There’s one from Coolidge, Roosevelt, Harding, Hoover, etc etc etc. just amazing stuff.