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Alaskan EskimoIvory Carvings

• Being a subsistence people, Alaskan Eskimos hunt whales, walrus, and seals to survive.

• They use as much of the animals as possible (eating, making something functional, or making art work to keep or sell).

• No one must touch these bones except the Native Alaskans if/when they are ready to make use of them.

• Also, any animal they hunt is highly respected even after death, from the way the meat is stored to what happens to the bones.

• These whale bones are aged and are ready to use for carving or structural supports.

• These whale

backbone will be

aged for some time

so the oil leaches

out of it, and

animals will

continue to clean

the meat from it,

before it’s ready to

be used.

• Homes are utilitarian

on the outside (it’s

the inside that

counts)

• There is snow

covering everything

for 10 months of the

year in very harsh

conditions.

• What they use for

underpinning of

houses are whale

skulls and backbone

vertebrae.

• These whale ribs are

used as sentinels to

guide the Native

Alaskans back to the

right part of the shore

from their hunting

trips.

• As the island is flat

with no trees, this is

how they navigate.

• Each bone is unique

and recognizable to a

particular part of the

island.

S Alaskan ivory carvings reflect practices and techniques

that have been part of Alaskan culture for generations.

S Almost as interesting as the carvings themselves, are the

raw materials from which they are made.

S Some carvings are made from the fossilized ivory tusks

of the walrus.

S This ivory is already precious enough, but it’s made even

more so by the careful attention of native craftsmen, who

sculpt it into one-of-a-kind pieces of art.

S We are going to attempt our very own ivory carving… using soap! Here are the steps:

S Get a bar of soap.

S Put down newspaper at desk

S Decide on a subject to carve

S Draw an outline of the carving on the soap

S Obtain an exacto knife.

S Remove the soap outside the outline using slivers, not large chips.

S Add detail to the inside of the outline to refine the design further.

S Repair small cracks and rough patches by using a toothpick to slightly dampen the area, then smooth over the cracks with your fingers.