ATHABASCAN ADORNMENTS

These artifacts are on display at the National Bank of Alaska' Heritage museum and the Anchorage Museum of History and Fine Art.

The Athabascan jewelry was special because of the kind of materials they used to make it. The Athabascans used long white dentalium shells for their jewelry and also to decorate their clothing. Dentalium shells came from the Pacific Ocean . Athabascans traded all kinds of goods for these shells, with the coastal Indians. A wealthy ATHABASCAN family wore dentalium shells on their clothing, pouches, necklaces, headbands, mitts and mukluks .

ATHABASCAN make beautiful adornments for their long beautiful hair. Hair adornments and earrings were made out of beads and porcupine quills.They cut the tip off the porcupine quills which are hollow. That way they could sew them with a special needle that could fit through the tiny hole.