Inupiaq Clothing

Hello my name is Allison and here is my project that I did on Inupiaq clothing.

The Inupiaq make their own clothing for their children and other relatives. Inupiaqs kill animals to get their furs to make clothes such as hats, parkas, mukluks, gloves, mittens and other clothing.

On display at the Anchorage Museum of History and Fine Art

The men use a harpoon, spear, rifle, or snare for hunting. The animal they use most is caribou. They use caribou because they are mostly around where they live.

Inupiaq women do all the work because the men do the hunting for them to make the clothing. Women do a lot of work just to make clothing. They need to let the fur dry after they kill it. Then they scrape the skins till they think they are ready.

Then they get their supplies. They use sinew and ulus. Sinew is a strong type of string or thread that helps keep the clothing together. An Ulu is a sharp tool that cuts furs, meat, skins, and other things they need to cut. They also use a scraper "ikuun" to scrape the skins.

It usually takes about 2-4 days to make the clothing, depending on how fast you work. And on what you're making. When the women are cutting the fur they cut in between the skin and the meat.

I interviewed a teacher at our school named Mrs. Burtner. She used to live in a Inupiaq village. Her family is not Inupiaq. This is what I learned when I asked Mrs. Burtner some questions. She lived in Nuiqsut. Nuiqsut is near the mouth of the Colville River. She learned to make the winter clothing Inupiaqs wear. The clothing is special for a severe, cold, dry climate. The clothing is made from caribou, lamb, wolverine, wolf, and seal with cloth coverings. Wolverine is used on the ruff next to the face because it doesn't frost. They use a ulu, needle, pliers, and sinew to sew.

Mrs. Burtner learned from ladies in Nuiqsut to sew some of the clothing. She made a jacket with fancy trim and wolverine ruff. She made mittens and parkas for her sons, mukluks and tuttuliks. Mr. Burtner got the caribou skins, and they got other skins from the villagers.

If you would like to see Mrs. Burtners web page click here.