Umiak model

Museum number:
2-2071a-k
Permalink:
ark:/21549/hm21022071a@2dk
Accession number:
Acc.46
Description:
(a) Umiak model, red painted wood frame, rawhide cover, sinew and rawhide lashings. (b, c) 2 oars with geometric design in red paint on blades. (d-i) 6 paddles with red painted geometric designs. (j, k) 2 ivory pointed spears with ivory foreshafts and sinew lines, red painted geometric designs on wood shafts.
Donor:
Phoebe Apperson Hearst
Collection place:
Northwest Bering Sea, Alaska
Verbatim coll. place:
Northwest Bering Sea
Culture or time period:
Alaskan Eskimo
Collector:
Charles L. Hall
Collection date:
ca. 1895
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Models (concepts) and Umiaks
Function:
1.4 Transportation
Accession date:
August 12, 1902
Context of use:
Model. In real life, umiaks were used for carrying up to four tons of cargo and passengers for long distances but also employed by some Eskimos in whaling and in walrus hunting. Women are often quite involved in the navigation and occasionally pilot depending on the region (typically more common in Quebec), however this is mostly for travel as women are usually not on board for whaling or sea mammal hunting. They also stitch the skin over the frame. Sometimes umiaks are dubbed “family boats,” as they were primarily used for transportation, though they previously were used in war and of course hunting.
Department:
Native US and Canada (except California)
Dimensions:
(c)— length 30.5 centimeters, (b)— length 31 centimeters, and (a)— length 80 centimeters
Comment:
Native name and meaning: umiak or baidarra--woman boat. References: cf. Chapelle, p. 175. cf. Sturtevant, William C. Handbook of North American Indians. Edited by Warren L. D’Azevedo, David Damas, June Helm, Robert F. Heizer, Alfonso Ortiz, Wilcomb E. Washburn, Wayne Suttles, Ives Goddard, Deward E. Walker, Raymond J. DeMallie, Raymond D. Fogelson, Douglas H. Ubelaker, and Garrick A. Bailey. Vol. 5. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1984. Arima, B. "Y. 1963. Report on an Eskimo umiak built at Ivuyivik, PQ, in the summer of 1960." National Museum of Canada, Bulletin No. 189 (Ottawa).
Loans:
S1961-1962 #75: Department of Anthropology (UC Berkeley)/John Desmond Clark (May 10, 1962–May 10, 1962), S1965-1966 #92: Department of Anthropology (UC Berkeley)/Robert F. G. Spier (June 16, 1966–July 29, 1966), S1968-1969 #90: Department of Anthropology (UC Berkeley) (March 20, 1969–March 20, 1969), and S1971-1972 #9: Department of Anthropology (Stanford Univ.)/Robert L. Hoover (July 28, 1971–August 31, 1971)
Images:
Hearst Museum object 1 of 4 titled Umiak model, accession number 2-2071a-k, described as (a) Umiak model, red painted wood frame, rawhide cover, sinew and rawhide lashings. (b, c) 2 oars with geometric design in red paint on blades. (d-i) 6 paddles with red painted geometric designs. (j, k) 2 ivory pointed spears with ivory foreshafts and sinew lines, red painted geometric designs on wood shafts.Hearst Museum object 2 of 4 titled Umiak model, accession number 2-2071a-k, described as (a) Umiak model, red painted wood frame, rawhide cover, sinew and rawhide lashings. (b, c) 2 oars with geometric design in red paint on blades. (d-i) 6 paddles with red painted geometric designs. (j, k) 2 ivory pointed spears with ivory foreshafts and sinew lines, red painted geometric designs on wood shafts.Hearst Museum object 3 of 4 titled Umiak model, accession number 2-2071a-k, described as (a) Umiak model, red painted wood frame, rawhide cover, sinew and rawhide lashings. (b, c) 2 oars with geometric design in red paint on blades. (d-i) 6 paddles with red painted geometric designs. (j, k) 2 ivory pointed spears with ivory foreshafts and sinew lines, red painted geometric designs on wood shafts.Hearst Museum object 4 of 4 titled Umiak model, accession number 2-2071a-k, described as (a) Umiak model, red painted wood frame, rawhide cover, sinew and rawhide lashings. (b, c) 2 oars with geometric design in red paint on blades. (d-i) 6 paddles with red painted geometric designs. (j, k) 2 ivory pointed spears with ivory foreshafts and sinew lines, red painted geometric designs on wood shafts.
Legacy documentation:
Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Umiak model, accession number 2-2071a-k, described as (a) Umiak model, red painted wood frame, rawhide cover, sinew and rawhide lashings. (b, c) 2 oars with geometric design in red paint on blades. (d-i) 6 paddles with red painted geometric designs. (j, k) 2 ivory pointed spears with ivory foreshafts and sinew lines, red painted geometric designs on wood shafts.Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Umiak model, accession number 2-2071a-k, described as (a) Umiak model, red painted wood frame, rawhide cover, sinew and rawhide lashings. (b, c) 2 oars with geometric design in red paint on blades. (d-i) 6 paddles with red painted geometric designs. (j, k) 2 ivory pointed spears with ivory foreshafts and sinew lines, red painted geometric designs on wood shafts.Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Umiak model, accession number 2-2071a-k, described as (a) Umiak model, red painted wood frame, rawhide cover, sinew and rawhide lashings. (b, c) 2 oars with geometric design in red paint on blades. (d-i) 6 paddles with red painted geometric designs. (j, k) 2 ivory pointed spears with ivory foreshafts and sinew lines, red painted geometric designs on wood shafts.

Tools