Umiak model with wood frame, sealskin covered, rawhide lashings. 6 seats. In Russian, bajdara.
Donor:
W. Barclay Stephens
Collection place:
Alaska
Verbatim coll. place:
Alaska
Culture or time period:
Alaskan Eskimo
Collector:
Carleton H. Clark
Collection date:
ca. 1882
Materials:
Rawhide, Sealskin, and Wood (plant material) (possibly driftwood)
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Models (concepts) and Umiaks
Function:
1.4 Transportation
Accession date:
1936
Context of use:
Model. In real life, Umiaks were used for hunting whales and large sea mammals, as they were particularly noted for their carrying capacity, being able to carry up to as much as four tons. 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:
length 125 centimeters
Comment:
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).