Model of open skin boat (umiak). Sail missing (1975). wooden frame covered with skin; bow characteristic of Pacific Eskimo; fabric sail, sewn from three pieces attached to two wooden mast poles.
Donor:
Alaska Commercial Company, Benjamin Bristol, and Older University Collections
Collection place:
Alaska
Verbatim coll. place:
Alaska
Culture or time period:
Aleut
Collector:
unknown
Collection date:
1898
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Boats and Models (concepts)
Function:
1.1 Hunting and Fishing and 1.4 Transportation
Accession date:
1904
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 66 centimeters
Comment:
cf. Report on an Eskimo Umiak Built at Ivuyivik, PQ, Arima Handbook of North American Indians Vol. 5