Arctic Survival ::
Warm, Flexible, Attractive—the Parka, Most Valued Arctic Wear
>• By HOWARD ROCK *
Times Editor
The ancient Natives of Alaska,
in adapting to their environment in
the frigid climate of the Arctic,
devised a garment that has served
extremely well down through the
ages. The severe climate in which
they lived urgently called for
clothing that would withstand very
low temperatures, oftentimes ac
companied by high winds. Out of
this great necessity the northern
people developed the parka, a gar
ment that is near perfect for Arctic
Wear.
Parka Recognized
Not until relatively recent past
has the value of the parka, as an
Arctic or cold weather garment,
been recognized by non-natives.
They not only have found that it
is warm for winter garment but
distinctive in that it could be a
beautiful attire. The parka natural
ly lends itself to ornamental trim
mings that enhances its beauty.
The ancient people of the Arctic
must have had to experiment at
length before they arrived at the
most suitable material for parkas.
Ultimately the common choice be
came the skin of the caribou. The
animal was plentiful and the parka
made from it proved to be light,
warm, and quite easily obtained.
Other Materials
Other parka materials were used,
one of which were skins of ground
squirrels. These little animals were
plentiful in the Arctic and could
be snared quite easily as they
emerged from their burrows. The
meat was used for food.
Squirrels were taken at the ap
proach of fall season when the fur
of the animal took on a gray cast
which the natives considered as
prime for parkas and which they
thought, and rightly so. beautiful.
As a result, squirrel skin parkas,
although quite warm, were mainly
used for1 ceremonial attire on such
occasions as the whaling celebra
tions and other events.
Another was siksikpuk. or hoary
marmot skin, that was used for
parka material. This animal was
not hunted extensively because it
was usually found on rocky hills
in remote areas. Parkas made from
marmot skins were usually for lux
ury and for leisure attire. This skin
made fine parka material. It was
very warm and had lasting quali
ties, but it was rather heavy in
weight.
Great Innovation
The hood of the parka was the
most important innovation. The
protection of the face in below zero
temperatures was of great neces
sity and the hood provided that in
a most efficient manner. It made
frostbite less frequent.
In designing the hood the na
tives found that fur trimming or
ruff around the hood sei'ved a
great purpose. It kept the warm
body heat from escaping too rapid
ly from the face area.
Women, when making the hood,
left some open space under the
chin. This was done for a reason,
i Warm body heat rose through it
! and up the face area. In very cold
weather this was made more ef
; fective by tying a belt just above
the hips around the parka to allow
no draft from the parka hem and
up through the neck opening.
, Greatest body heat is generated in
the trunk area of the body.
When one found it necessary to
I go directly against the wind in be
I low freezing weather one averted
. his face to one side or the other,
away from the wind and thus al
lowed the body heat to continue to
radiate up his face.
White Calico Adapted
When civilization made its advent
into Alaska, one of the things that
took the fancy of the Eskimo hunt
ers was white calico cloth. They
wasted no time in adapting it to
use as an aid in hunting. They had
their wives sew it into parka cov
ers that made them less conspicuous
as they stalked their quarries.
During the Second World War.
United States. Russia, and other
countries made effective use of
furnishing their soldiers with white
uniforms when they fought in
countries where there was snow.'
Precise Thickness
Having found that caribou skin
was most ideal for general wear,
the hunters began to take caribou
at the approach of fall weather. In
August the hair of the caribou-grew
to the thickness or length of one
inch, considered as ideal for main
parka wear.
Fawns, soon after they were
dropped in spring were taken for
inner parkas. The natives thought
them most necessary, because air
space between the layers provided
additional insulation. Squirrel skins
were sometimes used for this pur
pose.
Fresh skins were simply hung on
racks to dry thoroughly in the
weather. It was the job of the
woman to prepare them for parkas.
Ekoon
The tanning of the skins was
begun. The main tool for this pur
pose was the ekoon, or scraper.
Ekoon was highly thought of by
women owners. They felt that it
was one property they could afford
to be fussy about and they prac
ticed this privilege to the fullest
extent. The grip handle on the
ekoon has to be precisely carved by
the husband to fit the hand of his
wife. If it didn’t have the right feel,
he was told to carve corrections to
it. The grip had to be exactly right.
As a result, it was rare that a
woman borrowed another's ekoon
because it rarely ever fitted the
hand of another. Owners considered
them of vital importance as well
as personal.
The women took a scraper that
had a dull edge for preliminary
softening of the stiffly dried skin.
After this an ekoon with sharp
flint edge was employed to remove
the layer of tissue next to the skin.
Pumice Process
After this was removed, the next
process followed. Finely ground
pumice was sprinkled on the skin
and the ekoon was applied using
the pumice as an abrasive. After
this application was completed, the
caribou skin was quite supple and
pliant.
To make it even more supple, the
women dampened the skin with
water, after which the skin was
rolled tightly and allowed to stand
for an hour or until the dampness
thoroughly permeated the skin.
The skin was then unrolled and
allowed to dry. The ekoon was
again applied, this time to crack
the epidermis of the caribou skin.
Pleasant Sound
This process had a pleasant sound
as the woman applied the ekoon
to the skin. With each firm push of
the scraper the epidermis cracked
with a resulting sound of multiple
sharp cracking noises, something
like muffled pop-corn popping. This
process did not affect the hair roots
because the cracks traveled around
them.
This was done covering every
area of the skin. After that the dull
scraper was again applied to make
the skin thoroughly pliable.
Pliant Material Needed
There was a reason for making
supple and pliable clothing and that
reason was freedom of movement
by the wearer. The hunter did not
wish to be encumbered by stiff
and clumsy clothes, especially by
his parka. In cases of emergency he
needed freedom of movement if
quick action was called for.
Having finished the tanning of
the caribou skin the woman com
menced to cut patterns for the
parka, using the ulu, or woman's
knife. This was done skillfully and
quickly because the woman had
been trained to do this by her
mother ever since she was a young
girl.
The patterns were sewn together
with caribou sinew. Wolverine or
wolf fur was sewn around the hood
for ruf|. Usually wolverine fur
was sewn to the hood of the inner
parka and wolf ruff to the outer
or main parka.
As a finishing touch narrow strips
of wolverine fur were sewn around
the hem of the parka, and around
the sleeve ends. These fur trim
mings also helped to keep the body
heat from escaping too rapidly.
Men's parkas were made to mid
thigh length so it would not
hamper their movements. Women’s
parkas were made to mid-calf
length.
Dramatic Contribution
When the caribou parka was
completed, it was superb apparel
for Arctic climate. It was warm,
pliable, above all. light and un
cumbersome. The natives, especial
ly the hunters, demanded parkas
that were light and warm because,
often, they took home game, such
as dragging seals on the ice or
snow.
In the drama of survival in the
Arctic the parka without question,
contributed immensely in the pro
cess of man’s adaptation to the
severe condition under which he
lived. Without it, it would seem
doubtful that he would have sur
vived because of the very nature
of his existence, that of pursuit of
game as his mode of economy.
And so, the parka would have to
be classed as one of great neces
sity in the dramatic survival of
man in the Arctic.
Tundra Telephone
Expands in Two j
Large Villages
The Eskimo community of Una
lakleet on the Bering Sea will have
a complete automatic dial tele
phone system by April, it was an
nounced recently by James V. Dit
to of Anchorage, president of Tun
dra Telephone. Co.
Ditto reported that a central of
fice building, automatic exchange
and Qjjtside plant material will be
flown to Unalakleet in a few days.
.Tundra Telephone Co., which op
erates phone systems in Bethel and
McGrath, sets the initial cost of
the Unalakleet exchange at $30,000.
;“A11 local labor will be used for
ejection of the building and install
ing outside plant facilities,” said
Ditto.
•The new phone system, which will
; start with about 60 subscribers, has
bfeen approved by the Unalakleet
Village Council, and permission has
been granted by the REA-sponsor
ed Unalakleet Electric Cooperative
for use of its poles.
The exchange is designed to tie in
with the Alaska Communications
System for long distance calls.
“Just like his fellow Alaskans in
Bethel and McGrath and Anchor
KUSPUKS IN FLORIDA—Susan Bachrach, left, and her sister Janie
Dillon, right, are seen happily modeling print parka covers called
kuspuks, with the background of beautiful Pronte Vedra beach in
Florida. The kupsuks were made for them by their friend, Marie
Chikoyuk of Tununak, Alaska. —Photo by Elaine Clement.
age, the Unalakleet subscriber will
only have to dial 110 to talk to the
long distance ACS operator in An
chorage,” Ditto said.
The Anchorage phone executive
revealed that his firm is now work
ing on plans for a new phone sys
tem at Barrow. Already approved
by the Barrow Village Council, the
new exchange for Alaska’s largest
Eskimo community is slated for
construction this spring. Ditto ex
pects the continent’s farthest north
in operation by mid-summer,
community phone system will be
Polar Bear Licks
Thin Ice Problem
On a very cold day an Eskimo
hunter saw a huge object on newly
frozen ice. Upon closer scrutiny he
was amazed to see that it was a
polar bear. Apparently, the big ani
mal wasn't in the mood to get wet
that day.
The huge beast was spread-eagled
and was inching its way toward the
thick -ice. He was distributing the'
weight of his great bulk to cross
the thin ice.
Long Ago Chiefs
Met at Tanana
To Make Laws
•
By Alfred Starr
Staff Writer
Long ago before the white -man
came to Interior Alaska, every few
years Indian chiefs and their coun
cils <frcyn many, areas met at Tan
ana.
The chiefs sat down and made
laws so they could get along with
one .another in a friendly manner.
They talked about ways to improve
the economy of their people, how
to get enough furs for clothing, how
much hunting ground each tribe
would be allowed so there would
be no hardships to the old and the
sick.
It was a good thing they did this
because without such meetings, they
could not have survived.
My father and mother witnessed
the last big meeting of chiefs in
Tanana. At that time there were
only .a very, very few white people
in the Interior of Alaska. They
said there was about a thousand
that gathered at that meeting.
The camp was about three miles
long from the mouth of Tanana
River, and up the Yukon River.
People camped not only on the
bank, but inland for some distance.
People came all the way from the
Letter to Editor
Montclair, New Jersey
January 9, 1963
Dear- Editor:
Congratulations on The Tundra
Times!
It is excellent as a newspaper—
but it is more than this, too.
It makes the lives of Eskimos,
Alaskan Indians and 'Aleuts really
come alive for people in the South
ern 48 states who have long been
interested in your problems and in
your ways of making a living but
who have never before had the op
portunity to understand these things
so clearly.
Thank you for performing such
a wonderful service not only for
the native people of Alaska but for
all their friends in the whole United
States! 1
Sincerely,
Alden Stevens
Secretary, Association on
American Indian Affairs
headwaters of the Tanana River
and from its tributaries. They came
from below and up the Yukon Ri
ver and its side risers:.
There was so many dialects, and
the camp was so big, they had to
have many different meetings.
After many days^of sessions, the
meeting finally broke up and the
chiefs and their councils headed
toack-to-tHeie-hame country.
I