Though there is no word for “art” in the language of the Eskimos, that doesn’t stop them from creating it, argued Mary Lou Lindahl, an expert on Alaskan art.
Lindahl delivered a lecture Sunday afternoon to about 50 people at the Evanston Public Library, 1703 Orrington Ave., about the history and techniques of native Alaskan art.
“A lot of people think of Alaska as the home of the Eskimos, but in reality there are five different cultures,” said Lindahl. The cultures include the Inupiat, Yup’ik, Tlingit, Haida and Athabascan people.
Lindahl said the different people in the cultures use what is locally available to them to make works of art. The Athabascan people, for instance, use moose hide and birch bark to make backpack-like baby carriers.
“Most hides that are commercially tanned will stay a grayish color, but home-tanned moose hide is dark brown and has a smokey smell,” Lindahl said.
Lindahl explained that the process used to make moose hide involves smearing rotting moose or caribou brains on the hide itself, then hanging it over a fire for two to three weeks.
Environmental concerns also were among the topics discussed at the lecture. The northern Siberian Yup’ik peoples are tusk-etchers, said Lindahl, and are among the only people who are allowed to use and trade walrus ivory.
“The walrus is a protected species, so they are not allowed to be hunted except by the native Alaskans,” Lindahl said. “In fact, the Eskimos are only allowed to use their tusks for artistic purposes.”
Lindahl’s lecture also included an exhibit on authentic native Alaskan art. On display were carvings, baskets, sculptures and dolls, including ivory carvings of birds from famed artist Teddy Mayac Sr.
Born in Iowa, Lindahl, 61, lived in Alaska for 33 years. She ran an arts and crafts store for 21 years and worked with the museum store of the Anchorage Museum of History and Art for eight years. Lindahl currently resides in Nokomis, Ill.
“I still visit Alaska for about four months out of each year,” said Lindahl, who owns a homestead near Anchorage.
Lindahl conducted a short question-and-answer period at the end of her lecture, addressing issues ranging from the political climate in Alaska to the history of immigration from Alaska to Canada and America.
“There was a lot of environmental sensitivity in the art, and she was well-informed about it.,” said Margaret Bradford, 66, a retired Northwestern chapel secretary from Evanston.
Other audience members said they were intrigued by the way the native Alaskans used what few natural resources they had to create art.
“Where they’re located seemed very important,” said Louise Ecker Schwartz, 70, an artist from Wilmette. “They use the materials indigenous to their area to full advantage.”
Reach Joseph DeMartino
