Bird Bola
Created by Johnny Moonin for the Chugachmiut Heritage Department, this miniature bird bola is modeled off a traditional tool to hunt and ensnare birds in the Chugach region.
Bird bolas were traditionally used in many Indigenous cultures to catch birds by throwing it and having it wrap around the bird.
"It took him [Johnny Moonin] a while to do this [create the bird bola]. Artifacts he found from the lagoon. Of course the museum had a box of these artifacts that everybody had donated or Johnny. He used to walk around a lot in the lagoon and he'd find a lot of these artifacts and put them in the museum." - Rhoda Moonin, Nanwalek, 2022 (spouse of Johnny Moonin)
*All of these quotes came from an Open Archive workshop held on February 4th, 2022. Participants willingly shared their knowledge for the purpose of cultural documentation.Do you have a story to contribute or a comment about this item?
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Physical
Chugachmiut Heritage Preservation
1111.001.014
Copyright 2021 Chugachmiut Heritage Archive
Nanwalek (Related)