Jacket / Kuckalaq
Brandon Moonin (Contributor)
John F.C. Johnson (Contributor)
Dawn Randazzo (Contributor)
William Smith (Contributor)
Deborah McMullen (Contributor)
John F.C. Johnson (Contributor)
Dawn Randazzo (Contributor)
William Smith (Contributor)
Deborah McMullen (Contributor)
Brandon Moonin: Kuckalaq
John Johnson: If you look inside you can probably see how many segments (animal skins) used.
Brandon Moonin: Wondering how many eagles it took to make the jacket.
John Johnson: Maybe around 12 eagles per side.
Brandon Moonin: To catch birds they used to chase the birds into the trees where they had placed big nets.
Brandon Moonin: Eagles got caught by spanning nets between trees.
Brandon Moonin: Rabbit furs and weasel furs could be used to make a modern replica of this.
John Johnson: There is a similar jacket to this in a collection in Finland - pure white and really fluffy, from the same village.
Brandon Moonin: The Russians over harvested sea otter which may have made coats of eagle necessary. Sea otters were held in high regard before Russian arrival, but then after Russian arrival Alaska Native peoples could not harvest sea otters because they were disallowed from so doing. This would have made eagle feather jackets more necessary.
Brandon Moonin: Sea otters were considered a cousin.
Brandon Moonin: The skeleton of a sea otter looks just like us.
Brandon Moonin: Women were hunters for smaller game like birds, also because they were close to villages also.
Brandon Moonin: His mom talks about using an eagle wing as a broom.
Brandon Moonin: His aunts and uncles also talk about sweeping the floor with eagle wing brooms.
Brandon Moonin: They also ate eagles.
Brandon Moonin: Eagles don't have very much spiritual significance among the Sugpiaq.
Dawn Randazzo: Raven is such a spiritually important bird in Alaska, while eagle seems to be more spiritually important among Indigenous peoples of the lower 48. I wonder if you don't see Raven garments because of their spiritual importance?
Brandon Moonin: Willie Chernoff has a recording of a Raven song accessible at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
William Smith: Made of eagle feathers. Mother used to eat eagles when she was younger. They were not allowed to use sea otters since they were forced to hunt them by the Russians. They probably ate the eagles they used to make this jacket. And they would have to make this jacket because they couldn’t use the sea otter that they were forced to hunt. If it got wet it would become heavy and not waterproof; so people might have worn another parka over it. You probably wore a gut parka over top to be waterproof.
William Smith: Bill asks why they have made the parker out of eagle bellows. His suggestion is that they must have been eating eagles.
Deborah McMullen: My mom was a sewer. My mom and my sister both were. When I see these clothes I think about how it was taken away from them [ancestors]; how they were westernized [by force]. When I think about all the women that are sewer nowadays. If you watch women that sew now; you can see they put as much detail as the women did in those days. I can picture them. Piecing together that eagle parka. The time and dedication it must have taken them. How angry they must have been that someone took it.
William Smith: The government, congress of the U.S. "bleeds the Indian out of the Native". Can't take grandchildren out to hunt otters with and teach how to sew these type of materials. [By law not allowed to hunt].
Brandon Moonin: Long ago our elders used these eagle skins to sew clothes out of them. To see the craftsmaship is truly amazing.
John Johnson: If you look inside you can probably see how many segments (animal skins) used.
Brandon Moonin: Wondering how many eagles it took to make the jacket.
John Johnson: Maybe around 12 eagles per side.
Brandon Moonin: To catch birds they used to chase the birds into the trees where they had placed big nets.
Brandon Moonin: Eagles got caught by spanning nets between trees.
Brandon Moonin: Rabbit furs and weasel furs could be used to make a modern replica of this.
John Johnson: There is a similar jacket to this in a collection in Finland - pure white and really fluffy, from the same village.
Brandon Moonin: The Russians over harvested sea otter which may have made coats of eagle necessary. Sea otters were held in high regard before Russian arrival, but then after Russian arrival Alaska Native peoples could not harvest sea otters because they were disallowed from so doing. This would have made eagle feather jackets more necessary.
Brandon Moonin: Sea otters were considered a cousin.
Brandon Moonin: The skeleton of a sea otter looks just like us.
Brandon Moonin: Women were hunters for smaller game like birds, also because they were close to villages also.
Brandon Moonin: His mom talks about using an eagle wing as a broom.
Brandon Moonin: His aunts and uncles also talk about sweeping the floor with eagle wing brooms.
Brandon Moonin: They also ate eagles.
Brandon Moonin: Eagles don't have very much spiritual significance among the Sugpiaq.
Dawn Randazzo: Raven is such a spiritually important bird in Alaska, while eagle seems to be more spiritually important among Indigenous peoples of the lower 48. I wonder if you don't see Raven garments because of their spiritual importance?
Brandon Moonin: Willie Chernoff has a recording of a Raven song accessible at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
William Smith: Made of eagle feathers. Mother used to eat eagles when she was younger. They were not allowed to use sea otters since they were forced to hunt them by the Russians. They probably ate the eagles they used to make this jacket. And they would have to make this jacket because they couldn’t use the sea otter that they were forced to hunt. If it got wet it would become heavy and not waterproof; so people might have worn another parka over it. You probably wore a gut parka over top to be waterproof.
William Smith: Bill asks why they have made the parker out of eagle bellows. His suggestion is that they must have been eating eagles.
Deborah McMullen: My mom was a sewer. My mom and my sister both were. When I see these clothes I think about how it was taken away from them [ancestors]; how they were westernized [by force]. When I think about all the women that are sewer nowadays. If you watch women that sew now; you can see they put as much detail as the women did in those days. I can picture them. Piecing together that eagle parka. The time and dedication it must have taken them. How angry they must have been that someone took it.
William Smith: The government, congress of the U.S. "bleeds the Indian out of the Native". Can't take grandchildren out to hunt otters with and teach how to sew these type of materials. [By law not allowed to hunt].
Brandon Moonin: Long ago our elders used these eagle skins to sew clothes out of them. To see the craftsmaship is truly amazing.
Measurements: 90 x 42 x 6 cm
Weight: < 2 kg
Weight: < 2 kg
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