Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...

dolls are made out of

soapstone Soapstone (also known as steatite or soaprock) is a talc-schist, which is a type of metamorphic rock. It is composed largely of the magnesium-rich mineral talc. It is produced by dynamothermal metamorphism and metasomatism, which occur in sub ...

and

bone A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, ...

, materials common to the people of northern

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

and

northern Canada Northern Canada (), colloquially the North or the Territories, is the vast northernmost region of Canada, variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three Provinces_and_territories_of_Canada#Territories, terr ...

. Many are clothed with animal

fur A fur is a soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an ...

or skin. Their clothing articulates the traditional style of dress necessary to survive cold winters, wind, and snow. Dolls could have been gifts to young Inuit girls, to be used as teaching devices and passing down of culture. With these dolls, young girls learn various skills necessary for their survival such as skin preparation, cutting & sewing, proper use of materials, designs and significance of symbols in their cultures. Inuit dolls were enjoyed by both young and old Inuit individuals and give an excellent insight into

Inuit culture The Inuit are an indigenous people of the Arctic and subarctic regions of North America (parts of Alaska, Canada, and Greenland). The ancestors of the present-day Inuit are culturally related to Iñupiat (northern Alaska), and Yupik peoples, Yup ...

History

The earliest found dolls were made by Inuit living in Brooman Point Village, Bathurst Island over two thousand years ago. Since the migration of humans over the

land bridge In biogeography, a land bridge is an isthmus or wider land connection between otherwise separate areas, over which animals and plants are able to cross and colonize new lands. A land bridge can be created by marine regression, in which sea le ...

in the

Bering Strait The Bering Strait ( , ; ) is a strait between the Pacific and Arctic oceans, separating the Chukchi Peninsula of the Russian Far East from the Seward Peninsula of Alaska. The present Russia–United States maritime boundary is at 168° 58' ...

, these dolls were common in

. While the history of creating these dolls are unknown, the tradition may have started over 1,000 years ago. There are at least two different types of Inuit dolls from the Canadian region, Play dolls and Collector's Dolls.

Play dolls

Traditionally by the age of ten, Inuit girls were taught by their mothers how the clothe a family. This is mainly taught by learning to sew making their own dolls with removable clothing. They learn about the roles of wives and mothers by playing with these dolls. Once Inuit moved to camps and settlements, young girls started going to school and started learning different kinds of lessons and schools. This change in education for young Inuit girls, the play dolls began disappearing. The last generation to grow up with the play dolls were girls from the early 1950s.

Collector's dolls

These dolls were typically made by Inuit for people in the south. Some are owned by museums and others are owned by private collectors and institutions. The collector's dolls were divided into four categories: dolls dressed in traditional fur garments, wearing fabric garments, made by elders from Spence Bay (Taloyoak), and lastly made by the best dollmakers in the same community. The dolls made by elders are full of energy and imagination. They are sculptures made from fur and fabric. Some are reminders of what the culture used to be like and others are just fantasy of the imagination the dollmaker. The dolls made by Spence Bay's best dollmakers are full of intense artistry. Dolls could have been made from

caribou The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only represe ...

antler to create a certain texture. Dollmakers could have also used

to create eyes and generate certain emotions and feelings. Dollmakers have also made dolls specifically called Packing Dolls that generally wear an

amauti The amauti (also ''amaut'' or ''amautik'', plural ''amautiit'') is the parka worn by Inuit women of the eastern area of Northern Canada. Up until about two years of age, the child nestles against the mother's back in the amaut, the built-in baby ...

. Packing dolls refer to dolls that have a

parka A parka, like the related anorak, is a type of coat (clothing), coat with a hood (headgear), hood, that may be lining (sewing), lined with fur or fake fur. Parkas and anoraks are staples of Inuit clothing, traditionally made from Reindeer, cari ...

that is designed with a baby pouch tailored as part of the mother's clothing.

References

{{Reflist *Bachmann, Manfred & Hansmann, Claus. ''Dolls the World Over''. New York: Crown Publishers, 1973. *Jones, Suzi, Ed. ''Eskimo Dolls''. Alaska State Council of the Arts, 1982. *Larson, Jack Lenor. ''Folk Art from the Global Village''. Santa Fe, NM: Museum of New Mexico Press, 1995. Traditional dolls Inuit culture

History

Play dolls

Collector's dolls

See also

References