Illustration: Range of Nunivak coiled baskets.
Nunivak Island is situated in the Bering Straits, just off the shore of the Alaskan mainland. The people of the island refer to themselves as Cup'ig or Nuniwarmiut. However, the basketry produced on the island is usually referred to as Nunivak.
Basketry on the island used local grasses as a convenient and plentiful supply for basket making. Natural raw materials for basketry were severely limited on an Arctic island like Nunivak, which makes the scale of accomplishment and the professionalism of the skills base of the island, extremely impressive. It is always astounding to those living in more temperate climates, of the incredible ingenuity and versatility that is part of the traditional craft skills base of those communities living within or near the Arctic Circle. With such limited resources basketry techniques reached an extremely high level of craftsmanship that rivalled those more popularly lauded examples found much further south.
Illustration: Satellite map of Nunivak Island, Alaska.
Nunivak basketry was constructed using the coiled technique, and although surface decoration did not seem of overriding importance, an interesting and more dynamic approach was used by integrating the coiled technique itself. By undulating and redirecting the layers of coiling, the basket maker was able to incorporate decoration as a permanent part of the three-dimensional experience, rather than that of surface pattern work that was either incorporated during construction, or simply added afterwards.
A range of other domestic products was also included within the scope of the local raw material of grass. These included matting and twine, which was used for a variety of wide-ranging uses. However, it is the basketry that stands out as perhaps one of the major achievements, at least within what could be seen as textile based crafts. It is always to be pointed out that textiles are not limited to wool, cotton and flax and are certainly not the sole hegemony of cultures that can weave. Basketry should always be seen within the context of textile-based crafts as it both one of the oldest of human crafts and is arguably the precursor of weaving itself.
Illustration: Nash Harbor, Nunivak Island, Alaska, 1927.
It is the finely tuned, balanced and creatively inspired construction and design process that has gone into the production of these Nunivak baskets, that makes them so appealing to contemporary tastes and aesthetics. They are such an important addition not only to the history of human basketry skills, but to those of human crafts in general. The basketry of this remote Alaskan island should be given the respect that a design icon deserves.
There is a range of resources available for anyone interested in the lifestyle, history and culture of the people of the island of Nunivak. In the reference links section below are links to the Nunivak community Facebook page. There are also two fascinating Flickr libraries of photographs documenting Nunivak's past and present. Also featured is a link to the cultural heritage site of the Cup'ig, which gives much more information past and present concerning the island itself and the people who inhabit it.
Further reading links:
Nunivak Facebook site
Historic Nunivak Flickr site
Nunivak Island Flickr site
Cup'ig Cultural Heritage site
Edward S. Curtis: The North American Indians
Eskimo Mask by Nunivak Island. Size 15.00 X 21.50 Art Poster Print
AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECONNAISSANCE OF NUNIVAK ISLAND, ALASKA
The social culture of the Nunivak Eskimo (American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia. Transactions, new series)
Nuni of Nunivak Island, A New Friend - Audio Book/CD
Eskimo Woman and Child, Nunivak, Alaska, ca. 1930 - Quality 16"x20" Photographic Print from the Library of Congress Collection
Herd of Muskoxen, Nunivak Island, Alaska, USA Photographic Poster Print by Art Wolfe, 9x12
Eskimo Childhood and Interpersonal Relationships: Nunivak Biographies and Genealogies (American Ethnological Society Publications)
A Herd of Domestic Reindeer on Nunivak Island in the Yukon Delta Artists Photographic Poster Print, 18x24
Historic Print (M): The drummer--Nunivak
Historic Print (L): Boys in a kaiak (i.e., kayak)--Nunivak
