Wooden Snow Goggles

Item number E1650-0 from the National Museum of Natural History.

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Notes

FROM CARDS: "ILLUS. IN USNM AR, 1894; FIG. 20; P. 289. SNOW GOGGLES--WOOD, ROUGHLY SHAPED TO FIT OVER THE EYES AND BRIDGE OF NOSE WITH SINGLE NARROW APENTURE FOR VISION; PAINTED BLACK ON THE INSIDE AND RED OUTSIDE; SECURED BY A BROAD STRAP OF DRESSED SEAL SKIN WHICH PASSES AROUND THE HEAD."Source of the information below: Inuvialuit Pitqusiit Inuuniarutait: Inuvialuit Living History, The MacFarlane Collection website, by the Inuvialuit Cultural Resource Centre (ICRC), Inuvik, N.W.T., Canada (website credits here http://www.inuvialuitlivinghistory.ca/posts/12 ), entry on this artifact http://www.inuvialuitlivinghistory.ca/items/262 , retrieved 12-17-2019: Snow goggles with a wood eye shade and hide straps. The eye shade is a curved piece of wood with a single horizontal slot for admitting light. The inside of the eye shade has been stained black, possibly using charcoal, and the outside is stained with red ochre. A hide strap made from seal skin is attached on either side using sinew. The straps are joined at the back, also with sinew. More information here: http://www.inuvialuitlivinghistory.ca/item_types/52: Snow goggles protect the eyes from bright sunlight reflected from snow and ice which can burn the retinas and result in snow blindness. Similar to squinting, the narrow horizontal slits in the snow goggles allow only a small amount of sunlight to reach the eyes but still allow the person wearing them to see.