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Specific Techniques

The pieces are sewn together with an overcast stitch.

Description

Boy’s inner coat, or parka, of caribou skin with the fur to the inside (Note: photo shows inner and outer coats together). The coat has a rounded close fitting hood; the crown is slightly pointed. The coat is thigh length and has a slit in the middle of the front. The hood opening is trimmed with a white band of fur.

History Of Use

Inner coats, with the hair to the inside, are worn underneath outer coats. This way the insulating capacity of the clothing is enhanced. One layer of clothing is worn with the fur on the inside and a second layer is worn with the fur on the outside so as to minimize ingress of wind and cold. During winter men and women wear two hooded waist-length coats, two pairs of trousers, two pairs of stockings and boots, and mittens. Men often wear a longer, heavier outer coat when outdoors in winter. While mass-produced clothing from the south is now commonly worn, the making of skin clothing is being revived. In the Arctic, the making of clothing is considered as important as the creation of sacred objects. Aside from its important function as protection against the cold, clothing is imbued with power and spirituality. Women as seamstresses play an extremely important role in the expression of cultural value and meaning. The clothing of each group is cut and decorated according to distinctive cultural aesthetics. In addition to expressing the group’s identity, seamstresses express the beliefs and values of the group through clothing, which marks social identities like gender, age, childbearing status, and geographical origin. Clothing also expresses the special relationship of people in the Arctic with the animal world. People, animals, and spirits are subject to metamorphosis. Clothing often refers to this ability to transform, and could effect such a metamorphosis.

Narrative

Pierce donated this collection to the UBC Geology Museum in 1932, from which it transferred to the newly-opened Museum of Anthropology in 1948. Michell Pierce put together this collection of examples of Copper Inuit clothing and implements, while working in the area for the Hudson’s Bay Company. Before going to the area, he interviewed Dean Brock and M.Y. Williams about the possibility of collecting for UBC while there. This was the second collection he assembled, as the first was lost when the ship carrying the materials was caught in the ice.