Tool Item Number: A2.330 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Description
Seal retriever. Gourd-shaped wooden object with three metal hooks inserted in the lower end. Wooden protective coverings are used over the hooks. Top end has a line attached to it.
History Of Use
Attached to a long line, it is thrown past a dead seal, pulled into its body, then towed to shore. Used only in hunting from the floe edge.
Narrative
Said to have been purchased from Yupik people on St. Lawrence Island by Paul Tovey. Tovey had been living there, working as a teacher in a government school at Gambell, a village on the northwestern tip of the island.
Item History
- Made in St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, USA
- Collected between 1955 and 1958
- Owned by Paul E. Tovey
- Owned by Mildred Tovey before May 1961
- Received from H. R. MacMillan (Funding source) and Mildred Tovey (Seller) during May 1961
What
Who
- Culture
- Siberian Yupik
- Previous Owner
- Paul E. Tovey and Mildred Tovey
- Received from
- H. R. MacMillan (Funding source) and Mildred Tovey (Seller)
Where
- Holding Institution
- MOA: University of British Columbia
- Made in
- St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, USA
When
- Collection Date
- between 1955 and 1958
- Ownership Date
- before May 1961
- Acquisition Date
- during May 1961
Other
- Condition
- good
- Accession Number
- 0048/0006